- Pérez-Llorca and the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid have organised the first session of their European Chair for Digital Regulation
- The Centre relies on the collaboration with Vinces, whose innovative vision of the relationship between the public and private sectors in tackling regulation will bring added value to the project
Pérez-Llorca and the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, in collaboration with Vinces, a strategic consultancy firm specialising in public affairs, presented the European Centre for Digital Regulation, a pioneering initiative aimed at generating technical and legal knowledge and promoting collaboration between the private sector, academia and public authorities in order to address the regulatory challenges of the digital sector and the creation of effective and sustainable regulation.
The European Centre for Digital Regulation is part of the European Chair for Digital Regulation, which has been created and is co-directed by Pérez-Llorca and the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. The aim of this space to collaborate with universities and academia is to foster a continuous dialogue on the future of digital regulation, and to promote interaction with legislators and regulators in the face of technological challenges.
Constanza Vergara, partner and COO of Pérez-Llorca, and David Ramos, Professor of Commercial Law at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, opened the session, which included a speech by Mayte Ledo Turiel, Spanish Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, and a panel discussion featuring Miguel Escassi, Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google Spain and Portugal; Juan Montero, Chief Public Policy, Competition & Regulatory Officer of Telefónica; Raúl Rubio, Intellectual Property and Technology partner at Pérez-Llorca; and Sara Rodríguez, Head of Public Policy & Campaign of Airbnb Spain and Portugal. Alfonso González de León, Partner and Director of Vinces’ Digital Department, moderated the session.
Constanza Vergara and David Ramos opened the event by explaining the objectives behind the establishment of the European Centre for Digital Regulation, which aims to develop objective data and metrics to increase the effectiveness of digital regulation, seeking to help reduce legal uncertainty and promote the quality of regulation. They also wanted to highlight its important role in establishing constitutional principles in digital regulation and boosting the role of corporate civil society. Productive debate requires asking ambitious and complex questions.
Mayte Ledo Turiel, the Spanish Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, began her speech by underlining the significance of these types of initiatives that work to address the emerging regulatory challenges of digital regulation. “Stimulating debate on the limits of technology is essential. In this Centre, I am sure that collaboration will be fostered not only between technologists and policymakers, but also between philosophers, sociologists and civil society. This multidisciplinary interaction is crucial to ensure that technology regulation is not only robust and effective, but also ethically sound and socially responsible,” stressed Ledo Turiel.
The session featured a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities we face today in the digital age and the impact of regulation. The seminar was moderated by Alfonso González de León, Partner and Director of Vinces’ Digital Department, who highlighted the Centre’s key role: “Companies must actively take part in regulatory proposals on technological advances, explaining their operating costs and competitiveness, involving citizens in the debates and considering European values. In this Centre we are launching today, we want to address these issues to improve digital regulation for the benefit of society.”
Raúl Rubio, partner in Pérez-Llorca’s Industrial, Intellectual Property and Technology practice, reflected on the socio-economic impact of strong regulatory pressure and explained the need to achieve legal certainty with a strategic and long-term regulatory burden. “Regulation has the potential to become a compass that guides us towards sustainable innovation and business development. We cannot anticipate all possible adverse scenarios from a legal point of view, but it is possible to put more trust in business and empower citizens with information and transparency.”
Likewise, Sara Rodríguez, Head of Public Policy & Campaign at Airbnb Spain and Portugal, analysed regulatory fragmentation and advocated prioritising knowledge production over hyper-regulation. “Over the past two years, Airbnb has been leading discussions and calling for an EU-wide regulatory approach to achieve harmonised rules to help bring consistency across the EU. Airbnb’s priority now is to expand its collaboration with governments to support them in finding balanced solutions to local issues,” Rodriguez explained.
Miguel Escassi, Google’s director of public and institutional affairs in Spain, emphasised the need to promote initiatives such as the creation of this Centre in order to reach a consensus between all agents of the digital sector in Europe. “The adoption of GenAI technologies has shown extraordinary potential with rapid impact across sectors. In recent months, however, we have moved from a position of excitement to an environment of uncertainty. We must analyse, regulate and minimise the risks of AI, but we must put the focus on the huge opportunities that AI can open up for Europe, to strengthen its competitiveness in the world, to sustain the European model of life; we must move from regulation to action,” concluded Escassi.
Juan Montero, Chief Public Policy, Competition & Regulatory Officer of Telefónica, noted that the Centre’s activity comes at an ideal time to address the critical geopolitical situation. “Today, lastly, we are all aware that Europe is rapidly and alarmingly sliding towards losing its digital relevance on the global stage, which poses a serious risk to the competitiveness, security and strategic autonomy of the European Union. It is the responsibility of European policymakers and industries, in collaboration with the most rigorous academic initiatives, to reverse this trend,” stated Montero.
The Centre collaborates with universities and academia through the European Chair for Digital Regulation co-directed by Pérez-Llorca and the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. The project is in addition to the firm’s well-established Chairs on Commercial Law and Competition Law, organised with IE Law School and ICADE, respectively.
