Thanks to a grant from PLMJ, one of Portugal’s largest and most prestigious law firms, Católica Global School of Law and Católica Lisbon School of Law established the PLMJ Chair in Law and Technology.
The Chair allowed Católica to appoint Professor Giovanni De Gregorio, one of the world’s most promising scholars working at the intersection of law and technology, as a resident faculty member. “We couldn’t be more pleased to announce the appointment of Giovanni De Gregorio as PLMJ Chair at our school”, commented Dean Miguel Poiares Maduro on the new faculty member. “Giovanni is one of the most promising scholars of his generation, collecting prizes like no one else in his field of study. One more reason for more students and scholars to join our community of knowledge”
Professor Giovanni De Gregorio is the author of the monograph Digital Constitutionalism in Europe. Reframing Rights and Powers in the Algorithmic Society (Cambridge University Press 2022) and of numerous influential articles published in edited books and international journals. This, in his words, “is an important moment to focus on the constitutional challenges raised by the evolution of the digital age, and I am happy to have the chance to contribute to the understanding of these challenges”. Católica’s LL.M. Law in a Digital Economy, he added, “is definitely a first step to understand these transformations”.
Holder
Giovanni De Gregorio is the PLMJ Chair in Law and Technology at Católica Global School of Law and Católica Lisbon School of Law. He is also a member of the Católica Research Centre for the Future of Law.
Prior to joining Católica, Giovanni was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, working with the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies. Within the framework of the ERC ConflictNet project, his research focuses on content moderation and artificial intelligence; hate speech and disinformation in conflicts; digital policy in the global south. His research interest deals with constitutional law, human rights, Internet law, privacy and data protection law.
He completed his PhD in Constitutional Law at the University of Milano-Bicocca. His doctoral study has investigated the rise of European digital constitutionalism as a reaction and strategy against the predominance of digital private normativities. By focusing on the intersection between European constitutionalism and technology with a transatlantic comparative perspective, the research describes the rise of digital private powers defining their standards of protection while competing with the normative order of European constitutional law which aims to protect fundamental rights and democratic values in the algorithmic society. Part of this research, which has been published in the International Journal of Constitutional Law, has been awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Price issued by the Conference of Italian University Rectors for the best publication among Italian young scholars in legal studies.
Giovanni is the author of the monograph Digital Constitutionalism in Europe. Reframing Rights and Powers in the Algorithmic Society (Cambridge University Press 2022). His research has been published in edited books and international journals, in particular, the International Journal of Constitutional Law, Computer Law and Security Review, European Journal of Legal Studies, International Journal of Communication. He edited two books with Hans W. Micklitz and others, Constitutional Challenges in the Algorithmic Society (Cambridge University Press 2021); and with Oreste Pollicino, Blockchain and Public Law: Global Challenges in the Era of Decentralisation (Edward Elgar 2021). He is also member of the editorial board of the law reviews MediaLaws and Diritti Comparati. He is a reviewer for the International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON); Computer Law and Security Law Review (CLSR); European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance; Global Constitutionalism.
During these years, Giovanni has been Academic Fellow at Bocconi University, non-resident legal research for Columbia Global Freedom of Expression and visiting fellow at the Center for Cyber Law and Policy at the University of Haifa. He is also member of global academic and policy networks such as the Centre for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP); the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet), the Global Digitial Human Rights Network (GDHRN); the Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibilities at the Internet Governance Forum; the IACL Research Group on “Algorithmic State, Society and Market – Constitutional Dimensions”; and the Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network.
Partner
PLMJ is a leading, full-service law firm in Portugal that is focused on providing advice to the business sector. One of the firm’s strategic fields of practice is Technology, Media and Telecommunications. Under the coordination of Pedro Lomba, the department has extensive experience in advising national and international companies from the traditional IT sectors on software licensing, IT consulting, selling hardware, electronic identification, software development, domain names, e-commerce, outsourcing, consumer electronics, and cloud services.