{"id":1797,"date":"2024-05-15T10:59:57","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T10:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dipicidea-unipd.it\/?page_id=1797"},"modified":"2026-01-26T13:16:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T13:16:32","slug":"protecting-individuals-in-the-private-regulation-of-digital-technologies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dipicidea-unipd.it\/en\/protecting-individuals-in-the-private-regulation-of-digital-technologies\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting Individuals in the Private Regulation of Digital Technologies"},"content":{"rendered":"

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From a Legitimacy Perspective to a Human Rights Approach to Technical Standardisation<\/strong>
\n(PRoTecTS)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0 project addresses the legal challenges posed by the regulation of digital technologies carried out by private actors in the European Union (EU). From artificial intelligence to cyber resilience, the EU has put forward an ambitious package of legislative acts which will heavily rely on detailed specifications adopted in particular by private standardisation organisations for their implementation. The involvement of standardisation organisations in EU digital regulation, however, raises unprecedented questions pertaining to the legal effects of their activities on the fundamental rights of individuals, such as human dignity, right to privacy, protection of personal data, and freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

Departing from the traditional doctrinal approach which focused on the legitimacy of standardisation organisations, the project will analyse and assess this form of private regulation from the perspective of the rights of individuals. It aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the role of standardisation organisations, and of the implications for fundamental rights of their activities, in connection to the EU digital strategy for 2019-2024. Its ultimate objective is to develop clear guidelines and concrete recommendations for a legal framework where fundamental rights of individuals are duly taken into account in the activities of standardisation organisations connected to the EU regulation of digital technologies.<\/p>\n

Duration: 30 months, starting October 2024<\/p>\n

Funding: The project is funded by the EU initiative NextGenerationEU<\/em> and by the program STARS Starting Grant (STARS-StG) 2023 of the University of Padua. (https:\/\/www.unipd.it\/en\/stars2023<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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People<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Annalisa Volpato<\/strong>
\nAnnalisa Volpato is assistant professor in EU law at the University of Padua. She is Principal Investigator of the project.<\/p>\n

Profile: https:\/\/www.unipd.it\/en\/contatti\/rubrica\/?detail=Y&ruolo=1&checkout=cerca&persona=VOLPATO&key=6AE8DE27F0FA39569F2E8280BA04891F<\/a><\/p>\n

Publications: https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9575-2381<\/a><\/p>\n

Francesca Fumagalli<\/strong>
\nFrancesca Fumagalli is a PhD candidate at University of Padua.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Associate members<\/em><\/p>\n

Alexandru Soroiu<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alexandru Soroiu is a PhD candidate at Maastricht University.<\/p>\n

Profile: https:\/\/www.maastrichtuniversity.nl\/soroiu<\/a><\/p>\n

Mariolina Eliantonio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mariolina Eliantonio is Professor of European and Comparative Administrative Law and Procedure at Maastricht University.<\/p>\n

Profile: https:\/\/www.maastrichtuniversity.nl\/m-eliantonio<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/div>\n

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Publications<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Recent publications of the team members related to the research topic:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Annalisa Volpato, \u201cThe Legal Effects of Harmonised Standards in EU Law: From Hard to Soft Law, and Back?\u201d, in Petra Lea L\u00e1ncos, Napoleon Xanthoulis and Luis Arroyo Jim\u00e9nez (eds.),\u00a0The Legal Effects of EU Soft Law<\/em>\u00a0(Edward Elgar, 2023), 193-212.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Annalisa Volpato and Mariolina Eliantonio, \u201cThe participation of civil society in ETSI from the perspective of throughput legitimacy\u201d,\u00a0Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research<\/em>\u00a0(2024), 1-17. DOI: 10.1080\/13511610.2024.2321852.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Alexandru Soroiu, \u201cThe Fall of The Great Paywall for EU Harmonised Standards: The CJEU Dismantles EU Standardisation in C-588\/21 P (Public.Resource.Org)\u201d,\u00a0VerfBlog<\/em>, 2024\/3\/19, https:\/\/verfassungsblog.de\/eu-harmonised-standards\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2013 Annalisa Volpato, \"Il ruolo delle norme armonizzate nell\u2019attuazione del regolamento sull\u2019intelligenza artificiale\", Quaderni AISDUE<\/i>\u00a0(2024), 1-18.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Annalisa Volpato, \u201cThe publicity of EU law and the privatization of EU digital regulation\u201d, Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law (2024), 31-3.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/div>\n

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Events
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Harmonised Standards in EU Digital Regulation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Padova, 14-15 November 2024<\/p>\n

\u2018Technical standards will lead the path for the digital transition of the EU economy. The implementation of the digital strategy of the European Union heavily relies on the regulatory work of private entities, i.e. international and European standardisation organisations. From the Cyber Resilience Act and the Data Act to the Chips Act and the AI Act, the EU institutions refer to or endorse technical standards elaborated by private standardisation bodies for regulating the most technical aspects of digital technologies. These standards will thus become an integral part of the legal framework which companies will need to abide by if they want to operate in the European market. However, the involvement of technical standardisation in the regulation of digital technologies raises a number of legal questions pertaining to their role, their effects, and to the control that public institutions can exercise on their activities, as well as ethical and geo-political issues.<\/p>\n

The conference aimed at discussing the role and implications of the use of technical standardisation in relation to EU legislation on digital technologies in light of the recent political, legal and jurisprudential developments on the interplay between the law and private technical standards\u2019.<\/p>\n