
Latest blog articles
-
-
Digital constitutionalism reversed? - instrumentalising Big Tech for democratic change
The horrendous military activities of Russia in Ukraine have caused a severe backlash from tech giants. YouTube clamped down on Kremlin-backed channels for spreading war propaganda. Meta allowed its users to wish death to Russian armed forces. On top of that, Twitter is constantly policing tweets by...
-
Manannikov v. Russia: the final nail in the coffin of political dissent?
24 February marked a turning point in modern history: Russia barbarously attacked Ukraine. Apart from other drastic implications, including the expulsion of Russia from the Council of Europe, the war set off a new wave of political repression within a country.
-
Attendance matters!
As course coordinator and tutor for the only mandatory law course in the Bachelor in European Studies, I typically start the course with a clear message to students: Law as a discipline has its own language and logic and you can only get the hang of it by doing it. This means attending and...
-
Boards of appeal of EU agencies at a crossroads
The Boards of Appeal established for the decision-making agencies perform a function that lies between exercising administrative review, at the one end, and offering judicial review, at the other. It is still unclear in which direction they will ultimately move, and more research in this fast...
-
Resisting membership fatalism
While we fully agree with the main thrust of the editorial ‘The Exit Door’ on Verfassungsblog last Friday, we would like to warn against its seemingly fatalistic mindset. Yes, a Polexit from the EU is not on the table until the Polish government itself pushes the Article 50 TEU button, but the other...
-
A hollow threat
On 10 June, the European Parliament passed a resolution on the application of the Conditionality Regulation. In it, it recalls its resolution of 25 March earlier this year where it requested the Commission to adopt the guidelines for the application of the regulation by the first of June.
-
Seeing through the eye of god - Telegram bots and data protection in Russia
Telegram is a powerful tool for end-to-end encrypted communication and one of the most popular messenger apps in Russia. However, one aspect often evades public attention: Telegram is swamped with bots which gather and disseminate personal data.
-
The Digital Services Act and freedom of expression: triumph or failure?
The Digital Services Act (‘DSA’) is part of the long-awaited package aimed at providing a transparency and accountability framework for online platforms and laying down additional duties for large providers with gatekeeping powers. There is surely a lot to unpack in this hefty proposal. This piece...
-
To CETA or not to CETA: Reflections on ISDS and the special responsibility of national parliaments
In a reaction to an EJIL: Talk! post by Baetens et al., Arcuri et al. claim that the Dutch parliament has the right to reject CETA and also argue in favour of it doing so. The post by Arcuri et al. raises important points that merit further discussion, among legal academics and practitioners...