EU policy – information labs

June 22, 2026

Brussels Revisits Copyright – Part 3: Why an Optional Research Exception Is No Exception at All

This is the third and final installment in a series analysing the European Commission's current call for evidence on EU copyright rules. Part 1 examined live content piracy and the fundamental rights implications of enforcement without safeguards. Part 2 examined the push for mandatory AI training licences and why the mechanism would harm the creators it claims to protect. This post focuses on the research exception: a provision that has been optional for twenty-five...

artificial intelligence, Blog Post, copyright

June 17, 2026

Brussels Revisits Copyright – Part 2: Why Mandatory AI Licensing Is Not a Silver Bullet And Could Ricochet

This is the second installment in a three-part series analysing the European Commission's current call for evidence on EU copyright rules. Part 1 examined live content piracy and the fundamental rights implications of enforcement without safeguards. This post focuses on text and data mining (TDM) and the push for mandatory AI training licences; the third piece will explore the research exception. The European Commission's call for evidence to support its review of the Directive on...

artificial intelligence, Blog Post, copyright

June 15, 2026

Brussels Revisits Copyright – Part 1: Why the Rush to Block Live Sports Piracy Threatens Fundamental Rights

This is the first installment in a three-part series analyzing the European Commission’s current call for evidence on EU copyright rules. This post focuses on live content piracy; subsequent pieces will explore text and data mining (TDM) and the research exception. The European Commission has launched a call for evidence, which closes on 25 June, to support two parallel workstreams: the review of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DCDSM); and, the preparatory work...

artificial intelligence, Blog Post, copyright

February 4, 2026

European Policymakers and AI: Je T’aime… EUx Non Plus

Brussels has a peculiar brand of rhythm, one that sounds suspiciously like Serge Gainsbourg’s Je t’aime… moi non plus. On one hand, the European Union beats the drum of “digital sovereignty,” professing its love for a homegrown AI ecosystem meant to rival Silicon Valley and Beijing. On the other hand, the European Parliament appears determined to build a regulatory cage so small the bird can’t even hatch, let alone fly. On January 28, 2026, the...

Blog Post, internet policy, technology

December 16, 2025

Brussels Effect 2.0: From Whistle to Workshop

For over a decade, the Brussels Effect has offered Europe a comforting narrative: that through the gravitational pull of its market, the EU shapes global practices in privacy, competition, and now artificial intelligence. Columbia professor Anu Bradford, who coined the term, argues that companies often “voluntarily extend EU rules to operations outside the EU” because complying separately would be too costly or inefficient. As Anu Bradford herself has recently emphasised, the Brussels Effect was never...

Blog Post, European policy, technology

July 16, 2025

The Missing Money Trail: Why Article 15’s Story Hides a Democratic Failure

When European policymakers championed Article 15 of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DCDSM), they painted a compelling picture. Here was legislation that would finally make tech giants pay their fair share to news publishers, channeling millions into quality journalism and saving democratic media from the digital advertising apocalypse. The promise was simple: Google and Facebook would pay, publishers would prosper, and journalism would flourish. Five years later, we have a “success...

artificial intelligence, Blog Post, digital rights, European policy

June 25, 2025

Don’t Blindly Blame the Bots: How AI Is Helping Journalism

Let’s face it: artificial intelligence (AI) has become the punching bag of choice in parts of the Brussels bubble, particularly in press-related discussions. From public hearings to position papers, AI is regularly paraded around as the looming villain behind layoffs, eroded editorial integrity, and the presumed death of quality journalism. But step away from the microphone theatrics and peek inside actual newsrooms, and a very different story unfolds, a story far richer, more nuanced,...

artificial intelligence, Blog Post, European policy, Uncategorized