The world is changing rapidly. Commercial surveillance, automated decision making, black box algorithms, as well as personalised persuasion and targeted offers are now omnipresent. Consumers are put in a position of ‘digital asymmetry’ – a state of power imbalance which requires a fundamental rethinking of existing legal protections and the very notions of fairness in the digitalised world.

Join us on 27 September 2022 in Brussels to discuss how we can rethink consumer protection in the digital age. We will look in-depth at the regulatory changes needed to tackle digital asymmetries in many areas of consumer and digital regulation (consumer law acquis, AI Act, Data Act etc) and its enforcement structures.

Keynote speakers are:

• Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission
• Shoshana Zuboff, Author, of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Harvard Business School Professor Emerita
• Samuel Levine, Director, Federal Trade Commission (U.S.)

The event will be moderated by EU policy and tech journalist, Jennifer Baker.

Programme

9:30    Opening address from BEUC President Arnold Koopmans
9:35    Introduction: consumer protection in the digital world - the asymmetries of power
            • Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz (European University Institute)
            • Florencia Marotta-Wurgler (New York University)

10:00    Keynote: Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, European Commission
10:15    Framing panel: Digital asymmetry as the new normal
             Speakers:
             • Blanca Rodriguez-Galindo (Head of Unit, DG JUST, European Commission)
             • René Repasi MEP  
             • Léon Mölenberg (Ecommerce Europe)
             • Florencia Marotta-Wurgler (New York University)
             • Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz (European University Institute)
11:05    Q&A session

11:25    Panel 2: Consumer protection in the age of AI
             Speakers:
             • Kilian Gross (Head of Unit, DG CNECT, European Commission)
             • Sergey Lagodinsky MEP (Shadow rapporteur on the AI Act)
             • Marc Rotenberg (President, Centre on AI and Digital Policy, U.S.)
             • William Vidonja (Head of Conduct of business, Insurance Europe)
             • Lina Ehrig (vzbv, Germany)
12:15    Q&A session

12:35    Lunch break and networking

14:00    Keynote: Sam Levine, Federal Trade Commission

14:15    Panel 3: Empowered by data: consumers in control?
             Speakers:
             • Antonio Biason (DG CNECT, European Commission)
             • Miapetra Kumpula-Natri MEP (Shadow rapporteur on the Data Act)
             • Paul Keller (Openfuture)
             • Wolfgang Kerber (Marburg University)
             • Daniela Zimmer (Arbeiterkammer, Austria)
15:05    Q&A session

15:25    Coffee break

15:45    Keynote: Shoshana Zuboff, Author, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism and Professor Emeritus, Harvard Business School (online)

16:00    Panel 4: Enforcement in the digital age
              Speakers:
             • Alberto Bacchiega (Director, DG COMP, European Commission)
             • Dries Cuijpers (Autoriteit Consument & Markt, NL)
             • Ventsislav Karadjov (Deputy Chair, European Data Protection Board)
             • Alexandre de Streel (Namur University, CERRE)
             • Ursula Pachl (Deputy Director General, BEUC)
16:50    Q&A session

17:10    Closing  – Monique Goyens, BEUC Director General

The detailed conference programme can be viewed here.

Background readings on digital asymmetry:

• BEUC report: Structural asymmetries in digital consumer markets, 2021
• BEUC position paper: EU Consumer Protection 2.0 - Protecting fairness and consumer choice in a digital economy, 2022