European regulation of Big Tech - objectives, challenges and global impact

The Covid pandemic has accelerated the use of technology and data, and increased dependency on major tech companies. These tech companies have significantly increased their role in the economy during the last few years and they find themselves in the regulatory spotlight in many regions of the world.

The European Union has recently agreed on landmark legislation to regulate tech companies that have control over important core services in today’s online world. It is likely that the EU approach will influence tech policy globally.

The Digital Markets Act establishes new rules for digital “gatekeepers”, large technology companies that control access to certain digital markets. It gives regulators powers that go beyond conventional competition law and allows the Commission to intervene quickly in a market environment that is subject to constant, rapid change.

The Digital Services Act is meant to improve content moderation on social media platforms and address concerns about issues like illegal content (including hate speech), misinformation and the freedom of speech.

Please join us to discuss the new legal framework for digital markets in the EU, the economic considerations of digital market regulation and how the EU approach compares to that in New Zealand and Australia.

About our Speakers:

• Menno Cox is the Head of Sector at the directorate for communications networks, content and technology of the European Commission in Brussels. He leads the team dealing with the global aspects of digital services and platforms regulation. His experience includes work in tech policy and competition law at DG COMP and the law firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in Amsterdam. He graduated Cum Laude with an LLM from Leiden University and the University of Copenhagen.
• Dr Peter Gibbard is a lecturer at the Department of Economics of the University of Otago. His research interests include industrial organisation, competition economics, the economics of digital platforms and behavioural economics. Prior to entering academia, dr Gibbard was a Principal Economist at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission where he worked on the Digital Platforms Inquiry. Before joining the ACCC he was an Economic Analyst at the Bank of England. He has a PhD in economics from the Australian National University, an M.Phil in economics from the University of Oxford and BA titles in law and economics from the University of Adelaide.

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Meeting ID: 895 1751 5383

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