Unfortunately, the EU might be falling for the delusion that rolling back tech regulation will result in AI suddenly sprouting from its soil. It’s magical thinking that taking a few whacks at the GDPR and AI Act will somehow conjure up AI. I see it as more akin to pulling out your teeth with pliers in the hope the tooth fairy will slip AI under your pillow. From a recent NYT article:
In a significant shift, policymakers in Brussels are moving to scale back and simplify landmark rules for artificial intelligence and data privacy. Driven by growing concern that overregulation is stifling economic growth, officials and business leaders across the 27-nation bloc are questioning whether Europe’s digital rulebook has gone too far and left companies lagging the United States and China. The Trump administration has also criticized Europe’s regulations.
Quick rule of thumb: If the Trump Administration wants it, then glance over to the rubble of the White House and the smoking ashes of the U.S. government and maybe think a little bit more before embracing it.
Not only will privacy and AI deregulation fail to produce the kind of innovation policymakers are hoping for, but it will actually diminish innovation — the good kind, where companies innovate to create privacy-protective, safe, and responsible technologies.
My book from this year ON PRIVACY AND TECHNOLOGY explains why tech deregulation is the wrong direction:
If you’re interested in more, I hope you read the book. I not only make the case for why tech regulation is essential but I also discuss how current regulation must be improved to be more effective.
On Wednesday, Nov. 19, I am discussing tech deregulation in the EU with Professor Anu Bradford, who coined the term “The Brussels Effect.” You can register here to watch it live (or see the recording later).
Her book DIGITAL EMPIRES: THE GLOBAL BATTLE TO REGULATE TECHNOLOGY is a must-read to understand the global politics of tech regulation and the essential role the EU plays.
In a great article, The False Choice Between Digital Regulation and Innovation, Bradford sets forth an insightful diagnosis of why the EU lacks many of the world’s largest tech companies. It’s not because of the GDPR or AI Act or strict regulation. It’s because of other factors such as difficulties obtaining funding and punitive bankruptcy laws.
I believe that there are some other factors for what produces innovation. These include:
- Bringing in top talent from around the world
- A robust and well-subsidized system of higher education
- A free and democratic society that provides opportunities for advancement
- A society that values creativity and ingenuity
- An academic community that freely shares ideas and scholarship
Unfortunately, in the U.S., many of these things are under threat. I fear that unless we course correct, the next generation will not see much innovation at all. Part of the reason we’re on the wrong track in the U.S. is because some powerful titans of tech have become hostile to the values above. They and the current government policies are going to snuff out innovation here.
Hopefully, the EU and rest of the world learns the lesson that regulation is not the culprit. Not only will the EU attack their regulatory leadership, one of their great contributions to tech, but they’ll be led astray in addressing the actual impediments to innovation. We’ll be left with weak regulation and no innovation, the tech equivalent to stagflation.
As I wrote in ON PRIVACY AND TECHNOLOGY:
Why can’t companies innovate to find ways to follow the law? Because innovating in order to comply with regulation is less intoxicating than innovating for profit, glory, or power. For companies, this is a matter not of can’t do but rather of don’t want to do. Calls to free technology from the shackles of law in order to facilitate innovation are really demands to defer to powerful companies that want to do whatever they please.
I created a few cartoons to capture my sentiments about these issues.
Tech Companies, Innovation, and Regulation
Cartoon: Regulators vs. Venture Capitalists on AI
For further thoughts on these issues, check out my book ON PRIVACY AND TECHNOLOGY.
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Professor Daniel J. Solove is a law professor at George Washington University Law School. Through his company, TeachPrivacy, he has created the largest library of computer-based privacy and data security training, with more than 180 courses.
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