Regulating digital markets: enforcement and remedies
An Online workshop organised by Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) & Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC)
25-26 November 2021 | 14.00-18.00h (CET) | Online Workshop
Tilburg University, the Netherlands
Keynote speakers
Professor Michal Gal – University of Haifa
Professor Ryan Calo – University of Washington School of Law
Program
Thursday 25 November 2021
14.00 – 14.05h | Welcome by Inge Graef (Tilburg University) |
14.05 – 14.50h Opening keynote |
by Michal Gal (University of Haifa) Remedies for Autonomous Algorithmic Coordination |
14.50 – 16.20h Session: Regulation of and by technology |
Chair: Inge Graef (Tilburg University) |
Oles Andriychuk (University of Strathclyde) Digital Competition Law: The Socio-Legal Foundations
Discussant: Catalin Rusu (Radboud University Nijmegen) |
|
Massimiliano Vatiero (Università di Trento / Università della Svizzera italiana) Smart contracts, transaction costs and adaptation
Discussant: Bertin Martens (Joint Research Centre, European Commission) |
|
16.20 – 16.30h |
Break |
16.30 – 18.00h Session: Enforcement of antidiscrimination and data protection law |
Chair: Thomas Tombal (Tilburg University) |
Ana Maria Corrêa (KU Leuven) Regulating Targeted Advertising: Addressing Discrimination with Transparency, Fairness and Private-Public Cooperation Remedies
Discussant: Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius (Radboud University Nijmegen) |
|
Filippo Lancieri (ETH Zurich Center for Law and Economics) Narrowing Data Protection’s Enforcement Gap
Discussant: Joris van Hoboken (Vrije Universiteit Brussel / University of Amsterdam) |
Friday 26 November 2021
14.00 – 15.30h Session: Governance of technological innovation in finance |
Chair: Inge Graef (Tilburg University) |
Alessio Azzutti (Universität Hamburg) AI Trading and the Limits of the EU Enforcement Regime in Deterring Market Manipulation
Discussant: Panos Delimatsis (Tilburg University) |
|
Yuliya Guseva (Rutgers Law School) When the Means Undermine the End: the Leviathan of Securities Law and Enforcement in Digital-Asset Markets
Discussant: Konrad Borowicz (Tilburg University) |
|
15.30 – 15.45h | Break |
15.45 – 17.15h Session: Regulating data practices |
Chair: Tjaša Petročnik (Tilburg University) |
Tuulia Karjalainen (University of Helsinki) The Battle of Power: Enforcing Data Protection Law against Companies Holding Data Power
Discussant: Ana Maria Corrêa (KU Leuven) |
|
Beata Mäihäniemi (University of Helsinki) The Role of Behavioural Economics in Shaping Remedies for Facebook’s Excessive Data Gathering
Discussant: Filippo Lancieri (ETH Zurich Center for Law and Economics) |
|
17.15 – 18.00h Closing keynote |
by Ryan Calo (University of Washington School of Law) |
Registration
Participation is free of charge and open to all.
In order to receive the Zoom link:
Background
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has changed the way in which people relate to each other, behave in markets, and interact with governments. With just one click in their search engine, internet browser or social media account, anyone can watch the latest news about events taking place in the furthest corner of the world, buy the ultimate widget, organize their holidays and book flight tickets and hotel rooms, receive their education, renew their passports, or even access their medical records.
But these exciting times also come with risks. The rise of big tech companies and digital ecosystems over the last decades together with the apparition of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, or the use of algorithms by businesses in their daily tasks is posing serious challenges to regulators around the globe. While there is increasing political momentum to regulate the behavior of technology firms, the main challenge seems to lie in developing effective enforcement mechanisms and remedies. High fines have been imposed on big tech companies for infringements related to competition, data protection, or consumer law. However, no real changes have occurred in the functioning of markets to the benefit of businesses, individuals, and society overall. Several jurisdictions across the world are about to introduce new rules targeted at technology companies, including the EU, US, and Australia. While these rules are welcome in order to strengthen existing protections, they will not achieve their purpose unless they are coupled with effective enforcement mechanisms and remedies.
Focus
Against this background, the workshop aims to bring together insights from various fields and disciplines about how to create effective enforcement and effective remedies for digital markets. Participants are therefore encouraged to analyse the question not only from a legal, economic, and policy perspective, but also from other disciplines such as data science, cognitive science, sociology, or ethics, among others. The purpose is to see how regulators in different areas are addressing the risks attached to the incorporation of new technologies in our daily lives and how to develop more effective enforcement approaches based on lessons drawn from other disciplines. For example, how can regulators ensure that search engines do not discriminate and show the search results fairly? Is there anything that regulators can learn from data science in that endeavour? Should governments monitor the spread of fake news and, if so, should they take into account an ethical perspective to design remedies and effective enforcement measures? Can cognitive sciences teach us something about remedies to preserve media pluralism and keep fake news under control? How should regulators protect the privacy of internet users, for example in cases of excessive data collection, over-reliance on consent, and re-use and further monetization of data? How to address market failures that are related to the use of AI and algorithms? What are the limits and possibilities of behavioural economics to shape the behavior of companies in e-commerce?
Thus, authors from multiple disciplines are welcome to discuss in their submissions remedies and enforcement approaches in different areas, such as competition, data protection and privacy, financial services, consumer protection, media sector and freedom of speech, health sector, telecoms and energy regulation, governance of data, etc. Overarching questions can be the following:
- What purpose should remedies fulfil? For example, should they punish offenders? Or should they address harm of affected stakeholders and restore the functioning of markets? Can remedies serve as precedents for other cases concerning different markets and fields?
- What other insights beyond the traditional legal and economic analysis need to be considered to design effective remedies? How can areas such as sociology, psychology, ethics, or data science contribute in this regard? And what expertise should authorities develop to implement these novel insights?
- What lessons can be drawn from past cases in a particular area to develop more effective enforcement approaches for the future?
- What are optimal institutional settings for enforcement? Should enforcement systems be centralized or decentralized? Should they favour a siloed or a more holistic approach? Is an adversarial or cooperative approach desirable? And should enforcement promote regulatory alignment across areas or jurisdictions instead of regulatory competition?
What are the key challenges of monitoring compliance and implementing regulation in technology industries? And what enforcement mechanisms can be created to overcome these challenges?
Format
The workshop will take place online over two half days: 25 and 26 November 2021 from 14-18h (CET time)
Authors of accepted papers have 20 minutes to present their paper. This is followed by 10 minutes of comments by a discussant and 15 minutes for an open discussion with all participants.
Funding
The workshop is organized in the context of the Digital Legal Studies research initiative, which is funded through the Law Sector Plan of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW).
Digital Legal Studies is a collaboration between Tilburg University, the University of Amsterdam, Radboud University Nijmegen, and Maastricht University that aims to stimulate pioneering research in the area of law & technology.