Keynote: Who Stands to Gain from EU Digital Regulation?

Photo of Dr. Felix Bieker at the lectern during his keynote address

26.08.2026 — On August 12, Dr. Felix Bieker from the Intellectual Property Rights Department delivered one of the keynote addresses at this year’s IFIP Summer School on Privacy and Identity Management in Leuven, Belgium. The Summer School takes place annually at various locations and is aimed in particular at early-career researchers from all disciplines. In his keynote address, Dr. Bieker examined how EU digital regulation distributes power among different actors while simultaneously reinforcing existing power structures. Against the backdrop of the current reform debate—led by the European Commission through the “Digital Omnibus”—there is concern that power dynamics will continue to shift in favor of large corporations. The existing narratives put forward by the Commission and tech corporations must be critically examined. Furthermore, it is possible—for example, within the research community—to resist these trends and develop better practices.

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