HEMISPHERES

HEMISPHERES is a collaborative consortium that aims to bring together academic institutions, policymakers, and individual experts from the EU, Latin America, and the Caribbean to address challenges and opportunities in digital policy. By fostering continuous knowledge exchange and creating actionable insights, HEMISPHERES aims to advance innovative policy approaches in support of democratic, inclusive, and safe digital environments globally.

Project Lead: Pablo Gomez Ayerbe

Status: ongoing

More information

Through a combination of clinics, working groups, forums, and a digital repository, HEMISPHERES seeks to facilitate meaningful, solution-oriented dialogue on technology policy. These activities will result in the creation of a variety of resources, including policy innovation blueprints, policy debate agendas, and policy strategies and roadmaps. These resources will highlight emerging research and policy while offering practical guidance for stakeholders.

Context

The post-Second World War era marked a transformative phase for Latin American countries as they expanded national scientific capacities to assert sovereignty and global relevance. This period also has seen significant revisions in communication policies, heavily influenced by U.S. strategies and European regulatory processes. These influences have continued to shape Latin America's digital governance, blending American innovation with European regulatory rigor.

Europe's regulatory landscape has had a profound global impact, particularly in digital governance. As the birthplace of modern data protection laws, Europe set the foundation for global discussions on digital rights, beginning with Germany's Hesse region in 1970 and later the EU Data Protection Directive in 1995. Europe's robust regulations have since created the "Brussels Effect," whereby its standards influence nations worldwide. This phenomenon is expected to extend into emerging fields, such as artificial intelligence (AI), with landmark regulations like the AI Act, AI Liability Act, Digital Markets Act (DMA), and Digital Services Act (DSA). These initiatives not only address safety, fundamental rights, and competition risks but also aim to set global norms aligned with EU values.

Latin America stands at crossroads, balancing influences from the U.S. and Europe. Its geographic and economic ties to the U.S. have shaped connectivity and infrastructure policies, while European regulatory frameworks increasingly inform data protection, cybercrime, and digital marketplace governance. Regional initiatives like RedCLARA and ALICE exemplify collaborative efforts, while policies often align with EU standards, such as the adoption of the Budapest Convention on cybercrime. The EU’s DMA and DSA have spurred discussions within Latin American forums like ECLAC, MERCOSUR, and the Pacific Alliance, particularly on reigning in big tech's influence. Similarly, the EU AI Act has inspired debates on regulatory approaches to AI governance.

However, implementing these frameworks in Latin America faces uncertainties and challenges. Resource limitations and insufficient regulatory capacity often result in the wholesale adoption of foreign models without contextual adaptation, leading to misaligned policies and weak enforcement. The region must also navigate the growing presence of China, which offers digital infrastructure and platforms but raises concerns about human rights and safety safeguards.

Topics

The entities involved in this proposal share a commitment to the public interest and have dedicated efforts toward developing academic networks to foster information exchange, enhance research collaboration, and reduce information asymmetries. Through the proposed HEMISPHERES network, we aim to leverage these competencies between regions and contribute to public discourse and policy deliberations, drawing on the ongoing scholarly efforts to positively shape emerging technologies. We have designated the following as the HEMISPHERES Policy Debate Areas (PDA) to shape the policy debate and academic cooperation of our thematic network:

Internet: Advance internet research by addressing issues of access, use, and intellectual property; develop global solutions to combat disinformation; safeguard fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and privacy; foster cross-border collaboration among authorities for effective governance; and rethink social networks, including their business models and societal impact.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): Promote research supporting the design and implementation of public policies on AI, with a focus on education, talent development, infrastructure, and research. Advance AI research in Latin America, foster knowledge exchange with European centers, and study the impact of regulations like the AI Act and mechanisms such as the Council of Europe’s Convention on AI and Human Rights. Explore the role of regulatory sandboxes in shaping new standards and strengthening collaboration between European and Latin American regulators.
Emerging Technologies (e.g., Quantum Computing, Neurotechnology, The Metaverse, etc.): This working group will focus on deepening policy development and evidence-building around emerging technologies and their interaction with existing ones, such as blockchain and quantum computing. Key areas of study will include the geopolitical and environmental implications of data and data infrastructures, with a strong emphasis on aligning research with sustainable development goals. Additionally, the group will establish mechanisms that enable policymakers to respond dynamically to evolving challenges.

A significant focus will also be placed on the Metaverse. This includes advancing collective knowledge on AR/VR/XR technologies, assessing their real-world impact, and refining content analysis methods. The group will work to enhance understanding of metaverse network interoperability and collaborate with academic institutions to develop engagement protocols and safety guidelines.

Privacy and Security: Foster cross-continental collaboration to address emerging cybersecurity threats, enhance data protection, and promote privacy tools. This includes developing agile cybersecurity policies, sharing data on attack types, incidents, and methodologies across jurisdictions, and building institutional capacity for joint efforts. Promote shared governance frameworks to coordinate responses and advance research on privacy tools and regulations, such as the GDPR. Focus on analyzing the GDPR's extraterritorial impact and its influence on data protection regulations in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting lessons learned and areas for improvement.
Platforms, equity, and safety: Promote user protection on digital platforms by generating knowledge on the implementation of regulations like the DSA and their impact on research, particularly in regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean. Focus on understanding mechanisms like Article 40 of the DSA, which facilitates data sharing for research, to drive projects that improve access to data for academic and policy advancements.
Youth: Explore how young people engage with emerging technologies and digitization to uncover insights into their practices and digital fluencies. Leverage these findings to address challenges, seize opportunities, and inform regulatory and educational frameworks that advance public interest and empowerment.

The collaboration comes at a crucial time in the region both academically and policy-wise. Many academic institutions in Latin America are rethinking their study programs and research agenda. Moreover, regulatory policies on the above-mentioned topics are afoot across many countries of the region. Therefore, the collaboration enabled by this project presents a valuable opportunity to shape these initiatives in a manner that promotes human well-being, fundamental rights, democracy, and the rule of law — values that are at the core of the EU.

Objectives

Objective 1: Clinic — Fostering Knowledge Exchange and Policy Innovation

The Clinic aims to create an environment for expert working groups and stakeholders to share insights, co-create actionable policy ideas and recommendations, and generate new knowledge. This includes producing a Policy Innovation Blueprint that reflects emerging ideas and addressing critical technology policy challenges.

Key Achievements:

Develop and share a "Policy Innovation Blueprint" every 18 months.

Objective 2: Working Groups — Advancing Collaborative Policy Exploration

The topical Working Groups meet regularly to explore policy issues, map stakeholders, and synthesize insights. These groups also play a key role in shaping the forum and contributing resources to the repository.

Key Achievements:

Conduct monthly meetings and document key takeaways.
Curate resources aligned with group themes.
Collaborate on mapping stakeholders and policies.
Contribute to Forum agenda design and output.
Synthesize findings into Policy Papers

Objective 3: Repository — Curating and Amplifying Knowledge

The Repository functions as a centralized platform for sharing outputs from the Working Groups and consortium, amplifying key insights to stakeholders such as the European Commission.

Key Achievements:

Curate and maintain a repository of academic and policy materials.
Share periodic newsletters with consortium members.
Disseminate insights to external stakeholders through newsletters and reports.

Objective 4: Forum — Creating a Collaborative Roadmap

The Forum provides a space for diverse stakeholders, including policymakers, innovators, and civil society, to discuss challenges, opportunities, and strategies for shaping human-centric technology policies.

Key Achievements:

Convene an annual forum.
Synthesize findings into actionable documents, including the Policy Debate Agenda.
Develop a comprehensive Policy Strategy and Roadmap.