CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2024
| Author | Rurua, Ilia |
|---|---|
| Title | EU's Digital Policy from a Constructivist Lens |
| Summary | The purpose of the research is to explain the EU’s persistence in maintaining a strict digital regulatory policy in the face of multinational platform companies' well-resourced opposition. Platforms such as Amazon, Google, and Meta base their business models on heavy data collection, ultra-targeted advertising, and market dominance. The European Union has opposed these practices by passing three groundbreaking legislations: GDPR, DSA, and DMA. Unsurprisingly, technology platforms have vigorously attempted to reverse or reshape each of the laws during their legislative procedures but failed as the three were passed without significant changes the corporate side would desire. The thesis uses a constructivist theoretical approach and brings legal scholarship into International Political Economy. It argues that it is the European Union’s identity as a strict regulatory preferential entity, constructed on domestic and international levels, that has endured platforms’ influences. Domestically, the EU institutions are prompted to regulate as they see it as a means of deepening integration. Moreover, Europe’s economic capacity, public attitude, and political climate represent further unit-level elements that lead to strict regulatory preference. On the International level, the EU is embracing what Anu Brandford calls the Brussels Effect, denoting the Union’s ability to spread its regulations internationally. Official communications of the European Commission show that this global role further incentivizes regulation in Europe. Keywords: EU’s digital policy, platforms, identity, Brussel’s Effect |
| Supervisor | Csaba, László |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2024/rurua_ilia.pdf |
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