Navigating the Privacy-Sovereignty Nexus in Contemporary Platform Economies

Lorenzo Bassani, Daniel Henrik Trangeled, Sara Mirkovic, Matteo Rollin-Dijkhus

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a technology whose rapid diffusion is raising profound regulatory challenges for developed countries. This article undertakes a comparative legal analysis of the European Union and United States approaches to AI regulation, examining how each legal system conceptualises and manages the risks associated with these new technologies. It examines the European Union’s adoption of the AI Act as the main ex-ante regulatory framework grounded in a rights-oriented philosophy and contrasts it with the United States decentralised ex-post model. Through an analysis of legal instruments, institutional design, and political differences, the article highlights the strengths and limitations of each approach. While the EU aspires to normative leadership through legally binding safeguards, its framework suffers from indeterminacy and enforcement challenges. Conversely, the US model prioritises innovation and market flexibility but results in a fragmented governance landscape where risks are addressed primarily after harm has occurred. The article concludes that these diverging regulatory philosophies reflect deeper differences in conceptions of state authority, market governance, and technological control.