Platform Contracts: Legal Framework and User Protection

Digital platforms are a very important economic reality, also in consideration of the epidemiological emergency which has increased online daily transactions. When we talk about digital markets, we refer to the transformation of the markets, induced by the exploitation and use of new technologies, in which digital contracts are an increasingly widespread phenomenon. This paper aims to give some hints about such issue and its legal framework. There are different elements to be considered: contract requirements, weaker party protection, sharing economy and some issue about the so-called “zero price economy”. In short, the paper summarises some profiles of legal relevance of such topical and wide subject. Keywords: Digital single market; Platform contracts; Sharing economy; Weaker party protection; Zero price economy.

Health management and user protection: an analysis of gamification elements in applications for pregnant women

The objective of the present study is to analyze applications classified in the health category and to identify how they manipulate the evaluation, prescription and management of the physical activity of the users. The exponential growth of interactive technologies brings a differentiated look when the use of services present in mobile devices installed in smartphones as software for the most diverse activities. The health area has been presenting as a promising sector. This is a descriptive research with a qualitative approach using case study method. The considerations point to the difficulty in evaluating the applications directed to the management of physical activities mainly regarding the evaluation of users. There is also a gap regarding the legal authorization of the profession in the case of the physical educator. Another point raised here is about shared responsibility theme linked to the understanding of user protection that use these types of services.

Collective dynamics of dark web marketplaces

Dark web marketplaces are websites that facilitate trade in illicit goods, mainly using Bitcoin. Since dark web marketplaces are unregulated, they do not offer any user protection, so police raids and scams regularly cause large losses to marketplace participants. However, the uncertainty has not prevented the proliferation of dark web marketplaces. Here, we investigate how the dark web marketplace ecosystem reorganises itself following marketplace closures. We analyse 24 separate episodes of unexpected marketplace closure by inspecting 133 million Bitcoin transactions among 38 million users. We focus on “migrating users” who move their trading activity to a different marketplace after a closure. We find that most migrating users continue their trading activity on a single coexisting marketplace, typically the one with the highest trading volume. User migration is swift and trading volumes of migrating users recover quickly. Thus, although individual marketplaces might appear fragile, coordinated user migration guarantees overall systemic resilience.

Algumas Notas Sobre a Tutela do Utente de Serviços Públicos Essenciais

In the present study we dedicate ourselves to make an analysis of the Law of Essential Public Services, giving a special focus to the mechanisms of protection of the user of such services. If it is true that, on the one hand, it has not been doctrinally peaceful to qualify contracts for the provision of essential public services as public or private law agreements, on the other, and consequently, the question of where to bring legal action arising from disputes that oppose the provider and the user, therefore, we will try to answer that question. Having made a general analysis of the user protection mechanisms, we focus on issues related to the suspension of the service for non-payment, establishing a parallel between the regimes of the Essential Public Services Law and the Electronic Communications Law. Finally, we will address the issue of prescription and lapse periods related to the right to receive the price of the service provided. At this point we will try to give an adequate answer regarding which prescription period to resort whenever the service is provided by a local authority (8 years or 6 months).

Android Privacy Made Easier the Cloud Way

The Smartphone industry has expanded significantly over the last few years. According to the available data, each year, a marked increase in the number of devices in use is observed. Most consumers opt for Smartphones due to the extensive number of software applications that can be downloaded on their devices, thus increasing their functionality. However, this growing trend of application installation brings an issue of user protection, as most applications seek permission to access data on a user’s device. The risks this poses to sensitive data is real to both corporate and individual users. While Android has grown in popularity, this trend has not been followed by the efforts to increase the security of its users. This is a well-known set of problems, and prior solutions have approached it from the ground up; that is, they have focused on implementing reasonable security policies within the Android’s open-source kernel. While these solutions have achieved the goals of improving Android with such security policies, they are severely hampered by the way in which they have implemented them. In this work, a framework referred to as CenterYou is proposed to overcome these issues. It applies a pseudo data technique and a cloud-based decision-making system to scan and protect Smartphone devices from unnecessarily requested permissions by installed applications and identifies potential privacy leakages. The current paper demonstrated all aspects of the CenterYou application technical design. The work presented here provides a significant contribution to the field, as the technique based on pseudo data is used in the actual permissions administration of Android applications. Moreover, this system is user and cloud-driven, rather than being governed by over-privileged applications.

Infrared Detection of Elevations in Mobile Phone Temperatures Induced by Casings

The design and utility of mobile handheld devices have developed tremendously, from being initially intended for audio calls only to the recent incorporation of augmented reality in smartphones. Recent smartphone functions are power-intensive, and cause excessive heating in phone parts, primarily batteries and processors. Left unmanaged, phone temperatures would exceed the threshold temperature of discomfort, negatively affecting user experience. The use of phone casings has simultaneously become common in recent years. They form an additional barrier to heat dissipation from mobile devices, which has not been considered in existing studies. In this work, the thermal profiles of two identical smartphones were assessed during common tasks, including music playing, voice calling, video streaming and 3D online gaming. One of the phones (the test case) was operated while enclosed in a plastic phone casing, while the other (the control case) was bare. Transient surface temperature distributions were obtained with infrared imaging and thermocouple sensors, while processor and battery temperatures were obtained from inbuilt sensors. Test results showed that casings generally redirect the dissipation of the heat generated within the phone. For tasks involving contact with users’ hands, this will protect the user from high phone surface temperatures. However, the processor and battery temperatures are increased as a result. This user protection was not achieved in the online gaming task, for which the heat generated exceeded the insulating capacity of the plastic casing. The range of protection offered to phone users could be extended by using phone casings which incorporate phase change materials.

Comparative legal analysis of the regulation of vindication in the Russian Empire and RSFSR

The study of ways to protect property rights is of great scientific and practical importance. However, as before, there is no certainty on the content of legal relations arising in connection with the protection of the rights of their rightholder, the order of application of ownership and user protection, the circle of persons entitled to protection, etc. The lack of reasoned judgments on these issues suggests the inconsistency of the practice of applying the current legislation and does not serve the purpose of stabilizing property relations.

Research of the cyberbullying phenomenon and analysis of ways to counter its manifestations

The main characteristics of Internet harassment (cyberbullying) are investigated in the research. The main features of this phenomenon are considered. The analysis of existing types of cyberbullying and their individual characteristics is made. The examples of legislative acts of different countries is concluded that there is deficiency of relevant rules of low. It is emphasized that anyone can become a victim of in the modern world. At the same time a risk of becoming a victim of cyberbullying does not depend on any factors (for example financial position of victim, his or her age, sex, social position etc.). It is noted that communications that are made in cyberspace provide an opportunity for users to choose information they want to make public carefully and in advance. In most cases it contributes to help people show theirs strengths (for example, when communicating in chats). In results there is often false sympathy between network interlocutors and they trust each other. So the idealization of the partner happens and any his or her information is perceived more sensitive than during direct communication. This effect is successfully used during cyberbullying, when first one person inspires the trust of another and then changes communication tactics, becoming faithless and aggressive. It is emphasized that the cyberbullying phenomenon is very underestimated and that`s why it is a serious problem. The brief overview of existing technologies and means of counteracting this phenomenon is made. The comparison of their effectiveness is made. The standards that modern and effective technology of cyberbullying resistance must meet are systematized. There are examples of successful realization of user protection in most popular social network. It is emphasized that for cyberbullying resistance nowadays in most cases the protection technologies of it is to localize undesirable content in terms of the existence of cyberbullying. Based on the results of this research it is confirmed that the cyberbullying will spread further. This is due to the constant increase in the number of users of new network services and online platforms for communication. For effective defense against cyberbullying it is required the introduction of organizational and technical measures. At the end it is proposed the general assessment of further development of cyberbullying and the ways to improve appropriate countermeasures.