The internet has been described as a kind of wild west, where the law can’t reach. If that’s true, when will the sheriff ride into town before pushing through the doors of the saloon, stopping the pianist mid-song and the card sharps mid-deal?
If you ask European Commissioner Thierry Breton, it’s already happened. 'It's time to put some order in the digital “Wild West”,’ tweeted Breton two years ago. ‘A new sheriff is in town — and it goes by the name #DSA.’ The tweet was accompanied by a video of a wild west gunfight, in which Clint Eastwood is identified as the ‘EU Internal Market’ up against ‘illegal content’, ‘hate speech’ and ‘lobbying efforts’. No prizes for guessing who wins the shootout.
The #DSA is the Digital Services Act, one of the sweeping laws transforming the way Europe oversees the internet. Europe, in fact, is a world-leader when it comes to digital regulation, setting precedents copied in other jurisdictions in a phenomenon known as 'The Brussels Effect'. It started with the General Data Protection in 2018, which six years later is still resetting global oversight of privacy. Then came the Digital Services Act in 2022, followed by the Digital Markets Act in 2023. And two weeks ago, the Artificial Intelligence Act was approved by European Parliament with a resounding 523-46 vote.
In today’s newsletter, we reflect on the ways our digital frontiers are shifting, and how they're being policed. After Monica explores the vexed issue of social media and impartiality at the ABC, Ayesha addresses the question: what exactly do we want our digital sphere(s) to look like? Tim then ponders the merits of digital spheres without news, before I look at some recent legal developments.
In stark contrast to all this conflict, may your Easter weekend be joyous and peaceful.
Sacha Molitorisz, Senior Lecturer - UTS Law