Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 ., Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
2 Ph.D. Student in Public Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
By the late twentieth century, the rise of digital power prompted states to adopt specific legal approaches toward digital actors, especially platforms. Examining the dominant models in the European Union and the United States helps clarify how legal systems responded to these new powerholders. Initially, both treated data in digital circulation as a production factor, with increased data flow seen as a path to higher profits. In this phase, platforms were granted legal immunity regarding the content they hosted or transmitted. However, from the early 2000s onward, the two systems diverged. The EU, noting the growing concentration of power among platforms and increasing violations of users’ privacy, began shifting from economic liberalism to a regulatory approach. In contrast, the U.S. continued to emphasize free-market principles and maintained its initial hands-off stance. This paper investigates the underlying rationale for these differing legal responses to digitalization. The main finding is that the EU, prioritizing user rights—particularly the right to privacy—has embraced digital regulation. The U.S., by contrast, invokes the right to freedom of expression to justify extending capitalist policies into the digital realm.
Keywords
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