In this article we wish to point out – using the metaphor of a marital crisis – some of the reasons behind the growing conflict between digital technologies and the law. We identify various causes: a) Over the last years there has been a radical change in roles: once one looked at the law for solutions, now they are searched in digital technologies, seen as very efficient instruments of governance. b) Legal instruments are inadequate to cope with a henomenon in constant evolution, and whose economic and socio-political weight is immense. c) Digital actors have become the most effective law makers, with rules not only prescriptive but directly executable. Our conclusions are that: a) The digital has changed international relations. We see digital empires” and “digital colonies”: the EU has gradually fallen in the latter category. b) The EU approach, expressed by thousands of normative provisions, is ineffective and will be counter-productive in respect of its objectives. c) It would be preferable to adopt a “general principles” model able to govern not only the present issues but also the changes expected in the next years.

ZENO ZENCOVICH, V., Grumbach, S. (2024). A Painful Divorce: Law vs Digital Technologies. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW AND GOVERNANCE, 2024(1), 1-22 [10.1163/22134514-bja10069].

A Painful Divorce: Law vs Digital Technologies

vincenzo zeno zencovich
;
stéphane grumbach
2024-01-01

Abstract

In this article we wish to point out – using the metaphor of a marital crisis – some of the reasons behind the growing conflict between digital technologies and the law. We identify various causes: a) Over the last years there has been a radical change in roles: once one looked at the law for solutions, now they are searched in digital technologies, seen as very efficient instruments of governance. b) Legal instruments are inadequate to cope with a henomenon in constant evolution, and whose economic and socio-political weight is immense. c) Digital actors have become the most effective law makers, with rules not only prescriptive but directly executable. Our conclusions are that: a) The digital has changed international relations. We see digital empires” and “digital colonies”: the EU has gradually fallen in the latter category. b) The EU approach, expressed by thousands of normative provisions, is ineffective and will be counter-productive in respect of its objectives. c) It would be preferable to adopt a “general principles” model able to govern not only the present issues but also the changes expected in the next years.
2024
ZENO ZENCOVICH, V., Grumbach, S. (2024). A Painful Divorce: Law vs Digital Technologies. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW AND GOVERNANCE, 2024(1), 1-22 [10.1163/22134514-bja10069].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11590/466827
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