Presentations in this session by:

• Stijn Debie, PhD Researcher, Institute for Family Property Law, KU Leuven: Towards a coherent transatlantic understanding of legal B2C- and G2C-relationships

Incongruent legal perspectives on the data economy are often depicted by the parable of the blind men: scholars from different private law domains rely on concepts and definitions specific to their field of study, preventing them from identifying shared understandings. The proliferation of data protection, consumer and market regulations — such as the ALI-ELI Principles for a Data Economy and the EU Data Act — has further intensified this fragmentation.

Since the early 20th century, Anglo-American and Continental European legal scholars have shared an understanding of civil relationships through Hohfeldian legal conceptions. Given their long-standing use and proven analytical value, these conceptions promise greater coherence in the implementation of supranational privacy and consumer regulations — not only between Anglo-American and Continental European jurisdictions, but also across private law domains. By applying the framework to business-to-consumer (B2C) and government-to-consumer (G2C) relationships, this presentation demonstrates how Hohfeldian conceptions can move the debate beyond fragmented perspectives and lay the foundation for a more coherent transatlantic understanding of such relationships.