European fundamental rights and digitalization
| Date | 01 December 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X20983778 |
| Author | Maja Brkan,Clara Rauchegger,Monica Claes |
| Published date | 01 December 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
Editorial
European fundamental rights
and digitalization
Maja Brkan* , Monica Claes* and Clara Rauchegger**
Keywords
Digitalization, digital platforms, artificial intelligence, Charter of Fundamental Rights, European
Convention on Human Rights
Introduction
Digital technologies have had a profound impact on our economy and society. One of their main
effects is that a platform economy and indeed a platform society have emerged.
1
Digital platforms –
from eBay to AirBnB – use the internet to facilitate communication between users.
2
They enable a
range of activities, including public activities such as journalism, civic engagement, education or
transport.
3
Some of these platforms have even acquired a status of a domin ant player on the
market.
4
In 2020, the ‘Big Five’– Apple, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft and Facebook –
are largely dominating the digital landscape.
In parallel to the rise of the platform economy, we witness an increasing use of Artificial
Intelligence (AI), that is of software that is able to take appropriate actions to achieve a complex
* Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
** Faculty of Law and Digital Science Centre, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Corresponding author:
Clara Rauchegger, Faculty of Law and Digital Science Centre, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, A-6020 Innsbruck,
Austria.
E-mail: clara.rauchegger@uibk.ac.at
1. M. Kenney and J. Zysman, ‘The rise of the platform economy’, 32 Issues in Science and Technology (2016), p. 61–69; N.
Nash et al., ‘Public policy in the platform society’ 9 Policy & Internet (2017), p. 368–367.
2. P. Nooren et al., ‘Should we regulate digital platforms? A new framework for evaluating policy options’, 10 Policy &
Internet (2018), p. 267.
3. N. Helberger et al., ‘Governing online platforms: From contested to cooperative responsibility’ 34 The Information
Society (2018), p. 1.
4. M. Szpunar, ‘Reconciling new technologies with existing EU law – Online platforms as information society service
providers’ 27 Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law (2020), p. 400.
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2020, Vol. 27(6) 697–704
ªThe Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1023263X20983778
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