Trump vs. Europe: The role of the Digital Services Act Analysis The European Digital Services Act (DSA) lays down new rules for online platforms, seeks to strengthen user rights and intends to hold tech companies to account. But what specific measures does the DSA include and why is it under so much pressure from the new US government and big tech companies? By Svea Windwehr
Regulating at a glacial pace: barriers to progress written into our trade regimes Commentary We’re at a climate tipping point, yet international trade rules remain a persistent barrier to climate action. Momentum is also quickly building toward a digital tipping point: one where Big Tech surveillance is too far out of control to reign in, and where human rights and democracy only exist at the whim of tech corporations. Recurrent trade pressures could impact the willingness of the EU and the US to take action to better protect consumers in the digital market, or even to act to fight against climate change. So how did we get here, and what role do the new US–EU cooperation venues have to play? By Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue
Strengthening competition policy for effective regulation of digital platforms: Contrasting EU and UK approaches Policy paper This paper analyses the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes a set of specific ex ante obligations on the largest digital players, including interoperability and data access. It also analyses the UK's Digital Markets Unit (DMU), and whether it could be designed as a more flexible set of regulatory tools enabling a targeted approach to identifying emerging competition issues and market power in the digital field. By Jim Killock and Jiri Mnuk
Digital rights post-Brexit Dossier Since leaving the EU, the United Kingdom has new autonomy to explore differing approaches to regulating the digital economy and is seeking to deliver the potential benefits of regulatory divergence. This dossier considers the emerging issues within each major area of policy intervention – data protection, content policy and competition – to help policy makers in Europe and the UK begin a discussion about the potential effects of EU-UK divergence, to begin to think about where co-operation may still be needed, and, if this cannot be achieved, the best way to deal with the impacts they may be dealt with.
The EU's Artificial Intelligence Act: Should some applications of AI be beyond the pale? Commentary The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act aims to regulate emerging applications of AI in accordance with “EU values”. But for the most concerning of all such potential applications, the line between regulation and prohibition can be a tricky one to draw. By Alexandre Erler
Gearing up for the Digital Decade? Assessing the enforcement mechanisms of the EU’s platform regulation bills Background 2022 is shaping up to be a big year for European digital policymaking. The Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts as well as the Artificial Intelligence Act will reverberate beyond the EU’s borders. For the EU’s comprehensive vision for platform regulation to become reality, it will be crucial to coordinate the enforcement mechanisms of these laws. By Amélie Heldt
The platform economy Dossier The major platform providers have become decisive players on the internet - not only as critical information infrastructures, but also at content level. They moderate, they curate content, and block accounts based on rules they set themselves. We ask: How do private companies influence the public debate, and how can they be democratically scrutinised?
Hate and digital violence: holding platforms accountable Event recording Big communication platforms like Facebook, YouTube and others do little to create safe spaces for users. On the contrary, the platforms make money with hateful and divisive content, which they use to capture their user’s attention and will keep them on the platforms for as long as possible. There is no doubt about this since the latest revelations of whistleblower Frances Haugen. Women and girls - like all people affected by digital hate - are defenceless on the platforms. By Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
“Visions for a Digital Europe 2025” Online conference Online conference How can we create a value-based European digital future that is innovative and internationally compatible at the same time? What influence can the EU have on the data-driven economy and digitised society through new legislative projects and further regulatory measures? These are some key questions debated at the online conference "Visions for a Digital Europe 2025", which took place on Wednesday 27 October 2021. An initiative of iRightsLab, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the German Research Institute for Public Administration and the German University of Administrative Sciences.
