03 November 2022
Contextualisation over Replication
The EU is notorious for using regulatory solutions like the DSA to dominate and pre-empt global digital standards. Often, the major conversations on the international impacts of EU laws have oscillated between capture and actually providing normative leadership on thorny aspects of digital regulation. African countries should develop their own content regulation rules by paying more attention to their contexts and consider aspects of the DSA only where they will improve such local rules. Continue reading >>
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02 November 2022
The DSA as a paradigm shift for online intermediaries’ due diligence
The DSA adopts a meta-regulatory approach. While the shift to a meta-regulatory model should be welcomed for enabling reflexive and adaptive regulation, we must also be weary of its risk of collapsing in the absence of well-resourced and independent institutions. Indeed, this risk affects the extent to which the exportation of the DSA outside Europe would be in the public interest. Continue reading >>
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02 November 2022
Between preservation and clarification
When assessing the liability rules in the DSA it is evident that the its emphasis has been on preservation of the E-Commerce Directive's rules. However, that does not mean that nothing at all has changed. In fact, a closer look reveals that in some respects a notable evolution has taken place. Continue reading >>
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01 November 2022
An Intersectional Lens on Online Gender Based Violence and the Digital Services Act
The EU’s Digital Services Act introduces novel mandatory due diligence obligations for online platforms to address potential societal risks posed by the provision of their services - including the risk of online gender based violence. If effectively implemented, these provisions have the potential to set important standards for tackling some of the most pervasive harms of the digital ecosystem. However, these efforts will require the adoption of an intersectional methodology, otherwise they will simply fail to provide the necessary mechanisms for those most acutely impacted by these rights violations. Continue reading >>01 November 2022
Fundamental rights impact assessments in the DSA
The attention to fundamental rights in the new wave of EU digital regulation, confirmed in the Digital Services Act, is a significant step towards a more articulated and appropriate framework for protecting people in a context characterised by pervasive technologies that are often developed without adequate consideration of their impact on society. However, existing practices in human rights impact assessment show some limitations in being extended to the digital context. Continue reading >>
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31 October 2022
Platform oversight
The Digital Services Act requires EU member states to name a “Digital Services Coordinator” (DSC) to coordinate national regulators involved in platform oversight. But the DSCs are more than just “coordinators,” as they have to fulfill specific oversight tasks themselves. That is why member states should resist the temptation to build a small-scale coordinator and instead build a strong DSC with skills in data analysis, community management and flexible case-based work. Continue reading >>
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31 October 2022
A Regulator Caught Between Conflicting Policy Objectives
The Digital Services Act has landed on an increased centralization of its enforcement powers in the hands of the European Commission. The rationale behind this centralized enforcement is understandable, particularly in light of the experience with GDPR enforcement. At the same time, it raises crucial questions about the future recurrence of such centralizaion in the Commission's hands, and the separation of powers more broadly. Continue reading >>
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31 October 2022
The DSA has been published – now the difficult bit begins
The Digital Services Act (DSA) has finally been published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 27 October 2022. This publication marks the end of a years-long drafting and negotiation process, and opens a new chapter: that of its enforcement, practicable access to justice, and potential to set global precedents. Continue reading >>
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28 October 2022
Fakeness in Political Popularity
Politics in a democratic society have long been a glorified popularity contest, which we can all hope the most capable person wins. Hence, politicians have an incentive to artificially boost their online popularity through fakeness – fake comments, fake followers, fake likes. On a fundamental level, a false sense of popularity may affect our election outcomes – so what are the legal limits of fakeness? Continue reading >>
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05 October 2022