The past two decades have seen a radical change in the online landscape with the emergence of GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft). Facebook, specifically, has acquired a unique monopoly position among social media, and is part of the digital lives of billions of users. A mutual influence between Facebook and the legal framework has gradually emerged, as EU legislators and judges are on the one hand forced to accept the reality of new, widespread behaviors and practices and on the other have constructed a legal framework that imposes limits and rules on the use of the social network.This book offers a unique perspective on this relationship, exploring the various activities and services proposed by Facebook and discussing the attendant legal issues. Accordingly, questions concerning the GDPR, its principles, rights and obligations are in the center of the discussions. However, the book does not limit its scope to data protection: Facebook has also greatly contributed to a liberalization and democratization of speech. In accordance, the classic principles of media law must be revisited, adapted or suitably enforced on the platform. Intellectual property law governs what is owned and by whom, no matter whether raw data or informational goods are concerned. Frameworks on hate speech and fake news are the result of coregulation principles of governance, whereas defamation jurisprudence continues to evolve, considering the consequences of merely “liking” certain content. The economic model of advertising is also governed by strict rules. Above all, Facebook is currently caught in a dilemma of substantial interest for society as a whole: is it a neutral online intermediary, i.e., merely a passive player on the Internet, or is it transforming against its will into an editorial service? In conclusion, the book has a dual purpose. First, it proposes a global and practical approach to the EU legal framework on Facebook. Second, it explores the current limits and the ongoing transformation of EU Internet law as it steadily adapts to life in the new digital world.

The fight against impunity is an increasingly central concept in EU law-making and adjudication. What is the meaning and the scope of impunity as a legal concept in the EU legal order? How does the fight against impunity influence policy and adjudication? This timely first piece of comprehensive research aims to to address these largely unexplored questions, which involve structural institutional and substantive dilemmas underpinning the most recent developments of the European integration process. In recent years, the fight against impunity has become a pressing concern for the European institutions. It has shaped several EU policies and has led to a recurring argument in the case law of the Court of Justice. The book sheds light on this elusive notion, providing a much needed conceptual appraisal. The first section examines the scope of the notion of impunity, and its role in the EU decision-making process and in the development of EU competences. Subsequent sections discuss the implications of impunity - and of the fight against it - in a variety of complementary domains, namely the allocation of criminal jurisdiction, mutual recognition instruments, the rise of new surveillance technologies and the external dimension of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. This book is an original and timely contribution to scholarship, which is of interest to academics, researchers and policy-makers alike.

This book develops a timely analysis of the complex trends and transformations emerging in EU competition law in the current turbulent times. Repeated economic crises, the climate emergency, digitalisation, and geopolitical and democratic threats are all having profound societal and economic effects on the EU. In light of its fundamental role in the Treaties, EU competition law has been called upon to play an important role in responding to this state of 'turbulence'. This brings about significant governance and constitutional challenges, firstly by questioning how the governance of EU competition law is being transformed to respond and adapt. Secondly, these crisis-induced transformations probe the logic and constitutional limits of EU competition law within the framework of EU law. This collection brings together EU institutional and competition lawyers to reflect on the governance and constitutional challenges emerging from the post-modernisation evolution of EU competition law against the backdrop of the recent multiple crises in the EU. The essays focus on the substantive and procedural developments across the three main policy areas of EU competition law: antitrust, merger control and State aid. EU constitutional and competition lawyers will be interested in this important new collection.

Digitalization of societies has important ramifications for citizens and businesses. The digital landscape is rapidly changing, whereas at the same time there are growing concerns about how market access in the EU’s digital market as well as fundamental rights can be sufficiently safeguarded in the shadow of ‘big data’ and algorithms. This timely and important book presents expert analyses of how digitalization raises questions of the future role for general principles of European Union (EU) law, including the foundational principles of the EU’s fundamental economic freedoms and EU competition rules. Examining a number of issues revolving around the internal market, the digital single market, competition law, intellectual property, data protection, democracy and the rule of law, the contributors provide deeply informed insights of the challenges as to: effects of the technological disruption on the doctrine of general principles; the resilience of general principles in the digital society; the need to rely on new general principles in the digital society; the realization of the digital single market; the safeguarding of fundamental rights and the rule of law. The contributors are highly esteemed scholars from major European universities. A common theme is the need for judicial evolution of EU fundamental rights law in the digital era, alongside penetrating analyses of recent Court of Justice of the European Union case law on the impact of digitalization. Dealing as it does with an area of European law of particular complexity and rapidly growing importance, the anthology provides insights and knowledge about the ways in which digitalization is rapidly changing EU law. Are general principles of EU law as developed in an ‘analogue world’ sufficiently resilient to withstand the rapid and often disruptive developments taking place in the digital marketplace? The fresh look at the concept of ‘general principles’ taken by the various contributors helps to clarify the actual application in EU law in areas related to the ongoing digitalization of our society. It will be greatly appreciated by practitioners, policymakers and academics active in any of the many fields of law affected by the digital revolution.

This is the first book-length treatment of the advancement of EU global data flows and digital trade through the framework of European institutionalisation. Drawing on case studies of EU-US, EU-Japan and EU-China relations it charts the theoretical and empirical approaches at play. It illustrates how the EU has pioneered high standards in data flows and how it engages in significant digital trade reforms, committed to those standards. The book marks a major shift in how institutionalisation and the EU should be viewed as it relates to two of the more extraordinary areas of global governance: trade and data flows. This significant book will be of interest to EU constitutional lawyers, as well as those researching in the field of IT and data law.

In the age of technological advancement, including the emergence of artificial intelligence, big data, and the internet of things, the need for privacy and protection has risen massively. This phenomenon has led to the enforcement of two major legal directives in the European Union (EU) that aim to provide vigorous protection of personal data. There is a need for research on the repercussions and developments that have materialized with these recent regulations and how the rest of the world has been affected. Personal Data Protection and Legal Developments in the European Union is an essential reference source that critically discusses different aspects of the GDPR and the Law Enforcement Directive as well as recent jurisprudential developments concerning data privacy in the EU and its member states. It also addresses relevant recent case law of the Court of Justice of the EU, the European Court of Human Rights, and national courts. Featuring research on topics such as public transparency, medical research data, and automated decision making, this book is ideally designed for law practitioners, data scientists, policymakers, IT professionals, politicians, researchers, analysts, academicians, and students working in the areas of privacy, data protection, big data, information technology, and human rights law.

This last decade has been particularly turbulent for the EU. Beset by crises - the financial crisis, the rule of law crisis, the migration crisis, Brexit, and the pandemic - European Law has had to adapt and change in a way not previously seen. First published in 1999, the goal then was to reflect on the important developments that had been made since the creation of the EEC. That goal has not changed. From EU Administrative Law through to the Regulation of Network Industries, each chapter in this seminal work assess the legal and political forces that have shaped the evolution of EU law. With new chapters covering the Rule of Law, Judicial Reform, Brexit, Constitutional and Legal Theory, Refugee and Asylum law, and Data Governance, this third edition of The Evolution of EU Law is a must read for any student or academic of EU law.

This book is for undergraduate and postgraduate students of EU law. It provides critical reflection by situating EU law in an unparalleled manner against its wider political and economic contexts and captures the significance of EU law by including contemporary topics that are not in traditional accounts of EU law.

The most comprehensive resource for students on EU competition law; extracts from key cases, academic works, and legislation are paired with incisive critique and commentary from an expert author team.

In the same way that it has become part of all our lives, computer technology is now integral to the work of the legal profession. The JURIX Foundation has been organizing annual international conferences in the area of computer science and law since 1988, and continues to support cutting-edge research and applications at the interface between law and computer technology. This book contains the 16 full papers and 6 short papers presented at the 26th International Conference on Legal Knowledge and Information Systems (JURIX 2013), held in December 2013 in Bologna, Italy. The papers cover a wide range of research topics and application areas concerning the advanced management of legal information and knowledge, including computational techniques for: classifying and extracting information from, and detecting conflicts in, regulatory texts; modeling legal argumentation and representing case narratives; improving the retrieval of legal information and extracting information from legal case texts; conducting e-discovery; and, applications involving intellectual property and IP licensing, online dispute resolution, delivering legal aid to the public and organizing the administration of local law and regulations. The book will be of interest to all those associated with the legal profession whose work involves the use of computer technology.