The Effacement of Information Technology from EU Law: The Need for Collaborative Approaches to Redesign the EU’s Regulatory Architecture

EU information technology law is built like a multi-storey house: on the ground floor is technology development and on the top floor are regulatory principles and rights; in the middle floor lie standards, which should connect the top with the ground floor. The house is built on the premise that these floors are seamlessly connected, but are they? The multi-storey house was in fact built without staircases, causing a practical disconnect between regulatory principles and technology development. This keynote speech, which draws from the 2023 book ‘Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection in EU law’, will explore why information technology is effaced from EU law in practice, and the implications for cybersecurity, data protection, data markets, identity management, privacy and many other fields. This keynote speech will explore what collaborative approaches may be needed to redesign the EU regulatory architecture.