Designing Policymaking Mechanisms for Regulatory Dynamism

Authors

• Nina-Simone Edwards, Washington and Lee University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

The project’s third concept paper focuses on the design of regulatory policymaking mechanisms that translate decisions about public values–such as “avoid deceiving consumers”–into operationalized forms that support iteration and experimentation. It outlines a set of foundational principles for a dynamic, effective regulatory toolkit that empowers regulators to act sooner, experiment, create governance seams, mandate beneficial friction, and extend regulatory authority in ways that mirror the scale and interdependence of digital supply chains.

To support this expanded regulatory toolkit, the paper recommends empowering regulators to mandate data flow restrictions, to develop design requirements for both user-facing and technical interfaces, to require continuous adversarial testing of certain kinds of systems and processes, and to develop and impose human subjects oversight requirements adapted to the operation of digital architectures, services, and supply chains. The paper also emphasizes institutional changes, which include replacing the relevant parts of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and their corresponding agency implementations. As a baseline, regulators should be able to engage in streamlined, iterative rulemaking and to develop what we call policy sandboxes—experimental oversight regimes with tunable parameters—as well as premarket certification and/or licensing regimes for digital architectures, products, and services.

Recommended Citation

Julie Cohen, et al., Designing Policymaking Mechanisms for Regulatory Dynamism (2025).