Conference Report ‘Remedies to Digital Vulnerability in European Private Law’ (DiVE)

The Conference “Remedies to Digital Vulnerability in European Private Law” (DiVE), held at the University of Trieste essentially marked the culmination of a trilogy of conferences focused on exploring digital vulnerabilities in the context of European private law. Organized under the leadership of Professors Marta Infantino and Camilla Crea, the event brought together leading scholars and legal practitioners in order to examine how emerging technologies, especially within the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI), pose regulatory, contractual, and consumer protection challenges. Across eight panels, contributors explored the multidimensional nature of digital vulnerability, ranging from algorithmic bias, deceptive design and enforcement gaps to fragmentary EU digital legislation. Ultimately, the conference emphasized the urgent need to recalibrate private law instruments to successfully meet the complexities of an increasingly automated, opaque and asymmetrical digital environment—essentially, advocating for a forward-looking, rights-based, and coherent European legal framework.