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Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch, Maître en Droit

Director of the European Legal Studies Institute

Professor of European Private Law, European Business Law and Private International Law

Research Profile

 

 

Current News

9.1.2024

Consumer Law Scholars Conference in Berkeley

Professor Busch will participate in the Consumer Law Scholars Conference at the University of California, Berkeley on February 29 and March 1, 2024. The conference organizers have invited Professor Busch to discuss a paper on current developments regarding the regulation of subscription contracts. Professor Busch and his team are currently working on regulatory issues related to the subscription economy as part of a research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection.

8.1.2024

Platform Regulation Conference in Amsterdam

From February 17, 2024, the Digital Services Act (DSA) will apply to providers of online platforms and other digital intermediary services in the European Union. To mark this occasion, the DSA Observatory of the Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam is organizing an international conference on February 15-16, 2024. At the conference, legal scholars from Europe and the US will discuss current issues of platform regulation. Professor Busch will speak about the topic "Content Moderation at the Infrastructure Layer: A Blindspot in the DSA?". The program of the conference is available here.

6.12.2023

Transatlantic Dialogues on Consumer Protection

The Digital Law Group of the European Law Institute, chaired by Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch and Prof. Dr. Alberto De Franceschi (Ferrara), has launched a new lecture series on consumer protection in digital markets in the US and Europe. The lecture series is organized in cooperation with the Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice at the University of California, Berkeley.

The first event of the "Transatlantic Dialogues on Consumer Protection" will take place on December 7, 2023 at 8:00 PST / 17:00 CET and is dedicated to the new California Delete Act. Further information on the event and a registration link are available here.

5.12.2023

British-German Workshop on the Internet of Things

On December 4-5, 2023, the European Legal Studies Institute hosted a German-British workshop on consumer protection in the Internet of Things. At the invitation of Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch, researchers from the University of Stirling, the University of Warwick and the University of Bonn took part in the event. The workshop was part of the project "From Smart Technologies to Smart Consumer Laws", which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). More information about the project is available here.

13.3.2023

German-Japanese Workshop on Platform Regulation

On March 13, 2023, Prof. Busch hosted a German-Japanese workshop on legal issues of platform regulation at the European Legal Studies Institute. During the workshop, Prof. Kunihiro Nakata (Ryukoku University), Prof. Naoko Kano (Keio University), Prof. Antonios Karaiskos (Kyoto University) and Prof. Naoko Kawamura (Kokugakuin University) reported on recent legal policy developments in Japan. Prof. Busch and his team presented an overview of the Digital Services Act and the forthcoming reform of product liability rules for online marketplaces. The workshop took place within the framework of the two-year DAAD project "Towards Regulation Cooperation between the EU and Japan". More information on the project is available here.

16.12.2022

New research project on platform regulation in Korea

From January 2023, a research group led by Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch (Osnabrück) and Prof. Dr. Byung Jun Lee (Seoul) will conduct a comparative analysis of platform regulation in the EU and Korea. The research project is jointly funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). Further information about the project is available here.

1.12.2022

Professor appointed as Advisor to the German Government on Consumer Policy 

Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch has been appointed to the Advisory Council for Consumer Affairs, which advises the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. The Advisory Council consists of nine members, appointed for four years, and provides policy guidance on issues of consumer protection and sustainability. Further information is available at the website of the Advisory Council.

25.11.2022

KLRI Global Legal Conference in Seoul

On November 24, 2022 Professor Busch participated as Keynote Speaker at the 2022 KLRI Global Legal Conference in Seoul, which was organized by the Korea Legislation Research Institute (KLRI). In his Keynote Address Professor Busch presented an overview of the current developments in the field of platform regulation in the European Union. Other topics at the conference, which also featured speakers from Italy, Japan, and the United States, included AI regulation and the protection of minors in digital markets.

22.9.2022

EU Platform Observatory Meeting in Brussels 

On September 20-21, 2022 Professor Busch attended a plenary meeting of the European Commission's Expert Group for the EU Observatory on the Online Platform Economy. The Expert Group advises the European Commission (DG CNECT) on current issues of platform regulation. As a member of the Expert Group, Professor Busch recently co-authored the report "Uncovering blindspots in the policy debate on platform power". Currently, he is leading a workstream on the infrastructural power of platforms. 

30.9.2022

TrustCon 2022 in Palo Alto

As part of TrustCon 2022, the first global conference dedicated to trust & safety professionals in the platform economy, Professor Busch joined representatives from Apple, Cloudflare and Google in a virtual panel discussion on the topic "Content Moderation - It's Not Just for Platforms Anymore." TrustCon 2022 was hosted by the Trust & Safety Professional Association (TSPA) in Palo Alto on 27-28 September 2022.

8.9.2022

European Law Institute Annual Meeting in Madrid

At this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Law Institute (ELI), Professor Christoph Busch and Professor Teresa Rodriguez de las Heras Ballel (Madrid) presented the preliminary results of the new ELI project "Guiding Principles and Model Rules on Algorithmic Contracts". The ELI Annual Meeting was held in Madrid, Sept. 5-8, 2022. More information on the ELI project on algorithmic contracts is available here.

24.8.2022

Korea Legislation Research Institute:
Online Conference on Digital Finance

On August 24, 2022, Professor Busch participated in an online conference on consumer protection and digital financial products hosted by the Korea Legislation Research Institute (KLRI). In his presentation he discussed the European Commission's recent proposal for a reform of the Distance Marketing of Financial Services Directive. The KLRI is a government research institution which advises the Korean Ministry of Justice in the preparation of legislative initiatives.

1.5.2022

Freedom of Expression Scholars Conference at Yale

On May 1, 2022 Professor Busch participated in this year's Freedom of Expression Scholars Conference (FESC) at Yale Law Law School. He presented his new paper "Regulating the Expanding Content Moderation Universe: European Perspectives on Infrastructure Moderation" (available here). FESC is an annual event at Yale Law School hosted by the Abrams Institute for Free Expression. The conference brings together scholars and practitioners to discuss works-in-progress and has been a fixture on the calendar of leading First Amendment thinkers from the United States and beyond. In addition to his work in Osnabrück, Professor Busch has been a Visiting Fellow at the Yale Information Society Project since 2020, where he conducts research on current issues in platform regulation.

15.4.2022

Symposium on Internet Governance at UCLA

On April 15, 2022 Professor Busch participated the symposium "Governing the Digital Space" at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), hosted by the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy. Professor Busch presented his new research paper titled "Regulating the Expanding Content Moderation Universe: A European Perspective on Infrastructure Moderation." The paper was then discussed by Corynne McSherry (Electronic Frontier Foundation), Professor Zakir Durumeric (Stanford University), and Dr. Courtney Radsch (UCLA ITLP). The paper has been published in the UCLA Journal of Law & Technology and is available here.

30.3.2022

Modern Studies in Property Law Conference at Oxford

On March 30, 2022 Professor Busch presented his new working paper "Granular Property Law: Recalibrating the Numerus Clausus of Property Rights in the Internet of Things" at the Modern Studies in Property Law conference at the University of Oxford. The biennial conference is a world-leading for scholars with research interests in property law. The conference featured speakers from Australia (Sydney), the UK (Cambridge, KCL, Oxford, UCL) and the USA (Harvard, NYU, Yale). Osnabrück was the only German university represented at this year's conference. The working paper is available here.

25.2.2022

European Law Institute: New Project on Algorithmic Contracts

Professor Busch has been appointed by the European Law Institute (ELI) as a Reporter for the new ELI Project on Algorithmic Contracts. The two-year project, which is co-funded by the European Commission, will focus on the use of Algorithmic Decision-Making (ADM), in particular AI-driven learning systems, in the various stages of the contract lifecycle. The aim of the project team is to conduct first an "ADM readiness test" in order to assess the adequacy of the existing EU consumer law and, subsequently, to elaborate guiding principles and model rules for the use of ADM in contractual relations. The project will be jointly lead by Professor Christoph Busch (Osnabrück), Professor Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballel (Madrid), Professor Christian Twigg-Flesner (Warwick), Professor Marie Jull Sorensen (Aalborg) and Professor Darius Szostek (Warsaw).

11.11.2021

Lecture by invitation of the Swiss Federal Office of Communications

On November 11, 2021 Professor Busch gave a lecture at the invitation of the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (BAKOM) as part of the workshop "Digital Public Services". In his presentation, he discussed the role of digital platforms in various sectors of services of general interest such as mobility, healthcare, and education. Professor Busch recently published a study on this topic:

C. Busch, Regulation of digital platforms as infrastructures for services of general interest, WISO-Diskurs 09/2021

09.11.2021

European Law Institute: High Level Expert Group Meeting

On November 9, 2021 Professor Busch participated in a meeting of the "High Level Expert Group on Automated Contracting and Enforcement in Consumer Cases" at the invitation of the European Law Institute (ELI). The participants of the working meeting, which included representatives from UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, and the European Commission, discussed plans for future ELI projects on contract law in the Internet of Things. A short report about the meeting is available on the ELI website.

29.10.2021

Lecture by invitation of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and UNCITRAL

On October 29, 2021 Professor Busch gave a lecture on out-of-court dispute settlement in the platform economy at the conference "Digital Economy: Cross-Border Trade Regulation and Online Dispute Settlement. The conference was organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and UNCITRAL. The newspaper "Legal Daily", published by the Chinese Ministry of Justice, reported about the conference and Professor Busch's lecture in its issue of November 8, 2021.

24.9.2021

Podcast: Digital Platforms and COVID-19

On September 24, 2021, Professor Busch was a guest on the podcast Ars Boni together with Professor Christiane Wendehorst (University of Vienna). He presented the findings of a current research project on the role of digital platforms during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The podcast series, initiated by Professor Nikolaus Forgó (University of Vienna), is dedicated to current legal issues related to COVID-19 and digitalization. The recording of the conversation (in German) is available on YouTube und Spotify.

22.9.2021

49th Annual Research Conference on Communications, Information, and Internet Policy

On September 22, 2021 Professor Busch presented his paper "Rethinking Product Liability Rules for Online Marketplaces: A Comparative Perspective" at TPRC49, the 49th Annual Research Conference on Communications, Information, and Internet Policy, which was held virtually in Washington, D.C. TPRC49, which is one of the foremost conferences in its field, brings together experts from academia, industry, and government. This year's programme featured speakers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale Law School, Columbia University, the European University Institute and other researchers from the U.S. and around the world. The draft paper by Professor Busch is available on SSRN. A video of his presentation is available at YouTube.

21.9.2021

Study on personalized consumer law presented at the German Federal Ministry of Justice 

On September 21, 2021, Professor Busch presented the findings of a study on future legal framework for  personalized consumer information at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection in Berlin. The study, commissioned by Federal Ministry, explores how pre-contractual consumer information could be personalized by using algorithmic recommender systems. The study and a report (both in German) about the event is available on the website of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection.

15.6.2021

New Publication: Putting the Digital Services Act in Context

The research paper "Putting the Digital Services Act in Context: Bridging the Gap Between EU Consumer Law and Platform Regulation" co-authored by Professor Christoph Busch and Professor Vanessa Mak (University of Leiden) has been published in Issue 3/2021 of the Journal of European Consumer and Market Law. The paper explores how the Digital Services Act will fit into the framework of EU consumer law.  

C. Busch & V. Mak, 10 Journal of European Consumer and Market Law, 109-115 (2021). 

14.6.2021

Conference on the Digital Services Act at the German Federal Ministry of Justice

On 14 June 2021, Professor Busch gave the keynote speech at the conference "Digital Services Act - Making the Internet Fair Again," hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. Speakers at the conference included members of the European Parliament and representatives of the European Commission who discussed the Commission's proposal for a Digital Services Act and the recently published Draft IMCO Report of the European Parliament. The focus of the discussion was on due diligence of online marketplaces, liability of platforms and the regulation of personalized online advertising. The slides from the presentation by Professor Busch are available here.

11.5.2021

Workshop at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law

On 11 May 2021 Professor Busch participated in the Workshop "Applying Product Liability Rules to Online Platforms" at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) and presented a comparative paper on product liability of online marketplaces. The workshop which was organized by Professor Duncan Fairgrieve (BIICL).

5.3.2021

Consumer Law Scholars Conference 2021

On 5 March 2021, Professor Busch presented his paper "Rethinking Product Liability for Online Marketplaces: A Comparative Perspective" at the Consumer Law Scholars Conference 2021. The conference, hosted by the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice and and Boston University, featured scholars from the Americas, Europe, and Australia who discussed current issues in consumer law. The working paper presented by Professor Busch is available on SSRN.