All parliaments are equal but some are more equal than others: Representation, Legitimation and Oversight of AI in the digital market economy

Strengthening the regulation of digital technology in the age of digital market economy, dominated by a few corporate monopolies, is at the core of the contemporary debate concerning the protection of the public interest. Moreover, the notion of digital sovereignty has been increasingly examined in the ongoing economic, societal, and geopolitical context, trying to identify the advances, but also the shortcomings in mitigating the short and long-term risks, both to the digital sector and contemporary democracies. One aspect however, which remains understudied is the parliamentary scrutiny over the digital sector, providing legitimacy and legitimation of the public interest in service of the citizens. Moreover, governments as well as national parliaments are unequally equipped to foster democratic scrutiny and guarantee citizens a role to play in the protection of the democratic values and principles in the digital age. All parliaments are equal but some seem more equal than others. Our paper explores first, the normative value of the democratic scrutiny provided by national parliaments in the context of “surveillance capitalism”. Then, focusing on the regulation of AI in the EU, we explore the capacities of different national parliaments to provide scrutiny of digital sovereignty policy, and AI more specifically. We explore more specifically the case of the CEE countries as states, faced with a variety of transformations under the process of Europeanization, are facing different challenges in the quality of democratic representation.