How platforms are responding to EU regulations to prevent climate disinformation Event recording This webinar with EU DisinfoLab took place on 16 April 2024, with Devin Bahceci, expert from the Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD), who shared his insights on how platforms have responded to the EU regulations to prevent climate disinformation. By EU DisinfoLab and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union
What Europe should know about the new US AI policy Analysis US President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order on artificial intelligence that, while different in form and enforcement authority from the EU’s AI Act, targets many of the current risks of the technology. With policies in effect soon, the EU and US have the chance to work together. By Drew Mitnick
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
Regulating big tech platforms: Content moderation requirements in the UK Online Safety Bill and the EU Digital Services Act Policy paper This paper outlines the policy background that has taken the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and the UK’s Online Safety Bill down their respective legislative journeys and examines how law-makers have responded to the policy challenges in each jurisdiction, and highlights some important differences in the legislative approach. By Dr. Monica Horten
Big Tech Regulation: Contrasting UK and EU approaches to content moderation Blog post The differing approaches to the regulation of big tech in the UK and EU highlight some crucial questions for law-makers in both jurisdictions. The EU’s Digital Services Act and the UK’s Online Safety Bill both tackle the need to restrict certain content online and create a framework for regulating online platforms. The measures affect the underlying fundamentals of Internet services in very different ways, which could impact their operation across borders. This blog post considers how current policy choices in these two laws may influence future policy directions and ultimately the whole Internet ecosystem. By Dr. Monica Horten
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
