REWI Uni Graz: Please describe yourself in three #!
Elaine Fahey: Irish! European! American!
REWI Uni Graz: What was your motivation to apply for a fellowship in Graz?
Elaine Fahey; I was very excited to see a fellowship with a Law School with which my university had a partnership. I have just published my monograph on the EU as a Global Digital Actor (with Hart in 2022) and wanted to work further on a digitisation project. I am quite struck by the place of privacy in Austrian law and Austrian scholars in generating pivotal global debates on digital governance often. I very much enjoyed engaging with certain Austrian scholars and find Graz an incredibly beautiful setting with a very nice academic community. I was interested to see the faculty prioritisation of Law and Innovation in a fellowship.
REWI Uni Graz: Please tell us about your research project!
Elaine Fahey: My project looks at the use, misuse and abuse of EU law by digitial platforms. Europe as a global first mover in data regulation is a phenomenal step in global governance study movement of consumers between regimes, strategic litigation by platforms across jurisdictions and lobbying across jurisdictions with respect to regulatory standard. I examine contractual terms/user agreements, hate speech and platform regulation in litigating and lobbying. In contrast to conventional understandings of transnational law-making and multilevel governance that now appear outdated and less attuned to legal theorisation and EU law as de facto and de jure global governance. My theory is based upon the institutionalisation of digital platforms by EU law.
REWI Uni Graz: What are your outcomes so far?
Elaine Fahey: I have been working on the project on/off for a relatively short period of time and do not have many outcomes so far! I have just completed a Jean Monnet chair in Law and Transatlantic Relations and think that the chair outcomes have been quite pivotal in framing this new project. A lot of good coffee and cake has helped me write so far, but it is early days.
REWI Uni Graz: What are your future plans?
Elaine Fahey: I would like to work further on digital trade and global governance as these are complex issues of our times that appear unsolved and in need of broader solutions.
Sarah Jauk