Big Tech: a major issue today
In the media image: Carlas Rabada on Unsplash
Digitisation is undermining the democratic rule of law and shifting power from parliaments to Silicon Valley, warns Reijer Passchier, Professor of Digitalisation and the Democratic Constitutional State (OU) and lecturer in constitutional law in Leiden, in podcast ‘de Publieke Ruimte’.
According to Passchier, Big Tech poses an existential threat to the democratic rule of law and citizens. 'The stock market value of seven tech companies is greater than the total annual production of the European Union.' He says that this unprecedented concentration of power touches on fundamental principles of the rule of law, such as privacy, competition and human rights. 'The question is whether those fundamental principles, which make human rights possible, among other things, will survive the rise of Big Tech.' Although citizens benefit from digital services, at the same time they are becoming more dependent and vulnerable. Disinformation, economic inequality and loss of autonomy undermine the ability to organise countervailing power. 'Important decisions are no longer made in democratic decision-making chambers, but have shifted to Silicon Valley.'
Passchier sees parallels with the feudal system before the French Revolution. Officially, everyone is equal before the law, but in practice, possession increasingly determines power. Modern property law forms the basis of the exercise of power by corporations and wealthy individuals. 'Having a lot of property means having a lot of power, and that’s dangerous.' Attempts to regulate Big Tech through legislation such as the GDPR and the Digital Services Act are falling short, he says. ‘These companies have endless resources to litigate and evade regulations.’ He is particularly worried about the mass cloud migration of data from government authorities. 'If you become dependent, you can no longer influence the rules.'
Still, Passchier remains hopeful. Not optimistic, but determined: 'Without the Enlightenment, there would have been no revolution.' For him, it all comes down to raising awareness, European cooperation and reaffirming democratic principles. 'National sovereignty without the EU is utterly obsolete. United, we still have a fighting chance.'
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Listen to the podcast De Publieke Ruimte (in Dutch)