Dr. Jaume Llorca Galiana is Assistant Professor Doctor at the Department of Commercial Law, University of Alicante, Spain.
Duration
3 months, 15 September to 15 December 2026
Host at the University of Passau
Prof. Dr. Kai von Lewinski
(Chair of Public Law, Media Law and Information Law)
The rise of digital platforms and social media has profoundly transformed the way information and advertising reach the public. Content creators and influencers now occupy a space that traditional media law did not anticipate, as they simultaneously act as communicators, advertisers and media operators, frequently blurring the boundary between editorial content and commercial communication in ways that are difficult for audiences to identify. This phenomenon raises fundamental questions about the adequacy of existing legal categories and the capacity of current regulatory frameworks to address the realities of the digital information environment. This project proposes to examine whether the current European regulatory framework, encompassing media law, advertising law and platform regulation, provides legally coherent tools to distinguish between informational and commercial content produced by digital creators, or whether, on the contrary, structural gaps persist that distort competition and create an imbalance between traditional media operators and new digital actors, ultimately affecting the quality and transparency of public communication. The analysis will focus on the key applicable European legal instruments, among them the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the Digital Services Act, and on their interaction and inconsistencies. On this basis, the project seeks to identify regulatory deficits and put forward doctrinal contributions that may guide future legislative improvements, with particular attention to the principle of advertising identifiability and the competitive balance among operators.
