The Politics of Data in EU Law: Will It Succeed?

Abstract

The paper examines recent initiatives of the European Commission that aim to complement today’s legislation on the internet, data governance, and technological innovation, and how scholars have attempted to sum up current trends of EU law according to some catchy formulas: digital sovereignty, digital constitutionalism, or a renewed Brussels effect. Although such narratives have their merits, they can also be misleading and should be taken with a pinch of salt. The paper intends to complement such narratives in connection with the open issues on the balance of powers between EU institutions and member states (MS), with a new generation of digital rights at both EU and MS constitutional levels, down to the interplay between new models of legal governance and the potential fragmentation of the system. Whether and to what extent EU law will be successful in the regulation of data-driven societies and complex digital ecosystems do not only regard acts, policies, and proposals against misuses and overuses of technology but also how well mechanisms of coordination and models of cooperation set up by EU law will fare against technological underuses with their opportunity costs.

Keywords: Brussels Effect; Data Politics; Digital Constitutionalism; Digital Sovereignty; European Union (EU) Law; Legal Governance; Opportunity Costs.