Thema: Digitalisierung & Technologie

Verfassungsrecht für digitale Technologien, KI-Governance, Plattformregulierung, digitale Rechte und verfassungsrechtliche Aspekte des technologischen Wandels. Umfasst digitale Grundrechte, Datenschutz als Verfassungsrecht und verfassungsrechtliche Regulierung neuer Technologien.

Digitale Beweise im EU-/US-Datenschutzkonflikt

In der vergangenen Woche hat das Europäische Parlament nach fünfjährigen Verhandlungen der E-Evidence-Verordnung zugestimmt. Hierdurch erhalten die Ermittlungsbehörden der Mitgliedstaaten das Recht, die US-Unternehmen auch zur Herausgabe von Daten, die in den USA gespeichert sind, zu verpflichten. Kann die Europäische Kommission bei den derzeitigen Verhandlungen um ein EU-/US-Abkommen über digitale Beweise verhindern, dass die US-Ermittler:innen umgekehrt ungehinderten Zugriff auf Daten in der Europäischen Union erhalten?

28. Juni 2023

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The GDPR’s Journalistic Exemption and its Side Effects

On 25 May 2023, we mark the fifth anniversary of the General Data Protection Regulation’s (GDPR) full application in the European Union (EU). While the Regulation is primarily known for its impact on business, it also fostered significant changes to data processing by media outlets, which are often overlooked in discussions about data protection. This blog post analyzes what is commonly called the ”journalistic exemption” under Article 85 of the GDPR that requires Member States to regulate the extent to which GDPR applies to journalists and others writing in the public interest. Further, this contribution reflects on how exactly that journalistic exemption is implemented across the Member States, and considers the problematic consequences of the GDPR’s uneven application to the media sector, including instrumentalization of GDPR in the strategic litigation (SLAPPs) against journalists.

16. Juni 2023

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YouTube Updates its Policy on Election Misinformation

Last Friday, YouTube announced that it ‘will stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US Presidential elections’. This development has upsides and downsides, a few of which are worth sketching out, and all of which further accentuate why the US constitutional framework regarding online platform regulation requires updating. The nature of this update requires transcending a governance approach of overreliance on expecting good faith self-regulation by companies providing these intermediaries.  

8. Juni 2023

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Strong on Hate Speech, Too Strict on Political Debate

Online hate speech is a topic that has gained importance in recent years. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) made an important ruling in this context on 15 May 2023 in Sanchez v. France. From a democratic theory and individual rights’ perspective, I would endorse the first decision because it tackles the so-called “silencing” and “desensitization effect” of hate speech. The second decision, however, runs the risk of adversely affecting free political debate, especially when individual politicians are called upon to delete comments by third parties.

25. Mai 2023

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Data After Life

Contract law in Europe currently has little grasp on the balancing of interests of social media users, their heirs, platforms, and society at large, which means that platforms play a key role in determining how digital legacies are handled. A human rights perspective can offer starting points for reforms that do more justice to the protection of digital identities of social media users.

24. Mai 2023

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Monetising Harmful Content on Social Media

The possibility to profit from the dissemination of harmful content triggering views, engagement, and ultimately monetisation does not only concern the contractual relationship between social media and  influencers, but also affects how other users enjoy digital spaces. The monetisation of harmful content by influencers should be a trigger, first, to expand the role of consumer law as a form of content regulation fostering transparency and, second, to propose a new regulatory approach to mitigate the imbalance of powers between influencers and users in social media spaces.

24. Mai 2023

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Rethinking the Regulation of Financial Influencers

The growth of social media has led to an unprecedented rise in financial influencers, so-called finfluencers, who share investment ideas and opinions with a global audience, even if they are not qualified or licensed to provide financial advice. This can be particularly dangerous for retail investors with low levels of financial literacy. The regulation of financial influencers is a complex and multifaceted issue that demands a comprehensive approach; the current regulatory framework may not be adequate.

23. Mai 2023

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A New European Enforcer?

As a key piece of the European Commission’s digital agenda, the Digital Services Act (DSA) is drawing a lot of attention from civil society, industry, and regulators. One particularly interesting development in that regard is the Commission’s current transformation from being the institution leading the DSA’s negotiations to the one enforcing it. This article explores the challenges faced by the Commission in this transformation.

23. Mai 2023

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Pay to Play

The rise of subscription-based business models in social media is part of a broader trend that can be observed in many industries. Against this background, it is necessary to adapt European consumer law to the new risks of the subscription economy.However, it is not enough to give consumers rights on paper. Nor is it sufficient to inform consumers about their rights in the small print. Effective consumer protection in digital markets requires a user interface design that enables consumers to exercise their rights with a simple click.

23. Mai 2023

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The Shape of Personalisation to Come

While targeted advertising is still a money-making machine for social media platforms, its motor has begun to sputter. However, with artificial intelligence, the potential is even greater for companies to discover and exploit biases and vulnerabilities in consumers that they themselves may not be aware of. The point of this dive into economic engineering of personalised environments on digital platforms is to highlight the intentional creation of algorithmically curated choice sets for consumers. How can the law ensure their fairness?

22. Mai 2023

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