17 January 2025
Musk, Techbrocracy, and Free Speech
In this blogpost, I situate and address Musk’s position within the broader EU debate on freedom of expression. The purpose of this symposium is to elucidate aspects that make Musk, his influence, and his provocations to the EU legal order, problematic under EU law, and, should we consider his influence as unwanted, harmful or illegal, whether EU law can provide answers to it. This post centres on three points: (i) Musk’s changes to X’s content moderation process, (ii) Musk’s usage of X to amplify select political candidates and (iii) Musk’s ownership of Starlink. It ends with a note on how this fits in a grander theme, which has been dubbed by commentators such as Paul Bernal as the ‘techbrocracy’. Continue reading >>
0 
17 January 2025
Musk, Power, and the EU
At a time when calls for the EU to respond to Musk’s provocations multiply, critical questions about whether, why, and how the EU may react remain largely unanswered. Musk’s conduct, which spans sectors as diverse as social media (X, formerly Twitter), AI (xAI), satellite technology (Starlink), space rockets (SpaceX), and electric vehicles (Tesla), pose unique challenges to existing legal frameworks. His multi-industry influence gives rise to profound questions about the limits of individual influence and power accumulation in a complex geopolitical landscape. Continue reading >>
0
08 November 2024
Trusted Flagger als Gefahr für die Meinungsfreiheit
Hannah Ruschemeier hat hier in einem Beitrag vom 4.11.2024 ein positives Bild der sogenannten Trusted Flagger gezeichnet. Über die eigentlichen rechtsstaatlichen und grundrechtlichen Probleme geht der Beitrag hingegen großzügig hinweg. In der konkreten Umsetzung des Digital Services Act (DSA) verbergen sich aber nicht akzeptable Gefahren für Meinungsfreiheit und Demokratie. Continue reading >>04 November 2024
Flagging Trusted Flaggers
Nachdem die Bundesnetzagentur den ersten vertrauenswürdigen Hinweisgeber (Trusted Flagger) benannt hat, werden Vorwürfe der Zensur, übermäßigen Einschränkung der Meinungsfreiheit und fehlenden Erforderlichkeit solcher Stellen laut. Dabei ist das Konzept der Trusted Flagger keinesfalls neu oder eine Idee das DSA und das Vorgehen gegen illegale Inhalte im Netz weiterhin eine große Herausforderung in demokratischen Gesellschaften. Der DSA schafft klare Vorgaben für Trusted Flagger und transparente Verfahren. Continue reading >>
0
03 June 2024
Soft law, hardcore?
Soft law offers the possibility of agile and flexible regulation that can adapt to dynamic digital developments. However, due to its non-binding nature, soft law is not considered to be very effective. With the Digital Services Act (DSA), however, the EU is taking an - at least from a legal dogmatic perspective - unconventional approach by combining hard and soft law in a unique way. The DSA itself is a legally binding EU regulation, but it provides for soft law instruments and even contains provisions for their legal enforcement. Although such regulatory techniques are well known in EU law, they at least call into question the public perception of the DSA as the ‘constitution of the internet’. How far-reaching can such a constitution be that outsources essential issues to (executive-initiated, privately set) soft law? Continue reading >>
0
03 June 2024
Soft law, hardcore?
Soft Law bietet die Möglichkeit der agilen und flexiblen Regulierung, die sich gerade an die dynamische digitale Entwicklung anpassen kann. Allerdings gilt Soft Law durch seine unverbindliche Natur als wenig effektiv. Mit dem Digital Services Act (DSA) beschreitet die EU jedoch einen unkonventionellen Weg, indem sie Hard Law und Soft Law in – zumindest aus dogmatischer Perspektive – eigentümlicher Weise miteinander verbindet. Der DSA ist selbst eine rechtsverbindliche EU-Verordnung, welche jedoch Soft Law Instrumente vorsieht und sogar Vorschriften zu ihrer rechtlichen Durchsetzung enthält. Derlei Regelungstechniken sind im Unionsrecht zwar durchaus bekannt, doch stellen sie zumindest der öffentlichen Wahrnehmung des DSA als ‚Verfassung des Internets‘ in Frage. Wie weitreichend kann eine solche Verfassung sein, die wesentliche Fragen an (exekutiv initiiertes, privat gesetztes) Soft Law auslagert? Continue reading >>15 April 2024
GDPR Overreach?
After Meta introduced this model for its social networking services Facebook and Instagram in November 2023, several national data protection authorities called on the EDPB to clarify the compatibility of this model with the GDPR. Data protection law is to be used as a lever to prohibit media companies or online service providers from offering a service that is more data-minimalist than the traditional business model. Data protection authorities are therefore faced with the question of whether the GDPR should address "social justice" concerns. Continue reading >>
0
08 April 2024
To Define Is Just to Define
Social media allows users to share content worldwide. This also enables users to distribute illegal content. The laws of the EU Member States vary greatly when it comes to what content they consider to be illegal, especially regarding hate speech. Thus, it is important which national law applies in cross-border cases concerning online content. Ultimately, this question is closely linked to the broader reshuffling of power in the digital sphere: will it be actual ‘law’ that platforms enforce online or norms made by platforms themselves? So far, the law of 27 Member States plus the EU itself remains utterly chaotic compared to the more uniform Terms of Service (ToS) of the internet giants. Continue reading >>
0
02 April 2024
Moderation Made in Europe
The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) has been fully applicable for a little more than a month now. The conditions are thus in place for the emergence of the out-of-court dispute settlement (ODS) ecosystem envisaged in Article 21 DSA, arguably the DSA’s most original contribution to securing digital platform users’ rights. In this post, we try to envision the shape such an ecosystem might take over the next few years in the key area of social media content moderation (SMCM). We argue that the DSA may create an adjudication system dominated by a few ODS providers backed by public-private partnerships and ready to work in concert with the complaint-handling mechanisms set up by the platforms themselves. Continue reading >>
0
07 March 2024
The Digital Services Act as a Global Transparency Regime
On both sides of the Atlantic, policymakers are struggling to reign in the power of large online platforms and technology companies. Transparency obligations have emerged as a key policy tool that may support or enable achieving this goal. The core argument of this blog is that the Digital Services Act (DSA) creates, at least in part, a global transparency regime. This has implications for transatlantic dialogues and cooperation on matters concerning platform governance. Continue reading >>
0