RENFORCE Blog

Author Archive: Pauline Phoa

The EU Commission’s report on new genome editing techniques: a treasure trove for sustainable CRISPR food – or a Pandora’s box?

Genome editing in plants can deliver beneficial crop properties such as drought and pest resistance, but the resulting products are also feared by some to lead to health and biodiversity risks in the long term. On 29th April 2021, the EU Commission published its long-awaited report on new genome editing techniques, hinting at deregulation of products resulting from genome editing amidst accusations of aggressive biotech industry lobbying. In this blogpost, Pauline Phoa discusses the legal background to the Commission’s report, as well as some concerns about the way forward.

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‘If the product is free, you are the product’ – A vision of humanity in the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts

Pauline Phoa

This blogpost is part of a series of short commentaries on the European Commission’s proposals for a Digital Markets Act and a Digital Services Act, released on 15 December 2020. Stay tuned for more.

Is the EU’s regime, including the Commission’s recent proposals in form of the DSA and DMA, fit to face the demands of our era of Big Tech and ‘big data’? I think the challenges posed by new technological developments necessitate a rethinking of the foundations of the regulatory system.

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