Latest blog articles

  • Could you estimate how much time of your day you spend on social media? The answer would most likely be something along the lines of ‘a lot’ or ‘I’m always connected, so I get notifications all the time anyways’ but an actual estimate, that’s a very tough guess to take. However, for most people, it...

  • One view on social media communication is that platforms should remove content deemed to be inappropriate or disturbing and suspend users who have repeatedly violated the Community Guidelines and should do so in a consistent and coherent manner. A contrasting view is that users can share what they...

  • The disturbances social media has been causing to its users’ mental health cannot be ignored. It is of extreme importance that the private and public spheres work together to protect consumers from the unfeasible search for perfection.

  • Over the few past years, there has been a professionalization of social media content creators. These creators now have the power to sway their followers, start trends, or serve as role models for their audiences. These individuals, that have such online persuasive power, are called “influencers”...

  • The ECtHR’s Satamedia judgment juxtaposes issues of data protection and freedom of expression relating to the (re-)publication of public tax data.

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    Absurd claim

    On 9 April 2011 a gunman killed 6 people in a shopping mall in the Dutch town of Alphen aan den Rijn. A group of victims now claims damages from the gunman’s parents, claiming that they should have prevented their son from this horrendous act. The claim will fail: on the facts of the case, there is...

  • In September 2015 for the second time this year, after a first mobilization of more resources in June 2015 already,[1] the European Commission announced additional financial assistance of €801.3 million from the 2015 EU budget to tackle the current refugee crisis in the European Union (EU).[2]

  • On Tuesday, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the Commission’s US Safe Harbour Decision invalid. The Court’s ruling in Case C-362/14   of the Austrian Internet activist Maximillian Schrems v the Irish Data Protection Commissioner is a milestone in the...

  • It took quite a while before the European countries realized and recognized that the influx from asylum-seekers via the Mediterranean Sea and Turkey into the European Union is not just a matter of controlling the outside borders of the Union, but also a humanitarian and human rights issue. Some...

  • I am sure you have heard that the Bulgarian government built a fence on the Bulgarian – Turkish border and that the ‘refugee crisis’ put the national asylum system to the test. What about the Bulgarian integration policies? Did you know that currently refugees in Bulgaria face ‘zero’ integration...