Inverting the Brussels Effect: What the EU Can Learn from Latin America in Digital Governance
This policy brief offers insights into what the EU can learn from its counterparts in LAC. Authored by the HEMISPHERES project members – a three year collaboration funded under the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet 2024 Networks Program, which aims to foster cooperation between European and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) academic and research centers, policymakers, private sector and civil society.
For years, the European Union (EU) has been seen as a global leader in digital regulation, championing its “Brussels Effect,” where its laws become de facto global standards due to the size of its market. However, a growing sense of unease is setting in. The recent 'Draghi Report' as well as 'A Competitiveness Compass for the EU', among other policy statements, have highlighted concerns about overregulation, economic stagnation, and a potential loss of competitiveness, suggesting that the EU’s current governance model may be in need of a reevaluation. It’s time to “reinvent governance,” embracing a model of regulatory learning that is flexible, adaptable, and open to insights from other regions.
Key takeaways include:
- While the EU advances toward comprehensive, top-down regulation in digital governance, LAC countries have drawn on distinct institutional capacities, economic priorities, and legal traditions to develop pragmatic and context-sensitive approaches.
- A joint forum for mutual learning could discuss distinct strategies, and help to forge a shared understanding of how an evolving framework of fundamental rights and data protection can serve as a foundation for data-driven innovation for the public good.
- Instead of isolated experimentation, the EU and LAC can work towards a “sandbox federation” with shared metrics and a common case library.
- A collaborative approach to youth digital safety, promoting children’s rights, agency, and well-being is needed, moving beyond restrictive measures like bans.
Read and download the full policy brief here:
Authored by: Carolina Aguerre (Universidad Católica del Uruguay, UCU), Aya Ahmed (Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, UIC), João Victor Archegas (Instituto de Tecnologia e Sociedade do Rio, ITS Rio), Wanderley Augusto Arias-Ortiz (Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Utadeo), Beatriz Botero Arcila (Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, Sciences Po), Celina Bottino (ITS Rio), Lionel Brossi (Universidad de Chile, UCH), Favio Ernesto Cala Vitery (Utadeo), Ana María Castillo (UIC), Sandra Cortesi (TUM), Christian Fieseler (BI Norwegian Business School), Isadora García Avis (UIC), Urs Gasser (TUM, Lead Author), Pablo Gómez Ayerbe (TUM), Armando Guio Español (Network of Centers, NoC), Joan Hernández-Serret (UIC), Camila Hidalgo (TUM), Ronaldo Lemos (ITS Rio), María Pilar Llorens (UIC), Felipe César Londoño (Utadeo), Christoph Lutz (BI), Fabienne Marco (TUM), María Isabel Mejía (Universidad del Norte, Uninorte), Andras Molnar (TUM), Víctor Muñoz (Utadeo), Núria Roca Trenchs (UIC), Sofie Schönborn (TUM), Pedro Sigaud-Sellos (UIC), Markus Siewert (TUM Think Tank), Fabro Steibel (ITS Rio), Carlos Affonso Souza (ITS Rio), Jacob van de Kerkhof (Utrecht University, UU).
About the HEMISPHERES Project
An Action-Oriented Consortium
Supported by the European Commission, this three-year project brings together a vibrant group of higher education institutions, civil society, policymakers, and industry to tackle opportunities and challenges in the digital landscape.
HEMISPHERES fosters cooperation, knowledge exchange, and learning across six key thematic areas, including AI, Emerging Technologies and Metaverses, Internet, Platforms, Equity & Safety, Privacy & Security, as well as Youth and Media. Through the Clinic and Working Groups, annual Forums, and a Digital Policy Repository, we aim to generate spaces for dialogue, actionable insights and innovative policy approaches for a safer, inclusive, and democratic digital future.
Find all insights and current updates from the project here.