Virtually all sectors, institutions and digital users are affected by the innovative commercial potential of big data. Over time vast amounts of object data will become available for marketing and academic research, as well as purposes such as government planning and oversight, and will no longer need to be laboriously collected. By analysing user behaviour, standardised products, services and even prices can be customised.

On April 8^th 2019, the European Commission published a strategy on further developments in the Artificial Intelligence sector. The Commission emphasises that ethical and legal issues will be the focus of further research and development in order to create a technology, which enjoys the trust of people.

We would like to draw your attention to the release of the first issue of Policy Brief, AK EUROPA‘s new format. The objective of our Policy Briefs will be to summarize new developments in the world of work in a short and concise manner, to present key findings and expose areas where political action is required, focusing especially on the EU level.

For years, precarious work has been on the increase in Europe. However, with its proposal for a Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions, the EU Commission too is pursuing the target to combat the phenomenon of precarious work. However, this would have to be accompanied by redefining the concept of ‘worker’ in EU law in order to be able to cover all working models.

There is no doubt that the digital transformation means change for workers, employers, consumers, in short: for the whole of society in Europe. Therefore it is necessary to act on a European level and to use suitable means to ensure that the digital trans

In a hearing this week (14th May 2018), the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs dealt with the subject of digitalisation and the consequences for labour markets and social security systems. The presentation included several current studies and thematically relevant works.

On 21.3.2018, the Commission presented a European model on the “Fair taxation of the EU’s digital economy”. Intended is a digital corporation tax for transnationally acting corporations, whose number has immensely grown in the past years. Currently, they are bearing less than half of the tax burden of “classic” companies. Hence, the digital tax shall be bound to the place of value-added and no longer to a company’s headquarters.

On Thursday 26th October, against the resistance of lobbies and major corporations, the European Parliament voted by majority to adopt a negotiating mandate, which, from the consumer’s point of view, shall significantly improve data protection.

On May 18th the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy as well as the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection – as the last ones of several committees of the European Parliament – delivered their opinion on the communication of the Commission on online-platforms. The final debate and vote on the proposal concerned and on one on the “collaborative economy” is planned in June 2017.