On March 9th, the Institute of European Studies, along with sponsors from the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology (BCLT) and Tübingen University Law School, was pleased to host Professor Martin Nettesheim, Professor of Law at the University of Tübingen. Professor Paul Schwartz, Professor of Law at UC Berkeley, moderated the event which was attended by more than 50 people, in person and online.
Netteshein first presented the regulatory architecture that has emerged in recent years in the European Union. From the infamous General Data Protection Regulation to a new package of legal acts, European institutions have never been keener on managing and regulating the data industry. These regulations aim to moderate the market power of the data industry and the business models of digital economy companies.
Netteshein wanted the crowd to reflect on the power that personal data has within our new economies. Personal data seem to be an inevitable economic asset within modern economies, and it would be dubious for regulators to overlook its commercial value. Netteshein insisted that personal data protection is crucial, but also emphasized that regulations must also allow a certain level of flexibility that allows data-based companies to strive. This presentation was an opportunity to reflect on the background of this conflict as well as question the path that the European Union is taking to regulate this industry. To help the understanding of this complex topic, Netteshein gave clarifications on major elements, by giving the attendees a clear and coherent definition of personal data.
Finally, viewers had the opportunity to ask multiple questions on various topics, from the difference between the Californian regulation of data and the European one to the recent data concerns linked to TikTok in the United States.