Data Protection Day Event 2022 - Summary

On 28 January 2022, coinciding with the Data Protection Day, the Data Protection Law Scholars Network organised the first ever international quick meet-up of data protection law researchers. The event brought together more than 150 data protection law scholars from all over the world.

27 speakers, divided into two parallel sessions, presented in 3 slides and 5 minutes their current work, be it a developing PhD, an interesting master thesis, a collection of educational material, an upcoming promising paper or a brand-new project. Attendees were randomly allocated to one of the two parallel streams, without knowing which speakers they will be listening to.

Gloria González Fuster (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) welcomed in plenary the participants to the meet-up. Throughout the event, participants were actively encouraged to contribute through the chat with comments and questions. Katie Nolan (London School of Economics) provided the concluding remarks and the event ended with a 15-min informal chat among participants, speakers and members of the Steering and Management Committees.

Stream 1

The first session of Stream 1 (13:05-14:00 CET) was moderated by Kristina Irion (Universiteit van Amsterdam). Sizwe Snail ka Mtuze (Snail Attorneys @ Law inc, Nelson Mandela University, Fort Hare University) discussed the intersection of cyber-crime and data protection in South Africa. Felix Bieker (ULD Schleswig-Holstein) spoke about individual and structural data protection, whereas Laura Drechsler (Vrije Universiteit Brussel elaborated upon the role of data subject rights within international data transfers under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Law Enforcement Directive. The floor was then given to Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius (Radboud University Nijmegen), who presented an overview of his current data protection-related projects. Giulia Gentile (London School of Economics) tried to provide an answer to the question ‘What is an effective remedy for data protection violations?’ and Ricard Martínez Martínez (Universitat de València) pondered upon the intersection of data protection law and medical research. Oskar J. Gstrein & Anne Beaulieu (University of Groningen) closed the first session of Stream 1 by presenting their research as to how to protect privacy in a datafied society.

The second session of Stream 1 (14:05-15:00 CET) was moderated by Franziska Boehm (Leibniz-Institute for Information Infrastructure in Karlsruhe (FIZ)/Karlsruhe Institute of Technology). Plixavra Vogiatzoglou (KU Leuven Centre for IT & IP Law) opened the session with a discussion on mass data processing for crime prevention and the right to personal data protection. Gianclaudio Malgieri (Vrije Universiteit Brussel/EDHEC Business School) outlined the (Data) Love Triangle whereas Noura Almutairi (Kuwait University) provided reasoning why the GDPR cannot be implanted in the Kuwait legal system. Konrad Kollnig (University of Oxford) depicted tracking in mobile apps before and after GDPR. Daniela Dzurakova (Pan-European University of Bratislava) described the international legal and ethical aspects during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Jesús Loma Barrie (Universidad Compultense de Madrid) illustrated private damages and judicial data protection by civil courts in Spain. Lastly, Nikolaos Ioannidis (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) gave a picture of impact assessment for artificial intelligence.

Stream 2

The first session of Stream 2 (13:05-14:00 CET) was moderated by Jef Ausloos (Universiteit van Amsterdam). Tana Pistorius (University of Auckland) opened the session with a brief talk on intellectual property management and data protection intersections. Laurens Naudts (KU Leuven) continued by presenting research on the concepts of equality and data protection for the regulation of algorithmically guided decision-making. Pablo Palazzi (University of San Andres) showcased new SCC models for Latin America approved by the RED Iberoamericana de Proteccion de Datos. Natalia Menéndez González (European University Institute) reminded that with great power comes great responsibility and portrayed proportionality within the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement. Harshvardhan J. Pandit (Trinity College Dublin) introduced the Data Privacy Vocabulary (DPV), with respect to assistive technology and interoperability and Jakub Míšek (Masaryk University) closed the first session by depicting the conditions and challenges for access to personal data in the context of Public Sector Information.

The second session of Stream 2 (14:05-15:00 CET) was moderated by Irene Kamara (Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society/Tilburg Law School). Rossana Ducato (University of Aberdeen) kicked off the session with a talk about data protection law and the right to research. Olumide Babalola (University of Reading) followed with a presentation about Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). Cristina Timón López (University of Murcia) depicted the implications of the proposal for review of the eIDAS Regulation for the protection of personal data of users of digital services. Matúš Mesarčík (Comenius University in Bratislava) offered an overview of the data protection scientific and education input at Comenius University in Bratislava. Olga Gkotsopoulou (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) elaborated upon the question of accessibility and inclusion in data protection law. Marvin van Bekkum (Radbound University Nijmegen) pondered upon the need for a new exception in GDPR when using special categories of data to prevent discrimination. Daniel Woods (University of Innsbruck) closed the session and stream 2 explaining how privacy harm can be quantified via personal identity insurance.

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Questions? Do not hesitate to contact us at dpsn@posteo.eu

Stay tuned for more updates on our in-person event at CPDP 2022 (23-25 May 2022) in Brussels, Belgium!