Publications
Top Keywords
- Art. 10 EVRM (25)
- Art. 17 CDSM Directive (13)
- Artificial intelligence (72)
- Big data (12)
- Constitutional and administrative law (11)
- Consumer law (11)
- Content moderation (22)
- Copyright (188)
- Cybersecurity (10)
- Data protection (29)
- Data protection law (11)
- Digital Services Act (DSA) (32)
- Digital Single Market (13)
- EU (19)
- EU law (26)
- Europe (12)
- European Union (10)
- Fake news (14)
- Freedom of expression (46)
- Fundamental rights (18)
- GDPR (22)
- Human rights (31)
- Intellectual property (29)
- Internet (24)
- Journalism (15)
- Kluwer Information Law Series (43)
- Licensing (13)
- Media law (28)
- Online platforms (19)
- Patent law (20)
- Personal data (35)
- Platforms (24)
- Privacy (326)
- Regulation (11)
- Social media (11)
- Software (10)
- Surveillance (11)
- Text and Data Mining (TDM) (20)
- Trademark law (13)
- Transparency (19)
Towards a European Research Freedom Act: A Proposal for an EU-Wide Secondary Publication Right external link
Abstract
As of 2025, six EU Member States – Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Bulgaria – have introduced forms of Secondary Publication Rights (SPRs) as an effective tool for rebalancing the bargaining powers of authors and publishers, enhancing Open Access (OA) to scientific publications, and fostering national Open Science (OS) policies. Building on the results of a study conducted for the European Commission and published in 2024, this article supports the introduction of an EU-wide SPR as one of the key priority actions needed to fully align EU copyright law with the policy goals of the European Research Area (ERA). Given the fragmented nature of national approaches and the inherently transnational nature of much of scientific communication and publishing, a harmonised SPR with carefully tailored and balanced features is a precondition for creating a level-playing field for all scientific authors operating within the ERA. This article explores the potential of SPRs and where they intersect with OS, analysing their origins and underlying rationales. It then makes a comparative analysis of national SPR implementations and their main features. On this basis, it makes specific proposals for an EU-wide SPR, emphasising design, scope, and potential impact on stakeholders. It concludes by reflecting on the broader significance of integrating an SPR into the EU’s OS agenda.
Links
RIS
Bibtex
Towards a European Research Freedom Act: A Reform Agenda for Research Exceptions in the EU Copyright Acquis external link
Abstract
This article explores the impact of EU copyright law on the use of protected knowledge resources in scientific research contexts. Surveying the current copyright/research interface, it becomes apparent that the existing legal framework fails to offer adequate balancing tools for the reconciliation of divergent interests of copyright holders and researchers. The analysis identifies structural deficiencies, such as fragmented and overly restrictive research exceptions, opaque lawful access provisions, outdated non-commercial use requirements, legal uncertainty arising from the three-step test in the EU copyright acquis, obstacles posed by the protection of paywalls and other technological measures, and exposure to contracts that override statutory research freedoms. Empirical data confirm that access barriers, use restrictions and the absence of harmonised rules for transnational research collaborations impede the work of researchers. Against this background, we advance proposals for legislative reform, in particular the introduction of a mandatory, open-ended research exemption that offers reliable breathing space for scientific research across EU Member States, the clarification of lawful access criteria, a more flexible approach to public-private partnerships, and additional rules that support modern research methods, such as text and data mining.
Links
Copyright, open science, research exceptions, right to research, technological protection measures, Text and Data Mining (TDM), three-step test
RIS
Bibtex
Copyright as a Freedom of (Artistic) Expression Right? The Dangers and Human Rights Law Misconceptions in the AG’s Opinion in Pelham II external link
Decentralised law enforcement: A case study of Ethereum’s proof of stake mechanism for moderation practices external link
Abstract
This paper examines the evolving role of the Ethereum blockchain's consensus layer as a potential tool for decentralised law enforcement, with a focus on its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism and its implications for moderation practices. While it was traditionally designed for credible neutrality, Ethereum's consensus layer is now facing increasing pressure to assist in regulatory enforcement, particularly concerning the U.S. OFAC sanction list. This shift raises fundamental questions about whether a decentralised platform can effectively meet regulatory requirements without compromising its core principles of transparency, security, decentralisation and censorship resistance. This paper dives into the roles and incentives of actors in the consensus mechanism, with a main focus on builders, relays and validators. It also looks into the complexities introduced by Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) and the Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS). The paper critically assesses Ethereum's potential to function as a regulatory enforcement tool by discussing its inherent limitations, the current stance on adhering to OFAC sanction lists, and other relevant decision-making factors. It also considers the risks associated with leveraging this decentralised platform for regulatory purposes, including the potential for unintended consequences such as privacy and security concerns, and the erosion of core values. Ultimately, this paper aims to provide insights into whether Ethereum can effectively be leveraged as a regulatory enforcement technology while maintaining its fundamental attributes. We find that Ethereum can leverage compliance to a certain degree, particularly through mechanisms that incentivise validators to exclude sanctioned transactions, and with simple regulation to adhere to. However, the platform's decentralised nature and commitment to censorship resistance means that complete alignment with traditional regulatory frameworks is unlikely. This highlights the fundamental trade-offs that are inherent to attempting to impose centralised control on a decentralised system.
Links
RIS
Bibtex
Trust in context: The impact of regulation on blockchain and DeFi external link
Abstract
Trust is a key resource in financial transactions. Traditional financial institutions, and novel blockchain-based decentralized financial (DeFi) services rely on fundamentally different sources of trust and confidence. The former relies on heavy regulation, trusted intermediaries, clear rules (and restrictions) on market competition, and long-standing informal expectations on what banks and other financial intermediaries are supposed to do or not to do. The latter rely on blockchain technology to provide confidence in the outcome of rules encoded in protocols and smart contracts. Their main promise is to create confidence in the way the blockchain architecture enforces rules, rather than to trust banks, regulators, and markets. In this article, we compare the trust architectures surrounding these two financial systems. We provide a deeper analysis of how proposed regulation in the blockchain space affects the code- and confidence-based architectures which so far have underwrote DeFi. We argue that despite the solid safeguards and guarantees which code can offer, the confidence in DeFi is still very much dependent on more traditional trust-enhancing mechanisms, such as code governance, and antifraud regulation to address some of the issues which currently plague this domain, and which have no immediate, purely software-based solutions. What is more, given the risks of bugs or scams in the DeFi space, regulation and trusted intermediaries may need to play a more active role, in order for DeFi to gain the trust of the next generation of users.
Links
blockchain, Regulation, trust
RIS
Bibtex
Opinie: Het is tijd om afscheid te nemen van Spotify download
Democratische dijkverzwaring download
Public Knowledge and Expertise Under Authoritarian Siege: A Defense of Academic Freedom from Digital Journalism Studies external link
Abstract
This article addresses the growing global assault on academic free-dom—a cornerstone of democratic societies now under increasingthreat from authoritarian regimes. It highlights a global decline inthat freedom since its peak 20 years ago, focusing on the UnitedStates in 2025 to illustrate rapidly escalating academic silencing, evenin a country with well-established democratic freedoms and institu-tions. Drawing on the collective expertise of international scholars indigital journalism studies (DJS)—a field situated at the crossroads ofvulnerable institutions—and informed by anonymous reports fromU.S.-based academics as well as the wider academic literature, thiscommentary examines the impact of political interference, censorship,and self-censorship in academia. It argues that DJS as a field mustdevelop approaches that actively resist authoritarianism and upholdfreedom of expression and inquiry. The commentary concludes witha normative framework for doing this, proposing a three-prongedapproach to defending the larger field, the scholarship within it, andthe wellbeing of individual scholars of digital journalism studies.
Links
academic freedom, academic research, censorship, Freedom of expression
RIS
Bibtex
Three Paths, One Goal Trialogue: Narrating the philosophical, legal and creative perspectives on emerging technologies external link
Abstract
At the AI-Imaginations and Public Safety symposium at Erasmus University Rotterdam on June 19, DigiCon’s Sci-Fi Team experimented with an unconventional way of presenting academic ideas. When it comes to emerging technologies, the responsibility for understanding, explaining, and responding to them often falls to key figures. The most important of these arguably are philosophers, legal scholars, and tech creators. But as we’ve seen in the literature for years, there’s insufficient shared vocabulary, understanding, or common ground between these roles. For this reason, we prepared our own imaginary narrative for a trialogue between these roles on the issues that need to be discussed, in order to build bridges between the interrelated fields more effectively. Here, we share the full text of the trialogue.