Associate Dean Daryl Lim featured in German broadcast on social media regulation

CARLISLE, PA—Associate Dean for Research and Strategic Partnerships Daryl Lim was featured in a radio segment on social media addiction and platform design aired by the German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk Kultur. The program examined emerging legal theories in U.S. litigation involving social media companies and youth harm.

Lim discussed the shifting legal focus from content moderation to product design, including how features such as recommendation algorithms, infinite scroll, and notifications may contribute to harmful user engagement. His commentary highlighted the growing importance of design-based liability theories, the implications for ongoing litigation against major platforms, and the broader regulatory tensions between innovation, free speech, and user safety.

The segment was part of a half-hour international program examining social media restrictions and youth protection policies across jurisdictions. The feature situates U.S. litigation developments within a global conversation about platform accountability, including comparisons with regulatory approaches in Europe and Australia. Lim’s contributions focused on the potential legal and policy consequences if courts recognize platform design as a basis for liability, as well as emerging industry responses such as enhanced parental controls and age-sensitive product features.

The segment can be accessed here, and Lim's comments begin at the 16:00 mark.

Daryl Lim is the H. Laddie Montague Jr. Chair in Law at Penn State Dickinson Law. He is also the Associate Dean for Research & Strategic Partnerships and Founding Director of the Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Innovation Initiative. At the university level, he is a co-hire at the Institute of Computational and Data Sciences and an affiliate at the Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence.

Professor Lim is an award-winning author, observer, and commentator on national and global trends in IP and competition policy and how they influence and are influenced by law, technology, economics, and politics. He helps policymakers, attorneys, corporate counsel, scholars, and the public understand the world around them. He is a founding member of the Global IP Alliance and its local chapters in Pennsylvania and Illinois. In addition, he serves as Co-Chair of the University Education Committee in the US IP Alliance.

In December 2022, the American Law Institute elected Professor Lim to its membership based on demonstrated excellence and outstanding professional achievement. In 2023, the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission recognized him as “a leading expert in antitrust law and economics” and the IAM Strategy 300, a guide to the industry pioneers with “exceptional skill sets, as well as profound insights into the development, creation, and management of IP value,” named him to its World’s Leading IP Strategists 2023 list. In 2024, he was appointed to the consultative group advising the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence. In 2025, he received the IP Professor of the Year Award at the Global Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence & Technology Conclave & Awards.