Opportunities and Difficulties for Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in the Internet Audience Economy
Internet tech giants are regulated by multiple overlapping yet distinct pieces of EU legislation that establish a range of substantive digital rights for internet users, and varying legal opportunity structures for strategic litigation within their enforcement architecture. My Article focuses on the...
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| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2024-08-01
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| Series: | German Law Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2071832224000634/type/journal_article |
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| author | Swee Leng Harris |
| author_facet | Swee Leng Harris |
| author_sort | Swee Leng Harris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Internet tech giants are regulated by multiple overlapping yet distinct pieces of EU legislation that establish a range of substantive digital rights for internet users, and varying legal opportunity structures for strategic litigation within their enforcement architecture. My Article focuses on the digital rights and enforcement architecture of the EU’s new Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act compared to the General Data Protection Regulation. Consideration of key strategic litigation concerning the existing Regulation informs my exploration of opportunities and barriers for strategic litigation under the new Acts. Analysis of these strategic litigation opportunities necessarily encompasses the EU’s new regime for mass claims under the Representative Action Directive, and interaction between internet users’ digital rights and consumer protection laws. I contend that the new Acts comparatively centralize public enforcement power in the European Commission, marginalizing civil society, and effectively precluding most strategic litigation by civil society with regard to public enforcement. Furthermore, the new Acts could increase regulatory fragmentation and the risk of legal incoherence by establishing additional regulatory authorities and competences alongside existing institutions and regimes. I argue that private enforcement strategic litigation against internet tech giants could empower civil society to influence the development of digital rights. Private enforcement strategic litigation could also aid legal coherence as an enforcement mechanism that allows multiple areas of law to be raised and addressed at the same time, rather than in silos. However there are considerable barriers to such litigation, including legal questions such as cross-border jurisdiction and standing, and the resources needed for effective strategic litigation. Overall, concerning legal analysis for strategic litigation, my article demonstrates that we must consider both public and private dimensions of enforcement architecture across multiple area of law, taking into account the different power dynamics of different enforcement mechanisms, to understand the opportunities for strategic litigation to advance digital rights in the internet attention economy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6d469d6fde034d6c93acaf6d0eeba5ae |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2071-8322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-08-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | German Law Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-6d469d6fde034d6c93acaf6d0eeba5ae2025-01-24T12:49:04ZengCambridge University PressGerman Law Journal2071-83222024-08-012595697610.1017/glj.2024.63Opportunities and Difficulties for Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in the Internet Audience EconomySwee Leng Harris0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1303-9329The Policy Institute, King’s College London, London, EnglandInternet tech giants are regulated by multiple overlapping yet distinct pieces of EU legislation that establish a range of substantive digital rights for internet users, and varying legal opportunity structures for strategic litigation within their enforcement architecture. My Article focuses on the digital rights and enforcement architecture of the EU’s new Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act compared to the General Data Protection Regulation. Consideration of key strategic litigation concerning the existing Regulation informs my exploration of opportunities and barriers for strategic litigation under the new Acts. Analysis of these strategic litigation opportunities necessarily encompasses the EU’s new regime for mass claims under the Representative Action Directive, and interaction between internet users’ digital rights and consumer protection laws. I contend that the new Acts comparatively centralize public enforcement power in the European Commission, marginalizing civil society, and effectively precluding most strategic litigation by civil society with regard to public enforcement. Furthermore, the new Acts could increase regulatory fragmentation and the risk of legal incoherence by establishing additional regulatory authorities and competences alongside existing institutions and regimes. I argue that private enforcement strategic litigation against internet tech giants could empower civil society to influence the development of digital rights. Private enforcement strategic litigation could also aid legal coherence as an enforcement mechanism that allows multiple areas of law to be raised and addressed at the same time, rather than in silos. However there are considerable barriers to such litigation, including legal questions such as cross-border jurisdiction and standing, and the resources needed for effective strategic litigation. Overall, concerning legal analysis for strategic litigation, my article demonstrates that we must consider both public and private dimensions of enforcement architecture across multiple area of law, taking into account the different power dynamics of different enforcement mechanisms, to understand the opportunities for strategic litigation to advance digital rights in the internet attention economy.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2071832224000634/type/journal_articleStrategic litigationdigital rightsGeneral Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)Digital Services Act (DSA)Digital Markets Act (DMA) |
| spellingShingle | Swee Leng Harris Opportunities and Difficulties for Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in the Internet Audience Economy German Law Journal Strategic litigation digital rights General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Digital Services Act (DSA) Digital Markets Act (DMA) |
| title | Opportunities and Difficulties for Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in the Internet Audience Economy |
| title_full | Opportunities and Difficulties for Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in the Internet Audience Economy |
| title_fullStr | Opportunities and Difficulties for Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in the Internet Audience Economy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Opportunities and Difficulties for Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in the Internet Audience Economy |
| title_short | Opportunities and Difficulties for Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in the Internet Audience Economy |
| title_sort | opportunities and difficulties for strategic litigation to advance digital rights in the internet audience economy |
| topic | Strategic litigation digital rights General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Digital Services Act (DSA) Digital Markets Act (DMA) |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2071832224000634/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sweelengharris opportunitiesanddifficultiesforstrategiclitigationtoadvancedigitalrightsintheinternetaudienceeconomy |