Legislators have serious trouble keeping up with technological developments, which carry a variety of interests. These interests can be reduced to questions like: Should the giants of tech be afforded the freedom to develop and expand their business or would it be preferable to apply the brakes for the sake of our privacy? To what degree can a platform provider be held responsible for content posted to their platform by third parties?
These, and other, questions have resulted in key legislation being penned, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The main objective of the DSA is to protect consumers and fundamental digital rights. The primary objective of the DMA is to optimise competition on digital markets by regulating the large online platforms, which the DMA identifies as 'gatekeepers'.
Where copyrights are concerned, the EU is trying to strike a balance between optimal consumer access to content and the protection of copyright owners.
The debate this question has sparked is at once complex and sluggish, as perfectly illustrated by the laborious process leading up to the realisation of the e-privacy Regulation - which was supposed to have come into force at the same time as the GDPR. Similar debates are being waged on the matter of Artificial Intelligence. The legislative process leading to the AI Act was convoluted and crudely interrupted by the introduction of ChatGPT. This resulted in an entirely new political debate, delays and eventually in the introduction of a separate category: General Purpose AI. Combined with the ongoing debate, the abundance of new legislation has organisations and companies struggling to keep up to date with relevant technological trends and to remain compliant with recent legislative changes. That's where AKD is happy to help you.
Topics have a way of interlocking. By way of example, the possibilities to train AI systems are dependent on the interpretation of the text and datamining exception in the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, and the justified interest test of the GDPR. It follows that multidisciplinary collaboration is of essential interest when providing legal assistance.
The digital legal challenges their clients face hold no secrets for AKD's Technology, Media & Telecom sector specialists. That the members of our IP, IT and Privacy Team have comprehensive knowledge of the TMT sector goes without saying. TMT issues often require an integrated approach and people from different expertises pooling their know-how. Examples abound: the development of Smart Buildings, the deployment of Artificial Intelligence by governments, the regulatory aspects of Fintech developments, and the restrictions on data usage imposed by competition law. Lawyers working on M&As will find specialist sector knowledge indispensable as well. Boasting a wide-ranging team of sector specialists from different legal backgrounds, AKD is able to provide the legal advice and assistance you need.