Renate Nikolay is a key voice in the development of European digital regulation. With a deep experience in data protection, hate speech and disinformation. In a conversation with Professor Wolfgang Schulz she will talk about the challenges of finding consensus in a diverse Europe, about the potential of Europe as a global regulator of the digital field. Together they will enquire whether Europe's regulatory approach is anchored sufficiently in scientific insights into platform regulation and whether the "Brussels effect" of digital rules underlines the importance of European digital law.
Renate Nikolay is Head of Cabinet of Vĕra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency working on matters such as rule of law or disinformation. She was Director in charge of Asia and Latin America in DG Trade and, from 2014 to 2019, she was Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, where she played a key role in the adoption of the data protection reform and the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor and the Code of Conduct with platforms on online hate speech. Between 2011 and 2014 she led the Unit of interinstitutional and international relations in DG Justice dealing with legislative files and international negotiations such as the ones on data protection with the US. She holds a law degree from the Free University in Berlin.
A key challenge to good platform governance is the existence of knowledge asymmetries between governance actors. Platforms, scientists, civil society, regulators all know different things and have different perspectives on key elements like socio-technical platform architectures, incentive structures, norm production systems, algorithmic tools, and user behaviour. In light of the growing body of research on how platforms develop rules, and how public values should be integrated into private orders, three Kantian questions remain for platform governance research and practice:
The Conversation Series is organized by the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI) and the Global Network for Internet and Society Research Centres (NoC), uniting more than 100 research centers of excellence on internet and society. HBI has recently established a Private Ordering Observatory, a Digital Disinformation Hub, and a Social Media Observatory. HIIG has recently established the Platform Governance Archive.
Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI)
Rothenbaumchaussee 36
20148 Hamburg
Tel. +49 (0)40 45 02 17 36
Fax +49 (0)40 45 02 17 77
