Velbrück Lex Digitalis Intermedia

In the global information society, complex normative orders are emerging that can no longer be seamlessly translated into the normative logic of nation-states. Central actors in this information society are the intermediaries of the internet, such as the search engine Google or the social network Facebook, which operate and shape multi-sided markets. As a result, a transnational legal order is emerging - a lex digitalis intermedia - with its own normative logic. The book undertakes a multidisciplinary investigation of this transnational legal order, taking into account relevant economic, legal, and philosophical discourses. A central concern from a descriptive perspective is the precise description of lex digitalis intermedia with the necessary depth and breadth of analysis. In this context, the search engine Google serves as a paradigmatic object of study. A key concern from a normative perspective is the discussion of whether and based on which criteria a legal order increasingly shaped by private actors - instead of state actors - can still be qualified as a legitimate legal order. A systematic presentation of the six prevailing conceptions of legitimacy in liberal-democratic legal orders is provided, as well as the dominant fundamental attempts to justify normative priority and relational dynamics between these conceptions of legitimacy. These fundamental approaches currently lack explanatory power. The book proposes a functional understanding of legitimacy that is oriented towards the practical enabling conditions for legitimacy discourses. The normative status quo of lex digitalis intermedia is critically evaluated in light of this functional approach.