This Master's thesis presents an economic analysis of law in the field of digitalisation, with a focus on the analysis of EU legal acts. Digitalisation means improving processes through the use of digital technologies and digitised data. In order to protect its citizens, the EU has started to regulate the problems and uncertainties that arise with the digital transformation of society.
In this thesis, I discuss proposed European legislation in the areas of competition law, intellectual property law, cybersecurity and the regulation of artificial intelligence. In these areas, digitalisation poses new challenges to existing legislation. The EU's regulatory approach is primarily concerned with protecting the rights of individuals. The EU advocates a competitive economy despite strict regulation of digital technologies, and the protection of individuals' rights is intended to increase social welfare.
Throughout this thesis, I use benefit-cost analysis to identify the effectiveness of specific proposed or existing legal acts in specific areas. I find that most of the proposed acts are ineffective, as they impose more costs than benefits on society. The EU is becoming less attractive to foreign investors due to strict regulation, the lack of investment is likely to reduce innovation and consequently exports, all of which have a negative impact on the GDP of EU and on competitiveness in the global market. Endangered are small and medium-sized enterprises in particular, which represent the majority of the EU's economic market. The costs of implementing the new provisions in their business will be significant. The implementation costs and the costs of possible sanctions for non-compliance with the legal provisions will result in higher product prices. The strict regulation will lead some companies to withdraw their products from the European market, which means a reduction in consumer choice. This leads to a reduction in social welfare. It is questionable whether the EU's commitment to high protection of individual rights in the digital transformation of society ultimately puts the individual in a better position.
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