Brussels Privacy Hub has moved to a new website as of 18 May 2022. The new website is available at www.brusselsprivacyhub.com. This version of the website will be stored for archiving purposes. Please see the new website for the latest updates.
NEWS
News
20 April 2022
Two registration fee waivers for Ukrainian applicants to Summer Academy for Global Privacy Law 2022
Brussels Privacy Hub announces two registration fee waivers for the Summer Academy for Global Privacy Law 2022 for Ukrainian applicants. Waivers do not include accommodation or transportation support. Applicants may choose to join either in-person or online.
Ukrainian applicants shall apply to Lina Jasmontaite (lina.jasmontaite@vub.be), Education Coordinator of the Summer Academy, and Muhammed Demircan (muhammed.demircan@vub.be), Managing Director of the Brussels Privacy Hub, for Global Privacy Law 2022 until 14 May 2022. Applicants shall submit a short cover letter (max 350 words) explaining their background and another short statement (450 words) about why they are in need of the waivers.
05 April 2022
The 2022 Summer Academy for Global Privacy Law programme has been updated
The 2022 Summer Academy for Global Privacy Law will focus on the EU data governance reform, as illustrated in the above listed five regulatory instruments, each found at various stages of a law-making process. Each regulatory text will first be placed within its proper background and ecosystem, before analysing its regulatory approach and (still draft) provisions. Particular attention will be paid to its relationship with specific aspects of the EU data protection law, particularly with the GDPR.
The 2022 Summer Academy for Global Privacy Law will take place in a hybrid format, both on-line and on-site, from Monday June 27 to Friday July 1, 2022. In the morning, participants will attend lectures by selected speakers including internationally recognised academics, policy makers, data protection authorities, and civil society representatives. In the afternoon, they will engage in interactive sessions and teamwork allowing them to further connect regardless of their location.
The 2022 Summer Academy for Global Privacy Law programme has been updated. Check here to find out more about stellar speakers from academia, EU institutions and industry representatives.
The 2022 Summer Academy for Global Privacy Law application deadline is 25 April 2022.
04 April 2022
"Data Sustainability in the Age of AI" event report is now online
On 14 February 2022, Brussels Privacy Hub and EDHEC Business School have organised the "Data Sustainability in the Age of AI" event. The event report has now been published. You may read the report from here.
21 March 2022
Our co-director Prof. Gianclaudio Malgieri will speak at the PANELFIT event
On 30 March 2022, our co-director Gianclaudio Malgieri will speak at the "PANELFIT Final Event" on the topic of " Anticipatory compliance steps between participatory design and vulnerability-attentive fairness".
The closing dissemination event of the PANELFIT project will be a two-day event that will take place in Brussels, under the topic Anticipatory Compliance. The first day, 30 March (9.30 – 11.30 CET, fully online) will introduce European leaders and policymakers to this new approach to compliance, that will help them anticipate the changes in the scenario and adapt their approach accordingly. The panel of experts will present different views and different takes on the topic of “Anticipatory compliance” for the benefit mainly of MEPs.
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You can register for the event here.
03 March 2022
Brussels Privacy Symposium 2021 Report has been published
On November 16, 2021, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and the Brussels Privacy Hub of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) hosted the Brussels Privacy Symposium 2021 – The Age of AI Regulation: Global Strategic Directions. The event, convened by Jules Polonetsky, CEO of FPF, Christopher Kuner and Gianclaudio Malgieri, Co-Chairs of the Brussels Privacy Hub (BPH), brought together policymakers, academic researchers, civil society organizations and industry leaders from the European Union (EU), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States, Brazil, and Singapore to discuss the most recent trends in the governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a focus on addressing the risks posed by AI systems to fundamental rights, while fostering their responsible development and uptake. A new report from FPF’s Sebastião Barros Vale, Katerina Demetzou and Lee Matheson summarizes and offers context to the discussions at the event.
21 February 2022
Brussels Privacy Hub will organize the Opening Panel at the CPDP Conferences
Brussels Privacy Hub will organise the Opening Panel of the CPDP Conferences on 22 May 2022, from 18:30 to 19:30 (CET). The Panel will focus on "Vulnerable Individuals in the age of AI regulation". The Panel will be moderated by our co-director, Prof. Gianclaudio Malgieri. The speakers are as such:
- Mireille Hildebrandt - VUB
- Louisa Klingvall - EC
- Gabriela Zanfir Fortuna - FPF
- Ivana Bortoletti - UniOxford
- Brando Benifei - EP
The CPDP opening panel will also be the opportunity to launch the “International Observatory on Vulnerable Individuals in Data protection” (IOVID), an interinstitutional project, with the aim of promoting a multi-stakeholder discussion between scholars, activists, industries and institutions on the definition and protection of vulnerable data subjects across the world.
For more information please consult the CPDP webpage.
09 February 2022
Our Co-Director Malgieri has spoken at the European Parliament LIBE hearing on eIDAS
On 9 February 2022, the European Parliament has hosted the "3rd eID LIBE Shadows meeting" in order to exchange ideas on the eIDAS Regulation proposal. Our team has been invited to share insights. Prof. Malgieri has attended to the meeting in order to represent the Brussels Privacy Hub based on our previous report
"The European Commission Proposal Amending the eIDAS Regulation: A Personal Data Protection Perspective", written by Alessandro Ortalda, Niko Tsakalakis, and Lina Jasmontaite.
03 February 2022
Event Summary for "Meet the Author Series: Territorial Scope and Data Transfer Rules in the GDPR: Realising the EU’s Ambition of Borderless Data Protection" has now been published
On 20 January 2022, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted its 12th seminar in the Meet the Author series on ‘Territorial Scope and Data Transfer Rules in the GDPR: Realising the EU’s Ambition of Borderless Data Protection’. The online seminar focused on a paper (available here) with the same name written by Prof. Christopher Kuner. The summary has been drafted by Laura Drechsler.
You can reach the summary here.
25 January 2022
Data Protection Day - A Message from the Co-Directors
Our Co-Directors Prof. Christopher Kuner and Prof. Gianclaudio Malgieri have published a message for the Data Protection Day (28 January).
You can reach the message from here.
21 January 2022
Our Co-Director Prof. Gianclaudio Malgieri has been interviewed by the Washington Post
Our Co-Director Prof. Gianclaudio Malgieri has been interviewed by the Washington Post on the Digital Services Act after the voting in the European Parliament took place on 20 January 2022. The Digital Services Act (DSA) was approved by an overwhelming majority in the European Parliament (530 yes, 78 no, 80 abstentions).
"Internet users are paying closer attention to technology practices, according to Gianclaudio Malgieri, associate professor of technology and law at the EDHEC Business School in France and the co-director of the Brussels Privacy Hub, and the reputations of some large companies have been battered.
Companies such as Facebook and Google have started to improve some of their advertisement and privacy practices, Malgieri said. But the European legislation would hold them more accountable.
“For the first time, it will not be based on what Big Tech decides to do,” he said. “It will be on paper.”
You can reach the full article here.
20 January 2022
Meet the Author Event: "Territorial Scope and Data Transfer Rules in the GDPR: Realising the EU’s Ambition of Borderless Data Protection" is now available on Youtube
Our MtA event on "Territorial Scope and Data Transfer Rules in the GDPR: Realising the EU’s Ambition of Borderless Data Protection", in which we hosted Prof. Christopher Kuner is now live on Youtube!
You can watch the recording here!
17 January 2022
Save the Date: "Legality Attentive AI", Awareness Conference on Explainability of AI"
Brussels Privacy Hub, in collaboration with the LeADS (Legality Attentive Data Scientists), will host the conference on "Legality Attentive AI", Awareness on Explainability of AI" at the Data Protection Day on 28 January 2022. The event will be held fully online from 16:00 to 17:30 CET.
The event will host key institutional speakers and stellar academics.
We will share the event details as well as registration links in the shortest due.
03 January 2022
Our Managing Director Muhammed Demircan has presented the EU AI Act
Our managing director Muhammed Demircan has presented the details of the draft version of EU AI Act, upon the invitation of MasterLaw team on the 23 December 2021. The event was held online. The participants had the chance to ask questions on the draft version of the EU AI Act as well as related issiues such as the relation with GDPR, facial recognition and classification of AI systems.
24 December 2021
Brussels Privacy Hub Report on "The European Commission Proposal Amending the eIDAS Regulation: A Personal Data Protection Perspective" has been published
The proposal to amend Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS Regulation) further the scope of electronic identity in Europe and connects with other legislative instruments, most notably to Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR). Among the provisions of the proposal, some may carry risks of inconsistency with the GDPR. The present report explores the proposal to amend eIDAS Regulation with the aim to identify potential issues that may arise from a data protection point of view.
You may access to the report here.
16 December 2021
Brussels Privacy Hub Co-Director Prof. Kuner has been appointed as affiliate professor at Copenhagen University
Brussels Privacy Hub Co-Director Prof. Christopher Kuner has been appointed Affiliate Professor in Data Protection Law at Copenhagen University.
15 December 2021
Brussels Privacy Hub Report on "How the EU Would Like to Regulate Work Through Digital Work Platforms" has been published
On 9 December 2021, European Commission the European Commission proposed a set of measures to improve the working conditions in platform work and to support the sustainable growth of digital labour platforms in the EU. Our report analyses the directive.
You may access to the report here.
6 December 2021
Brussels Privacy Hub Report on "How the EU Council is rewriting the AI Act" has been published
On 21 April 2021, the European Commission published its proposal for a regulation for artificial intelligence, the AI Act. Seven months later, the European Council, under the Slovenian presidency, presented a compromise text introducing some noteworthy changes and anticipating further discussion points. In sum, the proposed changes have lights and shadows, but also some gaps. Our report analyses the possible changes in the AI Act.
You may access to the report here.
1 December 2021
Our Co-Director Gianclaudio Malgieri has participated in the "Ethics of AI in Context" event!
Prof. Gianclaudio Malgieri has participated in the “Unlawful AI… “until proven otherwise”: The New Turn on AI Accountability from the EU Regulation and Beyond” edition of “Ethics of AI in Context” conferences with Frank Pasquale of Brooklyn Law School, organized by the Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto.
The event has been live-streamed on Youtube. You may access the event recording here.
25 November 2021
Brussels Privacy Symposium 2021 has been a huge success!
2021 edition of Brussels Privacy Symposium has been organised with the coordination of Future of Privacy Forum and Brussels Privacy Hub. More than 560 participants have registered for the event, which was held online on 16 November 2021.
The Future of Privacy CEO Jules Polonetsky and the Brussels Privacy Hub Co-directors, Prof. Chris Kuner and Prof. Gianclaudio Malgieri, introduced the conference.
The first panel was the keynote panel, with key policy protagonists of the EU AI Act, Mr. Brando Benifei, the MEP Special Rapporteur for the proposal and Dr. Lucilla Sioli, Director for AI and Industry at DG Connect. The panel was moderated by Prof. Gianclaudio Malgieri.
The following panels were moderated by Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna and by Dr. Ivana Bartoletti. The first was about Global trends in regulating the AI challenges, the second panel was about the possibility to prohibit or blacklist some AI practices, also building on the recent NYT editorial co-authored by Frank Pasquale and Gianclaudio Malgieri on this point. See here for more details!
24 November 2021
Guest Lecture on Digital Services Act by Diana Vlad-Calcic (Policy Officer at DG CONNECT)
The Brussels Privacy Hub gladly announces the guest lecture on the “Digital Services Act – The Challange of Regulating Online Platforms” by Diana Vlad-Calcic from DG JUSTICE. The guest lecture is organised under the umbrella of the “Legal Professionals in the Digital Age” course, taught by our co-director Prof. Gianclaudio Malgieri. The lecture will take place on 1 December 2021, 12:00 – 14:00 (CEST), at Building D.0.05 – VUB Campus.
In-person attendance is limited to VUB staff due to COVID measures. The lecture will be live-streamed on Teams. Participants who wish to register for the Teams conference should send an e-mail to info@brusselsprivacyhub.org before 29 November 2021 17:00 (CEST). See here!
8 September 2021
The Brussels Privacy Hub prepares for the future
The Brussels Privacy Hub (BPH) was founded in 2014 by Prof. Dr. Paul De Hert and Prof. Dr. Christopher Kuner, who have also acted as its co-directors. Since then, it has grown into a leading international center of critical discussion on privacy and data protection law and policy in the EU and around the world. It was established under the auspices of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) – a leading Belgian university based in central Brussels – to serve as a platform for privacy-related research.
In view of his appointment as a vice-dean to the Faculty of Law & Criminology and in order to prepare for the future, Paul De Hert will step back as a director from October 2021 on and will be replaced by Professor Dr. Gianclaudio Malgieri. De Hert will remain active as a core BPH member together with other eminent scholars from within VUB (see https://brusselsprivacyhub.eu/home-2/whoweare.html).
Prof. Dr. Gianclaudio Malgieri will then step in as the new co-director (together with Prof. Kuner). Malgieri is Associate Professor of Law & Technology at the EDHEC Augmented Law Institute in France and Affiliated Researcher and Guest Professor at VUB (where he obtained a PhD in law) and has been active in other EU universities as well (such as those in Göttingen, Strasbourg, and Pisa). Prof. Malgieri has been an active member of the BPH since 2016, coordinating training activities, organizing events and conducting research on privacy and data protection law. His works have appeared in leading international newspapers such as The New York Times, Le Monde, La Repubblica and others. He is also an external ethical expert of the European Commission and a member of the editorial boards of top law journals.
“We are extremely grateful to Paul for all he did to help lead the Hub since it was founded. His leadership has been crucial to achieving the success that we enjoy today”, said Prof. Kuner. Kuner also stated that “I am very happy to have Gianclaudio join us as co-director. As I prepare to retire, he will play a key role in helping us transition to a new generation of leadership for the Hub.”
Under its new leadership, the BPH will continue to focus on cutting-edge privacy and data protection topics such as data protection in law enforcement; international data transfers; AI regulation, data protection and research; and others. It will also keep organizing free seminars, event series, conferences and publishing working papers (see for a complete list of the BPH’s activities, see https://brusselsprivacyhub.eu/publications/).
The BPH’S activities are made possible mainly through the academic support of the VUB Faculty of Law and Criminology and financial support from research projects and private donations (for more information see here: https://brusselsprivacyhub.eu/home-2/governance.html).
7 June 2021
New recordings available! Tech Talk on Neurotechnologies and Data-Sustainability of Internet-based Industries: a mere utopia?
Did you miss our events Tech Talk on Neurotechnologies and Data-Sustainability of Internet-based Industries: a mere utopia?
No problem! Watch the recordings! Have a look at our YouTube Channel.
31 May 2021
Second Edition of Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action published in French
The Second Edition of the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action that was edited jointly by Prof. Christopher Kuner of the Brussels Privacy Hub and Massimo Marelli of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and that was released in June 2020, has now also been released in a French edition, that is downloadable from the ICRC web site. Future editions in Arabic, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish are also being prepared.
28 May 2021
Update to GDPR Commentary Published Free Online
An update the the Commentary to the GDPR published in 2020 by Oxford University Press has been published online as a free PDF document by its editors, Prof. Christopher Kuner (co-Director of the Hub), Prof. Lee A. Bygrave, Christopher Docksey, Luca Tosoni, and Laura Drechsler (a member of the Hub). The document, which comprises 332 pages, provides an update for 49 selected articles of the GDPR, and covers the period between 1 August 2019 and 1 January 2021.
20 April 2021
Hub Co-Director Paul de Hert @ MO*talks: Your privacy or your life, what would you choose?
On Wednesday, April 21, 19:30 – 21:00 Brussels time, Prof. Paul De Hert will participate at MO*talks, organised by MO* and deBuren.
From cameras on the street to social media: everyone’s right to privacy is under pressure today. But who cares about the privacy of people with greater concerns? Transgender people, activists, people on the run… How much freedom of choice do you have when you have to choose between your privacy and your life?
MO* editor-in-chief Jago Kosolosky talks with Professor Paul De Hert (VUB and Tilburg University), Nani Jansen Reventlow, director of the Digital Freedom Fund, Sarah Chander, policy advisor at European Digital Rights and Teki Akuetteh Falconer, director of Africa Digital Rights’ Hub.
The participation to the event is free, but registration necessary.
For the most updated information, you can visit the official event webpage.
19 April 2021
Hub Co-Director Christopher Kuner publishes a new paper on the relationship between territorial scope and data transfer rules
Professor Kuner has published a new paper on the relationship between territorial scope and data transfer rules in the Cambridge Law Faculty Research Paper Series. The paper can be found here.
2 April 2021
Summaries of Enforcing Europe Webinars 2 and 3 are available!
Read the summary of the event: Does the EU need to urgently adopt the Interim Regulation on the processing of personal and other data for the purpose of combatting child sexual abuse online?
15 March 2021
Hub Co-Director Christopher Kuner Speaks before UK Parliamentary Committee
On Wednesday 10 March, Hub Co-Director Prof. Christopher Kuner gave evidence as an expert before the International Trade Committee of the UK Parliament via Zoom, on the topic of “Digital Trade and Data”. A recording of the session will be available at the following link: https://committees.parliament.uk/event/3859/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/.
8 March 2021
Hub co-director Paul De Hert hosted at "MO*talks: Je privacy of je leven" on 17 March 2021
From cameras on the street to social media: everyone's right to privacy is under pressure today. But who cares about the privacy of people with often greater concerns? Transgender people, activists, people on the run… How much freedom of choice do you have when you have to choose between your privacy or your life? MO * editor-in-chief Jago Kosolosky talks about this with professor Paul De Hert (VUB and Tilburg University) and another expert on 17 March 2021 at 19.30 CET.
7 March 2021
New summary available! CPDP Opening panel "Who is sovereign in our digital world?"
Read it here
2 March 2021
Recordings are available! "AI & HUMANITARIAN ACTION: RAISING THE STANDARDS?" Panel at CPDP2021
Did you miss the Panel on CPDP2021 Panel 'AI & humanitarian action: Raising the standards?' Watch it now!
The Panel was organised by the Brussels Privacy Hub (BPH) / ALTEP-DP project.
26 February 2021
STAR II presents "The GDPR made simple(r) for SMEs"
The STAR II (SupporT small And medium enterprises on the data protection Reform II) consortium is pleased to announce the publication of The GDPR made simple(r) for SMEs.
The user-friendly handbook offers guidance and practical suggestions for SMEs that could facilitate compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Being primarily addressed to enterprises for which personal data processing is an auxiliary activity, the handbook clarifies and explains:
- how to navigate the barrage of resources available on GDPR;
- the scope of data protection law and the scope of its application to SMEs;
- the concepts and principles that form the crux of personal data protection legal framework; and
- the theory and practice of the risk-based approach to personal data protection.
The STAR II (SupporT small And medium enterprises on the data protection Reform II) also prepared Guidance for Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) on good practices to run hotlines for SMEs. The Guidance by reflecting on NAIHs experience, when operating a hotline dedicated for SMEs that sought compliance with the GDPR, provides practical recommendations to DPAs. The Guidance was shared with the DPAs comprising the European Data Protection Board in December 2020.
The STAR II project, co-funded by the European Union within the scope of the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme 2014-2020 (REC-RDAT-TRAI-AG-2017), under Grant Agreement No. 814775, ran in the partnership of the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH) (coordinator), the interdisciplinary Research Group on Law, Science, Technology & Society (LSTS) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and Trilateral Research Ltd (TRI IE) between August 2018 and December 2020. More information about the STAR II project and its results are available on the project website.
15 February 2021
New summary available! Web Privacy Measurement and the Power of online tracking technologies (Dr Rob Van Eijk)
Read it here.
2 February 2021
Hub co-director Paul De Hert will be hosted at IAPP for the event 'The Legal Anthropology of Data Protection: A Conversation with Paul De Hert'
On 4 February 2021, at 10 a.m EST/16:00 CET, in the event 'The Legal Anthropology of Data Protection: A Conversation with Paul De Hert', IAPP's Omer Tene and Prof. Paul De Hert (Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Tilburg University) will address diverging regulatory approaches, how they affect the middle- and working-classes, and more.
More information on the event, registration and attendance can be found on the event's official page (LinkedIn).
21 January 2021
New summary available: The CJEU judgments in Privacy International and La Quadrature du Net and others - the return of the walking dead?
Read the summary here.
17 December 2020
The Washington Post quoted co-director Christopher Kuner and mentioned the Brussels Privacy Hub in an article on the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act
Read the article here.
7 December 2020
Summaries of the 'Specifying GDPR - Germany' and of the 'Mind-reading via EEG – legal, ethical and practical matters' are now available
Read the summary of the event Specifying GDPR - Germany here and the summary of Mind reading via EEG – legal, ethical and practical matters here
2 December 2020
On 4 December 2020, ub co-director Paul de Hert will give the closing keynote speech at the 3rd Istanbul Privacy Symposium - AI: What the Future Holds? Opportunities and Pitfalls.
The keynote will focus on 'The EU Regulatory state and an ecosystem of trust' (19:00-19:20 GMT+3/17:00-17:20 CET).
You can find the most updated information about the conference, the detailed agenda, the speakers and the registration process on the official website of the organisers.
25 November 2020
New blog post 'Refusing to award legal personality to AI: Why the European Parliament got it wrong' on European Law Blog by Vagelis Papakonstantinou and Paul De Hert
On 25 November 2020, Prof. Vagelis Papakonstantinou and HUB co-director Prof. Paul De Hert published a blog post on European Law Blog entitled '
Refusing to award legal personality to AI: Why the European Parliament got it wrong'. You may read it here.
4 November 2020
The HUB welcomes Iverna McGowan, Director of the Europe Office, Center for Democracy & Technology, as a new Advisory Board Member
Iverna McGowan, Director of the Europe Office, Center for Democracy & Technology, is a new Advisory Board Member of the HUB. See here for further information.
23 October 2020
Brussels Privacy Hub working paper 26
New publication in the Brussels Privacy Hub Working Papers.
N°26 - European Law Enforcement and US Data Companies: A Decade of Cooperation Free from Law (September 2020), by Angela Aguinaldo and Paul De Hert
To consult all the working papers, you may have a look here.
1 October 2020
Many thanks to Amy Weatherburn!
All of us at the Hub give our deepest thanks and best wishes to Amy Weatherburn, who has completed her PhD and has moved on to new challenges. Paul De Hert and Christopher Kuner, Co-Directors of the Hub, stated: “We give our deepest thanks and appreciation to Amy for all she has done for the Hub as Managing Director since its inception. Her hard work has been a critical factor in getting the Hub off the ground and making it the success it is today. We wish her the best for the future, and will always consider her part of the Hub family.
17 September 2020
The Brussels Privacy Hub has been nominated for a #GoodID Award! Cast your vote before 22 October 2020!
Convened by Omidyar Network, Good ID is a global movement for good digital identity, made up of individuals, businesses, and governments who campaign for digital dignity, data protection, human-centered technologies, and quality identification programs.
A number of individuals and organizations are nominated across multiple categories.
The Brussels Privacy Hub has been nominated, alongside other nominees who’re working towards privacy, security, & accountability in digital identity.
Now it’s up to the public to vote for their choice of community champions.
You can cast your vote good-id.org/awards/2020
7 August 2020
Brussels Privacy Hub working paper 25
New publication in the Brussels Privacy Hub Working Papers.
N°25 The Dark Side of the MOOC? The Rise of EdTech in Times of COVID-19: A Data Protection Challenge for Universities (August 2020) by Jonas Botta, Postdoctoral Researcher at the German Research Institute for Public Administration and Reader in Human Rights Law at the Berlin School of Economics and Law
To consult all the working papers, you may have a look here.
28 July 2020
Brussels Privacy Hub working paper 24
New publication in the Brussels Privacy Hub Working Papers.
N°24 Individuation: re-imagining data privacy laws to protect against digital harms (July 2020) by Anna Johnston, Principal of Salinger Privacy
To consult all the working papers, you may have a look here.
17 July 2020
Our co-director Christopher Kuner on Schrems II and future of data transfers
Our co-director Christopher Kuner published a post on European Law Blog entitled The Schrems II judgment of the Court of Justice and the future of data transfer regulation.
6 July 2020
New publications in the Brussels Privacy Hub Working Papers!
New publications in the Brussels Privacy Hub Working Papers.
N°23 Logic and Key Points of China’s Cybersecurity Review Measures (June 2020) by Yanqing Hong, Senior Fellow, Law and Development Institute, Peking University of China, Edited by Vagelis Papakonstantinou, Brussels Privacy Hub
N°21 Article 8 ECHR compliant and foreseeable surveillance: the ECtHR’s expanded legality requirement copied by the CJEU. A discussion of European surveillance case law (April 2020) by Paul De Hert & Gianclaudio Malgieri (42 pages)
and many more. Consult them all here.
1 July 2020
Summary now available! The Promise of “Blockchain”: DLT-based applications re-shape data storage and sharing, but can they be compliant with the EU data protection law?
On 18 June 2020, the Brussels Privacy Hub and the Health and Ageing Law Lab (HALL) in synergy with the Horizon 2020-funded research projects: Cyber-Trust| Advanced Cyber-Threat Intelligence, Detection, and Mitigation Platform for a Trusted Internet of Things, FASTER | First responder Advanced technologies for Safe and efficienT Emergency Response, and LOCARD | Lawful evidence collecting and continuity platform development held the webinar ‘The Promise of “Blockchain”: DLT-based applications re-shape data storage and sharing, but can they be compliant with the EU data protection law?’.
Panelists and respondents in alphabetical order were: Olga Gkotsopoulou (LSTS/VUB), Anastasiya Kiseleva (LSTS/HALL/VUB), Ashwinee Kumar (LSTS/VUB), Clément Pavué (Scorechain) representing the Cyber-Trust project, Jon Shamah (EEMA) representing the LOCARD project, Yuri Tijerino (Kwansei Gakuin University) and Carlos Tovar (Ariwonto), both representing the FASTER project. The session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Paul Quinn (LSTS/HALL/VUB).
3 June 2020
Hub and ICRC publish the second edition of Handbook on Data Protection and Humanitarian Action
On 3 June 2020, the Brussels Privacy Hub together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) published the second edition of their Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action. The co-editors of the second edition are Christopher Kuner, co-director of the Hub, and Massimo Marelli of ICRC. The second edition builds on the first edition published in 2017, and includes additional chapters on data protection and the following technologies: digital identity; social media; blockchain; connectivity as aid; and artificial intelligence and machine learning.
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27 May 2020
Release of the 2nd Edition of the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
On 3 June 2020, for the release of the second edition of the Data Protection Handbook for Humanitarian Action, the ICRC has convened a panel of experts to discuss how, in today's technological landscape, data protection is a more essential concern than ever. More information available here.
16 April 2020
Hub co-director Christopher Kuner on Data Sharing and Protection in times of Coronavirus
Hub co-director Christopher Kuner published a piece on 'Data Sharing and Protection in Times of Coronavirus' on the Verfassungsblog. Read it here!
19 March 2020
Data protection and the COVID-19 outbreak
The outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent initiatives and policy measures trigger many crucial privacy and data protection law issues. Many of them are of direct interest for LSTS researchers, most notably in the context of the Brussels Privacy Hub (BPH) work on data protection in humanitarian action.
Useful resources are available here.
11 February 2020
Meet the author with Dan Svantesson - Summary now available!
On 9 December 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub had the last appointment with the Meet the Author Series for the year 2019 with Prof. Dan Svantesson (Bond University, Australia), author of the world’s first Internet & Jurisdiction Global Status Reportlaunched at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum and published by the Internet and Jurisdiction Policy network. Discussants were Christopher Kuner (Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussels) and Laura Drechsler (Doctoral researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussels / FWO Aspirant). The debate was chaired by Hielke Hijmans (Director/President of Litigation Chamber at Belgian Data Protection Authority). A Summary of the debate is now available.
09 January 2020
New publication in the Brussels Privacy Hub Working Papers
New publication in the Brussels Privacy Hub Working Papers by visiting scholar Dr Monique Mann and Professor Tobias Matzner.
WORKING PAPER • VOL. 6 • N° 17 • January 2020 - Challenging algorithmic profiling: The limits of data protection and anti-discrimination in responding to emergent discrimination.
11 December 2019
New vacancy: PhD Position on Personal Data Transfers & Borders
The Law, Science, Technology & Society (LSTS) Research Group, together with the Brussels Privacy Hub (BPH), is launching a call for applications for PhD candidates in the area of personal data transfers. Further information are available here.
10 December 2019
Summary now available: Specifying GDPR about France
On 12 November 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub (BPH) inaugurated a new series of events aimed at initiating an overview of national perspectives and legal developments related to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), entitled “Specifying the GDPR: Member States perspectives”.
The kick-off event was about France. A summary is available here.
20 November 2019
Prof. Joris van Hoboken discussed Privacy by Design at IAPP Europe Data Protection Congress in Brussels
On 20 November 2019, Prof. Joris van Hoboken discussed the implications of AI and Privacy by Design at IAPP Europe Data Protection Congress in Brussels, arguing that one of the most visible effects of the GDPR has been the introduction of technology as part of the problem-solving.
19 November 2019
Prof. Paul De Hert will present at Conference "Convention 108+ And the future data protection global standard"
On 19 November 2019, Prof. Paul de Hert will present ‘The Convention 108 + and the regulation of Big Data’, speech at the Academic Conference "Convention 108+ And the future data protection global standard", organised by the Council of Europe and the University of Torino, Strasbourg
17 November 2019
Summary now available: Mapping EU cybersecurity law and its future challenges
On 11 October 2019 the Cyber and Data Security Lab(CDSL) and the Brussels Privacy Hub (BPH) hosted the first joint workshop on the EU cybersecurity law. The event was part of the European CyberSecurity Month and it focused on the recent achievements and milestones, as well as future policy options concerning cybersecurity regulation. A summary is available here.
12 November 2019
Summary now available: Meet the Author Series: The Internet and the Global Reach of EU Law
On 4 October 2019, the Meet the Author Series continued after the summer break with a debate with Prof Dr Christopher Kuner (Brussels Privacy Hub), the author of a book chapter entitled “The Internet and the Global Reach of EU Law" (SSRN version available here) (published in Cremona/Scott, EU Law Beyond EU Borders: The Extraterritorial Reach of EU Law, OUP 2019) examining the influence of EU law over the internet. Discussants were Orla Lynskey (Associate Professor of Law at London School of Economics) and Alessandra Calvi (Researcher at VUB). It was moderated by Hielke Hijmans from the Privacy Hub (also President of Litigation Chamber at Belgian Data Protection Authority (Chair). A summary of the event can be found here.
25 September 2019
Prof. Christopher Kuner quoted on CJEU Google judgment
Hub co-Director Prof. Christopher Kuner was quoted in POLITICO regarding the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in its judgment in the case Google LLC, Case no. C-507/17, delivered on 24 September, concerning the territorial scope of the “right to be forgotten”.
24 September 2019
Slides now available: The new European Data Protection Board - How does it function, what are the challenges?
On 20 September 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted a lunchtime event dedicated to the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), featuring a keynote speech from Isabelle Vereecken, Head of EDPB Secretariat.
5 August 2019
Summary now available: The Connected DPO: Networks, Professional Associations and Beyond
On 27 June 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted as a side event to their 4thEuropean Data Protection Law Summer Schoola public roundtable on “The Connected DPO: Networks, Professional Associations and Beyond” to discuss the rule and function of DPO networks. The Roundtable consisted of the Spanish Asociación Profesional Española de Privacidad (APEP), represented by its Chairperson, Cecilia Álvarez Rigaudias, the French Association Française des Correspondants à la protection des Données à caractère Personnel (AFCDP), represented by Christophe Boeraeve, and the Belgian association DPO Pro, represented by its Secretary and vice-President, Koenraad Flamant. Additionally, Gonca G. Dhont representedDPO network Europe, who are specialising in the recruitment of data protection and privacy professionals. The roundtable was chaired by Professor Gloria González Fuster, co-director of the Law, Science, Technology and Society (LSTS) Research Groupat the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). A summary of the event is now available here. The summary was first published in Privacy Laws & Business International Report, August 2019.
15 July 2019
Prof. Christopher Kuner speaks at events in Tokyo
Hub Co-Director Prof. Christopher Kuner gave presentations at events in Tokyo in June and July. On Friday 28 June he gave a presentation at the privacy law class of Prof. Hiroshi Miyashita at Chuo University Law School. On Thursday 4 July he gave a keynote address at the "Symposium on Data Protection in the AI Society” organised by the SECOM Foundation. And on Friday 5 July he delivered a presentation at the Jean Monnet Workshop for EU Studies at Keio University.
3 July 2019
Summary now available: Meet the Author Series - “The Right to Erasure: Safeguard for Informational Self Determination in a Digital Society?” (with Jef Ausloos)
On 25 June 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub held the eighth event of the Meet the Author Series. This time, Jef Ausloos (KU Leuven/University of Amsterdam) presented his doctorate thesis entitled “The Right to Erasure: Safeguard for Informational Self Determination in a Digital Society?”. He debated the outcomes of his work with Meg Leta Jones (Georgetown University), that provided her US scholar perspective on the right to erasure, and Thomas Zerdick, one of the drafters of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), currently at EDPS. Hielke Hijmans (VUB/Belgian DPA) chaired the discussion. A summary and a video of the event are now available.
1 July 2019
Summary now available: “The (In)Alienable Data Subjects: The seductions of data ownership, control and trade in data protection law”
On 24 June 2019, as opening event of the 4th EU data protection law summer school, the Brussels Privacy Hub organised a roundtable titled “The (In)Alienable Data Subjects: The seductions of data ownership, control and trade in data protection law”. Paul Nemitz (European Commission) moderated the discussion. Meg Leta Jones (Georgetown University), Vaclav Janecek (Oxford University), Sylvie Delacroix (University of Birmingham/Turing Institute) and Valentina Pavel (Mozilla Fellow/Privacy International) explored critical questions about personal ‘data ownership’ and data subject rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). A summary of the debate is now available.
5 June 2019
Concluding workshops of the 2nd working series updating the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
On 3 and 4 June 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub (BHP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hosted two workshops addressing data protection issues in connectivity programmes and in situations in which humanitarian organisations use social media platforms to communicate and engage with affected and concerned individuals.
During the workshops, representatives of humanitarian organisations, national data protection authorities, scholars, technical experts and representatives of the private sector presented and discussed the topics. The discussions highlighted challenges of implementing transparency obligations, facilitating data subjects’ rights, partnering with non-humanitarian actors, the risks to the safety of affected populations that arise from data breaches as well as the ethical question surrounding data protection issues in these contexts.
The two workshops were held at the ICRC headquarters in Geneva and concluded the series of workshops that were part of the 2nd working series that aims at updating and extending the scope of the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action (Handbook). The revised and more extensive version of the Handbook will be published in 2020.
30 May 2019
New discussion paper on The EU rights to privacy and personal protection: 20 years in 10 questions
On 14 May 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted a workshop entitled Exploring the Privacy and Data Protection connection: International Workshop on the Legal Notions of Privacy and Data Protection in EU Law in a Rapidly Changing World. The workshop was a great success and the discussion paper is now available.
29 May 2019
Watch Meet the Author Interview with Juraj Sajfert on data protection for law enforcement
On 27 March 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted the seventh event of the Meet the Author series with Juraj Sajfert (European Commission, DG JUST) and Teresa Quintel (Luxembourg University/Uppsala Universitet) on their paper entitled “Data Protection Directive (EU) 2016/680 for Police and Criminal Justice Authorities”. An interview with Juraj Sajfert and the discussants Prof. Gert Vermeulen (Ghent University) and Cecilia Verkleij (European Commission, DG Home) by Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub/Belgian DPA) addressing the particularities of data protection in the area of police and justice by law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in now online. Watch here.
20 May 2019
New Publication by BPH’s co-director Prof. Christopher Kuner
BPH’s co-director Prof. Christopher Kuneris one of the contributors of the recently published book “EU Law Beyond EU Borders: The Extraterritorial Reach of EU Law” (Oxford University Press 2019) edited by Marise Cremona and Joanne Scott. He has drafted the chapter entitled ‘The Internet and the global reach of EU law’.
17 May 2019
Summary on the Meet the Author Series: “Data Protection Directive for Police and Criminal Justice Authorities” with Juraj Sajfert and Teresa Quintel
On 27 March 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hubhosted the seventh event of the Meet the Author series. This time, Juraj Sajfert(European Commission, DG JUST) and Teresa Quintel (Luxembourg University/Uppsala Universitet) presented their paper entitled “Data Protection Directive (EU) 2016/680 for Police and Criminal Justice Authorities” addressing the particularities of data protection in the area of police and justice by law enforcement agencies (LEAs). They debated the outcomes of their work with Prof. Gert Vermeulen (Ghent University) and Cecilia Verkleij (European Commission, DG Home). Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub/Belgian DPA) chaired the discussion. A written summary is available here.
5 April 2019
Protecting personal data while using artificial intelligence in the humanitarian action
On 2 and 3 April 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub (BHP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hosted a workshop addressing data protection issues in artificial intelligence use cases in the humanitarian sector.
Representatives of humanitarian organisations, national data protection authorities, scholars, technical experts and representatives of the private sector presented and discussed challenges related to personal data processing in artificial intelligence solutions for humanitarian programs. The discussions highlighted challenges related to machine bias, transparency of systems, data quality, ethical questions related to machine learning and data protection concerns, such as data minimisation and the right not be subjected to a fully automated decision-making.
The two-day workshop was held at the VUB’s Institute for European Studies in Brussels and was part of the 2nd working series that aims at updating and extending the scope of the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action (Handbook), which was first published in 2017. The revised and more extensive version of the Handbook will be published by January 2020.
The next workshop of the 2nd working series will address the use of social media in humanitarian programs and the topic of connectivity as aid and will take place in June 2019 in Geneva.
1 April 2019
Hub Member, Hielke Hijmans, is appointed by Belgian Parliament as member of the Board of the Belgian DPA
On 29 March, the Belgian Parliament appointed the five members of the Board of the Belgian Data Protection Authority (Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit or Autorité de Protection des Données), for a period of six years.
Hielke Hijmans of the Privacy Hub is appointed as director for litigation and will head a litigations chamber, e.g. responsible for imposing sanctions. David Stevens (chair), Alexandra Jaspar, Charlotte Dereppe and Peter Vaneyden are the other Board members.
27 March 2019
4th European Data Protection Law Summer School: draft programme & opening of registration
From 24 to 28 June 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub will host the 4th European Data Protection Law Summer School entitled Advancing (with) EU data protection. Participants will be given a fully-fledged vision of the challenges and opportunities of European data protection law. They will explore EU’s primary and secondary law and engage with a variety of stakeholders: practitioners with worldwide privacy expertise, representatives of EU institutions, data protection authorities, digital rights advocates, leading academics from Europe and beyond. Lectures, hand-on practical cases and role-playings will be combined with institutional visits and evening networking events to bring participants into the heart of European Union’s legal and policy-making. Consult our programme and register now to benefit from our early bird fees.
7 March 2019
Summary on The Trouble with Article 25 (and How to Fix It): The Future of Data Protection by Design and Default
On 25 February 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted Ira Rubinstein (New York University School of Law) who presented a paper in progress, on “The Trouble with Article 25 (and How to Fix It): The Future of Data Protection by Design and Default”, providing his point of view as a US scholar over the Article 25 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Dr. Hielke Hijmans (Brussel Privacy Hub) chaired the event. A summary of the presentation and of the following discussion is now available here.
4 March 2019
Updating the Handbook on data protection in humanitarian action
On 26 and 27 February 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub (BHP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hosted a workshop addressing data protection issues in blockchain and digital identity use cases in the humanitarian sector. The two-day workshop was held at the ICRC headquarters in Geneva and was part of the 2nd working series that aims at updating and extending the scope of the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action (Handbook), which was first published in 2017.
Representatives of humanitarian organisations, National Red Cross Societies, national data protection authorities, scholars, technical experts and representatives of the private sector presented and discussed challenges related to personal data processing in existing blockchain applications and digital identity solutions for humanitarian programs. The main points raised during the discussion as well as concerns for the future use of such technologies will be integrated in the revised and more extensive version of the Handbook that will be published by January 2020.
The next workshop of the 2nd working series, which will address the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in humanitarian programs, will take place in April 2019.
11 February 2019
Videos of Meet the Author with Philipp Hacker and Hub CPDP Panel now online
On 17 December 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub a Meet the Author Series with Philipp Hacker (Humboldt University of Berlin / WZB Berlin Social Science Center) discussing his article “Teaching Fairness to Artificial Intelligence: Existing and Novel Strategies against Algorithmic Discrimination under EU Law”. Discussants were Paul Nemitz (European Commission), Prof. Gloria González Fuster (Brussels Privacy Hub / LSTS) and Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub). Find a short video with interviews summarising the event here. A written summary can be found here.
On 1 February 2019, the Brussels Privacy Hub co-hosted a CPDP Panel together with PANELFIT on “Health data and AI in clinics and research: legal basis, transparency and accountability”, combining academic and institutional expertise. Find a full video of the panel here.
30 January 2019
Prof. Christopher Kuner at European University Institute
Hub Co-Director Prof. Christopher Kuner is a visiting fellow in the Department of Law of the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence in the second term of 2019. On 28 January he gave a talk at EUI as part of the ENACT program entitled “The territorial scope of the GDPR”. On 30 January he gave a talk a the Department of Law entitled “International organizations and the EU General Data Protection Regulation" (more here).
28 January 2019
Call for papers: International Workshop on the Legal Notions of Privacy and Data Protection in EU Law in a Rapidly Changing World
On 14 May 2019, Brussels Privacy Hub will host a one day workshop Exploring the Privacy and Data Protection connection : International Workshop on the Legal Notions of Privacy and Data Protection in EU Law in a Rapidly Changing World. The Workshop will give the opportunity to PhD students and early career researchers to present their research on the relationship between the EU fundamental rights to privacy and data protection. For more information including submission requirements and deadlines, please see the call for papers.
25 January 2019
Prof. de Hert awarded prestigious ‘Michał Serzycki’ Data Protection Award' from Personal Data Office, Poland
On 28 January 2019, Prof. Paul de Hert will be awarded the prestigious ‘Michał Serzycki’ Data Protection Award'. The Award entails the recognition of his work in the field of data protection for the benefit of promoting data protection values and the right to privacy, as well of his special awareness and involvement in this area. In addition this Award acknowledge’s his contribution to mutual initiatives as regards work on European Union funded projects. The results of these projects still constitute invaluable help in educating in the field of privacy and personal data protection. The Award ceremony will take place on the occasion of the Data Protection Day Conference organised by the Polish DPA in Warsaw.
21 January 2019
Summary on Meet the Author with Philipp Hacker on Algorithmic Discrimination under EU law uploaded
On 17 December 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted the sixth event in the Meet the Author Series with Philipp Hacker (Humboldt University of Berlin / WZB Berlin Social Science Center) discussing his article “Teaching Fairness to Artificial Intelligence: Existing and Novel Strategies against Algorithmic Discrimination under EU Law”. He debated the outcomes of his work with Paul Nemitz (European Commission), Prof. Gloria González Fuster (Brussels Privacy Hub / LSTS) and Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub). A summary is now available here.
18 January 2019
Prof. Vagelis Papakonstantinou appointed a member of the Greek GDPR implementation law-making committee
BPH’s member Vagelis Papakonstantinou has been appointed a member of the law-making committee drafting the GDPR (and the Police and Criminal Justice Data Protection Directive) implementation law in Greece. The law-making committee, established under the Greek Ministry of Justice, has been in session since 2016 but has not been able to produce a final legislative act yet, although public consultation has already taken place on a previous draft. Under its current mandate the committee needs to conclude all relevant works until end of February 2019.
19 December 2018
Summary of panel on the EU copyright proposal online
On 30 November 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted a lunchtime debate on “The copyright directive and concerns for free expression, big data innovation and access to information”. The debate, moderated by Jens-Henrik Jeppesen (Centre for Democracy & Technology), featured contributions by Raegan MacDonald (Mozilla) and Aleksandra Kuczerawy (KU Leuven) and focused on the proposal for a new copyright directive by the European Commission that is currently undergoing trilogue negotiations. Within this proposal the focus was on three provisions that could potentially have long-term effects on freedom of expression, big data and freedom of information, namely Article 3 (text and data mining exception), Article 11 (press publishers’ right) and Article 13 (upload filters). Find a summary of the debate here.
6 December 2018
Materials available for Digital Data Flows Masterclass 2 Location Data
Following the 2nd class in the Digital Data Flows Masterclass Series “Location Data: GPS, Wi-Fi, and Spatial Analytics”, the materials speakers' slides and video of the presentations are now available. The next session (Class 3) will be hosted in Brussels in January 2019, adjacent to the 12th Annual Computers, Privacy and Data Protection Conference (CPDP2019). This class will be in-person and offer remote participation. Registration details will be circulated shortly. All remaining sessions in 2019 will offer remote participation only. More information on the Masterclass programme.
5 December 2018
Summary on Meet the Author with Mistale Taylor on extraterritoriality uploaded
On 7 November 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted the fifth edition of its Meet the Author Series with Mistale Taylor (Utrecht University) discussing her doctoral thesis “Transatlantic Jurisdiction Conflicts in Data Protection Law: How the Fundamental Right to Data Protection Conditions the European Union’s Exercise of Extraterritorial Jurisdiction”. The seminal work exploring jurisdictional issues connected to the EU’s data protection rules was debated by Anna Buchta (EDPS), Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius (University of Amsterdam/LSTS) and Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub). A summary is now available here.
4 December 2018
Prof. Christopher Kuner gives lectures in Tokyo
In November, Prof. Christopher Kuner gave two lectures in Tokyo, Japan. The first was a keynote speech at the conference on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) hosted by the Japanese data protection authority (PPC) on 20 November; the programme is available here (in Japanese). The second was held at Keio University Law School at the invitation of Prof. Katsuhiro Shoji on 22 November, and was entitled “The Internet and the Global Reach of EU Law” (in Japanese).
28 November 2018
Digital Data Flows Masterclass: 2nd session
On 27 November, the Brussels Privacy Hub and the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) organised the second session of the Digital Data Flows Masterclass: Emerging Technologies. The successful event gathered high quality speakers, starting with opening remarks by Hub Co-Director Paul De Hert (LSTS, VUB) and Jules Polonetsky (CEO, FPF), and followed by presentations on geo-location data and de-identification methods by Simon Hania (DPO, Uber), on mobile sensors and Wi-Fi analytics, by Stacey Gray (Privacy Counsel, FPF) and on location data flows by Kara Selke (VP of Privacy & Data Partners, StreetLight Data) who used case studies to facilitate the discussion. The lively debate was moderated by Jules Polonetsky, taking also several questions from the well-attended online audience. The third session will be in January and is aimed at advertising technologies. The full programme is available here. For further information and registration see here. All sessions are free and remote participation is possible.
13 November 2018
BPH co-hosted three successful side events at the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (ICDPPC)
ICDPPC Side event with Privacy Laws and Business on collective action
On 23 October 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub in association with Privacy Laws and Business organised the event addressing issues concerning the future for collective action under the GDPR. The list of speakers at this event contained renowned experts in the area of data protection, including Isabelle Buscke (Head of Brussels Office, Federation of German Consumer Organisations), Dr. Orla Lynskey (Assistant Professor of Law, London School of Economics), David Martin Ruiz (Senior Legal Officer, BEUC), Wojciech Wiewiórowski (Assistant European Data Protection Supervisor), Dr. Boris Uphoff and Ashley Winton (McDermott Will & Emery). The discussion was chaired by Professor Gloria González-Fuster (BPH) and moderated by Stewart Dresner (Privacy Laws & Business). The slides of well-prepared speakers are available here.
ICDPPC Launch of 2nd edition of the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
On 23 October, the Brussels Privacy Hub launched the working series in order to update the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross. The revised and more extensive version of the Handbook is due to in January 2020. The discussion about issues that urgently need to be addressed in the new edition of the Handbook was opened by Yves Dricot (Deputy Director-General of the Directorate General Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Massimo Marelli (Head of Data Protection Office, International Committee of the Red Cross) and Christopher Kuner (Co-Director, Brussels Privacy Hub). Alexandrine Pirlot de Corbion (Global South Programme Lead, Privacy International) moderated the discussion providing more insight about existing and emerging data protection challenges for the humanitarian organisation. Christina Vasala Kokkinaki (Legal Officer, International Organisation for Migration), Stuart Campo (Researcher, Signal Program on Human Security and Technology, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative) and Wojciech Wiewiórowski (Assistant European Data Protection Supervisor) in their contributions emphasised that while there is a legal vacuum in which humanitarian organisations often operate, there is a need for a good practice to follow that would facilitate the use of technology and application of data protection principles.
Launch of the Digital Data Flows Master Class Series with the Future of Privacy Forum
On 25 October 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub had a pleasure of organising the Digital Data Flows Master Class on Emerging Technologies in partnership with Future of Privacy Forum. The inaugural session of the educational programme for regulators, policymakers, legislators (for registration to upcoming events see here) focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. Dr. Oliver Grau (Chair of ACM’s Europe Technology Policy Committee, Intel Automated Driving Group, and University of Surrey) and Dr. Swati Gupta (H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech, Assistant Professor) gave a flavour of how AI and deep learning work and how to identify bias in the data, models and variables. The session was opened by Christopher Kuner (BPH) and moderated by Jules Polonetsky (Future of Privacy Forum).
29 October 2018
Prof. Christopher Kuner Chairs Concluding Panel at the International Data Protection Commissioners’ Conference in Brussels
On 25 October, Hub Co-Director Prof. Christopher Kuner chaired the concluding panel at the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in Brussels, held at the European Parliament. The programme for the conference is available here.
22 October 2018
Enforcement In Indonesia Data Privacy Laws: The 2018 Facebook-Cambridge Analytica Scandal As A Case Study
Brussels Privacy Hub Visiting Scholar Anbar Jayadi published her working paper researched during her stay at the Hub on “Enforcement in Indonesia Data Privacy Laws: The 2018 Facebook-Cambridge Analytica Scandal as a case study”. The 13th BPH Working Paper uses the way the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal unfolded in Indonesia, leading to a collective action challenge in civil courts, to show current and potential future Indonesian data privacy laws and especially analyse whether enforcement of those rules would provide remedy against the failures revealed in the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal. This analysis also provides useful insights into the current data privacy law reform ongoing in Indonesia.
22 October 2018
Christopher Kuner speaks at workshop at the European University Institute
On 19 October, Prof. Christopher Kuner gave a talk entitled “The Internet and the global reach of EU law” at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. The talk was part of the workshop “The informal dimensions of data” organised by the Robert Schumann Centre for Advanced Studies of the Department of Law.
21 October 2018
Event on data localisation very successful
On 11 October 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub organised a seminar on “Data localisation: Analysing a growing global regulatory phenomenon” followed by a reception. The well-attended event featured a presentation by Helena U. Vrabec (Palantir, Yale Law School) on “Data localisation measures and their impact on data economy”, followed by a contribution of Professor Andrew Keane Woods (University of Arizona) on the intersection of jurisdictional conflicts and data localisation. The following debate was chaired by Hub Co-Director Professor Paul De Hert (LSTS, VUB). A summary of the proceedings is now available here.
19 October 2018
Christopher Kuner gives speech at the University of Vienna
On 16 October, Prof. Christopher Kuner gave a speech at the University of Vienna entitled “International Organizations and the EU General Data Protection Regulation: Exploring the Interaction between EU Law and International Law”. The speech was held as part of the roundtable series of the Department of European, International and Comparative Law at the invitation of Prof. August Reinisch.
16 October 2018
Summary of Hub event on "the GDPR and journalism" now ready for reading
On 18 September 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted a lunchtime seminar on “The GDPR and Journalism. Protecting Privacy or a Break on Democratic Accountability?”. In the seminar, Charlotte Michils, legal advisor VVJ / AVBB, informed about the recently adopted Belgian law that tries to reconcile within the data-intensive activity of journalism the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and data protection. Such national legislation is explicitly encouraged in the GDPR with Article 85. The presentation was followed by a lively debate with the audience chaired by Hub member Paul Quinn (LSTS/VUB). Find a summary of the proceedings here.
15 October 2018
Summary on lunchtime workshop "GDPR and scientific research" now online
On 29 August 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub in cooperation with the Promoting Integrity as an Integral Dimension of Excellence in Research (PRINTEGER) project held a lunchtime workshop on “Data protection for scientific research: Which preliminary findings under the GDPR?”. Serge Gutwirth (LSTS, VUB) chaired the panel, which consisted of Marlon Domingus (Data Protection Officer, Erasmus University Rotterdam), Audrey Van Scharen (Data Protection Officer, VUB), Jef Ausloos (Legal Researcher, CiTiP, KU Leuven), and Gloria González Fuster (LSTS/BPH, VUB) and discussed the complex relationship of the GDPR with scientific research. A summary of the event can be found here.
28 September 2018
St Petersburg lecture by Christopher Kuner available online
The lecture on global data protection law given by Hub Co-Director Prof. Christopher Kuner in May 2018 at the St Petersburg International Legal Forum Academy in St Petersburg, Russia is now available online here.
10 September 2018
Hub Member, Vagelis Papakonstantinou, appointed to Professor
Vagelis Papakonstantinou has been appointed a professor at the Faculty of Law & Criminology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. While working for the Brussels Privacy Hub and the Research Group on Law, Science, Technology & Society (LSTS) his research will continue to focus on personal data protection, both from an EU and an international perspective; Special emphasis will be placed on supervision, in particular Data Protection Authorities’ global cooperation. New research topics will include cybersecurity, digital personhood and computer programmes.
7 September 2018
Joris van Hoboken, member of expert group on Online Platform Economy
Joris Van Hoboken, LSTS member and teaching on the new Data Law Option of the LLM in International and European Law led by the Hub, has been selected as a member of the expert group for the Observatory on the Online Platform Economy. The expert group, set up by Commission Decision of 26 of April, will support the Commission in monitoring the evolution of the online platform economy so as to allow for evidence-based and problem-focused policy making. It will be composed of up to 15 members acting in a personal capacity who should have a proven competence and experience in respect of the online platform economy or of specific digital technologies, business models or other related issues. The group will normally meet at least four times a year in Brussels.
14 August 2018
Summary online of Law Enforcement Data Access Series event on encrypted data
On 6 June 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub together with Canvas Project held its 3rd Law Enforcement Data Access Series event on “Encrypted data: Challenges and Opportunities” under the chairwomanship of Catherine Van De Heyning (FRC, VUB). The event combined perspectives from Graham Willmott, Head of Unit DG Home, European Commission, Owen Bennett, Mozilla, Prof. Joachim Meese, University of Antwerpen, and Jan Kerkhofs, Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s office, Counter Terrorism Unit & Cybercrime Unit. A summary of the proceedings is now available here.
13 August 2018
Interview: The GDPR: A perspective from Down Under
During their visit to Brussels in June 2018, we took a few minutes to discuss the perspective of the GDPR from Down Under with Brussels Privacy Hub Visiting Scholar, Professor Graham Greenleaf, University of New South Wales and D.PIA.LAB Visiting Scholar, Anna Johnston, Director of Salinger Privacy. Read the full interview.
9 August 2018
Understanding the balancing act behind the legitimate interest of the controller ground: a pragmatic approach
Paul de Hert (BPH, LSTS, TILT) and Irene Kamara (TILT, LSTS) publish a new BPH working paper discussing the prerequisites, stakes, and relevant case law of the Legitimate Interest of the Controller ground for data processing (Art. 6(f) GDPR). While much debate has taken place over consent and the conditions for a meaningful informed choice of the data subject, the legitimate interest ground has not been at the spotlight of academia and practitioners. The 12th BPH Working Paper analyses the concept of legitimate interest of the controller of Art. 6 (f) GDPR in relation to Art. 7 (f) of the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and the interpretations of the concept by the Court of Justice of the EU and the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party. The authors argue that when the legitimate interest ground is seen through the lens of the data protection principles of Article 5 GDPR and Article 8 Charter Fundamental Rights EU, it is not a loophole, as it has often been criticised, but an equivalent basis for lawful processing.
24 July 2018
Meet the author with Graham Greenleaf: summary uploaded
On 26 June 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted a next edition in its Meet the Author Series on "Threats to EU concepts of ‘adequacy’ from trade agreements and data export agreements in the Asia-Pacific" with Graham Greenleaf, Professor of Law & Information Systems at the UNSW Sydney. Three of Greenleaf’s most recent works (Greenleaf, G ‘Looming Free Trade Agreements Pose Threats to Privacy’ (2018) Privacy Laws & Business International Report 23-27 (April 2018), Greenleaf, G, 'Questioning ‘Adequacy’ (Pt II) – South Korea' (2018) Privacy Laws & Business International Report 14-16 (February 2018) and Greenleaf, G, 'Questioning 'Adequacy' (Pt I) – Japan' 2017) Privacy Laws & Business International Report, 1, 6-11 (December 2017) were discussed with Professor Christopher Kuner (Brussels Privacy Hub) and Fabian Delcros (DG Justice, European Commission). The debate was moderated by Dr Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub). Find a full summary of the event here.
20 July 2018
Anbar Jayadi joins Brussels Privacy Hub as a visiting scholar
On 16 July 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub welcomed Anbar Jayadi a faculty member of the Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, Universitas Indonesia as a visiting scholar for a month. During her stay with the Hub, Anbar will research on “Indonesia’s readiness in data privacy enforcement” (Draft working paper available).
20 July 2018
Christopher Kuner speaks at workshop on data protection within international organisations
On 13 July Hub Co-Director Prof. Christopher gave a presentation at the workshop on data protection within international organisations that was co-organized by the European Data Protection Supervisor and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); the workshop was held at the UNHCR Global Service Centre in Copenhagen. He spoke on the panel entitled “The impact of the GDPR and transfers from and to international organisations”.
14 July 2018
Summary of Roundtable with Nuala O’Connor now available
On 4 June 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted a Roundtable on “Current Privacy and Security Challenges in the United States, Belgium, and the EU” with Nuala O’Connor, President and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology. The roundtable offered a chance for dialogue on achieving that balance between security and privacy, an opportunity seized by the many participants. Find a summary of the proceedings now online.
13 July 2018
HUB member Laura Drechsler awarded FWO scholarship
On 27 June 2018, Brussels Privacy Hub member Laura Drechsler was awarded the FWO scholarship for her thesis on “Data subject rights in cross-border data transfers” for two years, renewable once. Her research will consider what role data subject rights play when personal data is transferred outside of the European Union, for which she will also try to establish the standard a third country has to fulfill to be considered adequate for data protection from an EU perspective.
25 June 2018
Graham Greenleaf joins Brussels Privacy Hub as visiting scholar
On 25 June 2018, Graham Greenleaf, Professor of Law & Information Systems at the UNSW Sydney, joined the Brussels Privacy Hub as a visiting scholar. During his week-long stay he will contribute to the 3rd European Data Law Summer School, be at the centre of a special edition of Meet-the-Author on “Threats to EU concepts of ‘adequacy’ from trade agreements and data export agreements in the Asia-Pacific” and join a roundtable on “The GDPR in third countries: the opportunities of the Modernisation of Convention 108”.
19 June 2018
Christopher Kuner speaks at workshop at European University Institute
On 11 June Prof. Christopher Kuner spoke at a workshop at the European University Institute in Florence entitled “The General Data Protection Regulation in context: Data Protection in International Organisations in general and in the EUI in particular”. More information about the workshop is available here.
11 June 2018
Hub welcomes Nuala O’Connor for Roundtable on privacy and security
On 4 June 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted Nuala O’Connor, President and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, for a roundtable on “Current Privacy and Security Challenges in the United States, Belgium, and the EU” and was visiting Brussels at the invitation of the German Marshall Fund of the United States as part of a program with the US Embassy to strengthen the Belgium-US dialogue on data protection. The event offered the opportunity to openly exchange views with Ms O’Connor, who gave insights in the US perspective on privacy, encrypted data and the GDPR. A short summary of the roundtable will be uploaded to our website soon.
11 June 2018
Summary of the debate with Maja Brkan on the essence of fundamental rights now available
On 20 April, Brussels Privacy Hub hosted its third edition of Meet the Author. This time with Maja Brkan on her forthcoming article in the European Constitutional Law Review “The concept of essence of fundamental rights in the EU legal order: Peeling the onion to its core”, in which she offers a case-law based analysis of the essence of fundamental rights. The article was discussed by Christopher Docksey (Hon. Director General, EDPS), Prof. Christopher Kuner (Brussels Privacy Hub) and Dr Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub). Find a summary of the interesting debate as well as the video of the full debate on our website.
10 June 2018
PhD Vacancy at LSTS: Call for applications on privacy and data protection legislation in connection with smart technologies (energy and transport)
LSTS is looking for a motivated researcher to join its research unit on smart technologies (energy and transport) and personal data protection law.
As part of his or her duties, the candidate, will be working on an ongoing innovation project funded by the European Commission (H2020) with a focus on providing solutions for cities to “significantly increase their overall energy and resource efficiency through actions addressing the building stock, energy systems, mobility, and air quality”.
For more information on the application process and job description, see LSTS Vacancy.
6 June 2018
3rd successful Law Enforcement Data Access event on encrypted data
On 6 June 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub in collaboration with Canvas Project hosted its 3rd successful Law Enforcement Data Access Series event titled “Encrypted data: Challenges and Opportunities” under the chairwomanship of Catherine Van De Heyning (FRC, VUB). The event combined perspectives from policy-makers, Graham Willmott, Head of Unit DG Home, European Commission, industry, Owen Bennett, Mozilla, academia, Prof. Joachim Meese, University of Antwerpen, with practical insights from law enforcement, Jan Kerkhofs, Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s office, Counter Terrorism Unit & Cybercrime Unit. It concluded with a lively debate with the audience. A summary of the proceedings will be uploaded soon to our Website.
23 May 2018
Hub holds roundtable on the GDPR and diplomatic missions
On Tuesday 22 May, the Hub held a roundtable on the GDPR and diplomatic missions. The roundtable, which was by invitation only, examined the potential impact of the GDPR on the work of embassies and other diplomatic missions. It was attended by diplomats from a number of non-EU countries.
22 May 2018
Christopher Kuner speaks at St Petersburg International Legal Forum
Hub co-director Prof. Christopher Kuner spoke on two panels at the St Petersburg International Legal Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia. On Thursday 17 May he spoke on the panel “Identification of Participants in Legal Relations of the Digital Environment and New Digital Services: Trend Towards Digital Economy”, and on Friday 18 May he spoke on the panel “Data for Everything: in Search of Balance of Interests”. The Forum was attended by several thousand delegates from 86 countries.
22 May 2018
Christopher Kuner publishes article in Common Market Law Review
Hub Co-Director Prof. Christopher Kuner has just published the following article on the EU Court of Justice’s Opinion 1/15 on the proposed EU-Canada PNR agreement: "International agreements, data protection, and EU fundamental rights on the international stage: Opinion 1/15 (EU-Canada PNR)", vol. 55 no. 3 Common Market Law Review 857-882 (2018)
10 May 2018
First Law Enforcement Data Access summary on the US-Cloud-Act now available
On 18 April 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub in collaboration with the JUD-IT project, held its first event in its new Law Enforcement Data Access Series titled “US CLOUD-Act: Signalling change in global data flows?”. The event featured discussions by the key experts Gloria González Fuster (VUB), Jason Biros (U.S. mission to the European Union), Juraj Sajfert (DG JUST, European Commission), Maryant Fernández Pérez (European Digital Rights) and Jens-Henrik Jeppesen. They debated the significance of the US CLOUD act for cross-border access to electronic data. Please find a summary now here.
9 May 2018
Hub hosts second successful Law Enforcement Data Access event on e-evidence
On 9 May 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub in collaboration with Live_For held its second event in its new Law Enforcement Data Access Series titled “The new EU framework on e-evidence”. The event brought together a panel of Lani Cosette (Director, EU Government Affairs, Microsoft), Maria Angela Biasotti (Project Coordinator of the EU project EVIDENCE, via videoconference), and Laure Baudrihaye-Gérard (Senior lawyer, Fair trials). The event was chaired by Paul de Hert (Brussels Privacy Hub, VUB) and engaged in an intense debate on the future of e-evidence in the EU legal framework. A summary of this debate will be made available soon on our website.
9 May 2018
Study International, European and Data Law in Brussels
The Brussels Privacy Hub (BPH) has joined forces with VUB’s Institute for European Studies (IES) to offer the possibility to study International and European Law with a Data Law specialisation in Brussels, starting from the academic year 2018-19. Students of the LLM in International and European law, an Advanced Master’s degree, will be able to follow a new Data Law option, consisting of three courses: ‘International and European data protection law’, ‘Data policies in the EU’, and a case study on ‘Global privacy and data protection law’. You can find more information here.
5 May 2018
Now available the successful first collaboration event with the EDPS online!
On 20 February 2018, the EDPS and the Brussels Privacy Hub co-organised a lunch workshop on ‘Putting a price on your invaluable private life? Personal data and the values behind’. Romain Robert (EDPS) and Gloria González Fuster (VUB) facilitated the discussion among Damian Clifford (KU Leuven), Sari Depreeuw (Daldewolf), Géraldine Proust (FEDMA), and Agustín Reyna (BEUC). To learn more about the issues addressed by the speakers you can read an event summary or watch a full recording here.
5 May 2018
Christopher Kuner interviewed by Goldman Sachs on the GDPR
Hub co-director Prof. Christopher Kuner has given an interview to the publication “Top of Mind” published by Global Macro Research of Goldman Sachs on 26 April. The interview deals with the impact of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
27 April 2018
Meet the author with Maja Brkan: Video now available
On 20 April 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted a new event titled “In search of the concept of essence of EU fundamental rights through the prism of data privacy” in its Meet the Author Series, featuring Maja Brkan, the acclaimed author of “The concept of essence of fundamental rights in the EU legal order: Peeling the onion to its core” (European Constitutional Law Review, Issue 2, 2018, Forthcoming). The fascinating debate on this theme at the core of the European constitutional order was stirred and furthered by excellent remarks by Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub), Prof Dr Christopher Kuner (Brussels Privacy Hub) and Christopher Docksey (Hon. Director General, EDPS). A full video recording of the event is now available here. A summary will be made available shortly.
26 April 2018
First event of the new Hub Law Enforcement Data Access Series on the US CLOUD-Act highly sought after
On 18 April 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub in collaboration with the JUD-IT project, held its first event in its new Law Enforcement Data Access Series titled “US CLOUD-Act: Signalling change in global data flows?”. The event was booked out quickly and brought together key experts Gloria González Fuster (VUB), Jason Biros (U.S. mission to the European Union), Juraj Sajfert (DG JUST, European Commission), Maryant Fernández Pérez (European Digital Rights) and Jens-Henrik Jeppesen to discuss the significance of the US CLOUD act for cross-border access to electronic data. A Working Paper on the results of this debate will be made available soon on the Brussels Privacy Hub Website.
27 March 2018
Hub Co-Director Christopher Kuner quoted in POLITICO on global privacy enforcement
On 26 March 2018, Prof. Christopher Kuner, Co-Director of the Brussels Privacy Hub, was quoted in a story by POLITICO entitled “Facebook data scandal opens new era in global privacy enforcement” which described the Cambridge Analytica revelations from a data protection regulatory perspective. For Kuner the revealed practice of data mining and large amount of personal information available from Facebook showed the need for “having a strong data protection authority”, though it still remains to be seen “whether they are up for the task”. The full article is available with POLITICO.
27 March 2018
Hub Member interviewed about Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal
Prof. Dr. Gloria González Fuster has been interviewed by La Voz de Galicia, in the context of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal and the advent of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Read the interview here.
23 March 2018
Conference on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action: Summary now available
The Conference on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action on 12 March 2018 of the Brussels Privacy Hub, the Belgian Ministry of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda Telecom and Postal Services, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation to the EU, NATO and the Kingdom of Belgium was very well received by its over 100 participants. The conference discussed in two panels with leading experts the principles of data protection most relevant for humanitarian action and the data protection implications of using cash-transfers to provide humanitarian assistance. If you missed the event, please find here a programme and the summary of the event.
15 March 2018
Conference on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action a great success
On 12 March 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub in collaboration with the Data Protection Office of the International Red Cross (ICRC), the Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda Telecom and Postal Services, NATO and the Kingdom of Belgium organised a Conference on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action. The event was widely attended with more than 120 participants. After an introduction by Hub Co-Director Christopher Kuner, followed by keynotes of Alexander de Croo (Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecom and Postal Services) and Charlotte Lindsey Curtet (Director of Communication and Information Management, ICRC) the Conference focused in two panels on some of the practical issues arise when data protection rules are applied to Humanitarian Action. During the event, the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action of the Hub and the ICRC was praised several times for its relevance and usefulness in addressing these difficult issues. A summary of the event will be available soon.
15 March 2018
Privacy and data protection seals
Brussels Privacy Hub member Vagelis Papakonstantinou has co-edited, together with Rowena Rodrigues from Trilateral Research, a new book on “Privacy and Data Protection Seals”, just published by T.M.C. Asser Press under its Information Technology and Law series (distribution by Springer). The book presents timely and needed contributions on privacy and data protection seals as seen from general, legal, policy, economic, technological, and societal perspectives, covering data protection certification in the EU (i.e., the possibilities, actors and building blocks); the Schleswig-Holstein Data Protection Seal; the French Privacy Seal Scheme; privacy seals in the USA, Europe, Japan, Canada, India and Australia; controversies, challenges and lessons for privacy seals; the potential for privacy seals in emerging technologies; and an economic analysis.
The book’s chapter on the EU perspective, “Data Protection Certification in the EU: Possibilities, Actors and Building Blocks in a Reformed Landscape”, has been drafted by BPH’s Director, Paul de Hert, together with LSTS’ Irene Kamara
2 March 2018
Hub Advisory Board Member Paul Nemitz appointed as VUB Fellow
On 6 February 2018 Paul Nemitz, Principal Advisor at the European Commission and Privacy Hub board member, has been appointed as a Fellow of the University. The award ceremony will be held on June 21, 2018. “VUB Fellow” is the highest grade of membership of the University, a title bestowed upon unique personalities. Through the VUB Fellowship programme academics, society, and business meet to discuss joint challenges, exchange experiences and share good practices.
28 February 2018
Hub member Laura Drechsler wins 3rd prize in LexisNexis Best Paper Award at IRIS2018
On 22 February 2018, Brussels Privacy Hub member Laura Drechsler was awarded the 3rd prize in the LexisNexis Best Paper Award competition for the 21st Internationale Rechtsinformatik Symposium (IRIS) in Salzburg for her paper “Data As Counter-performance: A New Way Forward Or A Step Back For The Fundamental Right Of Data Protection”. The paper analyses the proposal for Digital Content Directive from a data protection angle and is available in the conference proceedings published also online by Weblaw.
28 February 2018
Successful Workshop on Big Data Analytics by Telecommunications Operators and the draft ePrivacy Regulation
On 22 February 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub hosted a Workshop on Big Data Analytics by Telecommunications Operators and the draft ePrivacy Regulation. The well-received workshop moderated by Vagelis Papakonstantinou (Brussels Privacy Hub, LSTS, VUB) discussed with speakers Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub), Cédrine Morlière (Belgian Privacy Commission) and Achim Klabunde (Head of Sector IT Policy, EDPS) potential user and data processing scenarios and assessed regulatory solutions. The findings of the Workshop will be summarised in a Brussels Privacy Hub Working Paper to be made available on our Website.
22 February 2018
Recording of the successful first Lunchtime Event with the EDPS online
On 20 February 2018, the EDPS and the Brussels Privacy Hub co-organised a lunch workshop at the EDPS premises on ‘Putting a price on your invaluable private life? Personal data and the values behind’. The debate between our speakers, Damian Clifford (KU Leuven), Sari Depreeuw (Daldewolf), Géraldine Proust (FEDMA), Agustín Reyna (BEUC), Romain Robert (EDPS) and Gloria Gonzàlez Fuster (VUB) were both fruitful and academically engaging! If you missed this high-level debate, watch a full recording here.
22 February 2018
Recording available of roundtable on the European Investigation Order
On 15 January 2018, the VUB Fundamental Rights and Constitutionalism Research Group, as partner of the EU project LIVE_ FOR, organised a round table addressing cross border access to electronic evidence and judicial cooperation in the context of the European Investigation Order. The panel composed by LSTS members Mireille Hildebrandt, Paul De Hert, Gloria Gonzalez Fuster and FRC member Catherine Van der Heyning, examined the fundamental elements of the instrument and addressed some of its current and future challenges jointly with the notions sovereignty, territoriality and jurisdiction, individual´s fundamental rights and the work of law enforcement authorities in the digital era. Find a video of the full event here.
13 February 2018
Brussels Privacy Hub Lunchtime event co-organised with the EDPS completely booked out
On 20 February 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub and the EDPS will co-organise a lunchtime debate titled “Putting a price on your invaluable private life? Personal data and the values behind”. The debate moderated by Romain Robert (EDPS) with Gloria González Fuster (VUB), Damian Clifford (KU Leuven), Sari Depreeuw (Daldewolf), Géraldine Proust (FEDMA) and Agustín Reyna (BEUC) was completely booked out within two weeks. If you missed the registration, you can watch a full recording of the event or read the summary afterwards. Both will be available on the Brussels Privacy Hub Website.
9 February 2018
Hub Co-Director Christopher Kuner publishes paper on “International Organisations and the GDPR”
Christopher Kuner, Co-Director of the Hub, has published a paper entitled “International Organisations and the EU General Data Protection Regulation” in the University of Cambridge Law Faculty Research Paper Studies Series. The paper examines the impact of the GDPR on the work of international organizations (such as organisations established under public international law).
6 February 2018
BPH Panel on Data Protection Challenges in Humanitarian Action a great success
The Brussels Privacy Hub successfully organised a panel for the 11th edition of CPDP on Data Protection Challenges in Humanitarian Action. The well attended panel focused on the special situation of humanitarian organisations in regard to data protection. The expert speakers Ben Parker (IRIN), Alexander Beck (UNHCR), Massimo Marelli (ICRC), Alexandrine Pirlot de Corbion (Privacy International) and Vagelis Papakonstantinou (BPH) each presented a different opinion on the matter, leading to a fruitful and engaging discourse. If you missed the Panel or want to re-watch it, please find a full recording here.
5 February 2018
Hub Co-Director Christopher Kuner cited in POLITICO on “Brussels effect”
On 31 January 2018, POLITICO published an article on the external influence the entering of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will have on a global scale through its strict rules on cross-border data transfers and its application on companies tending to EU customers. Within the article ‘Europe’s new data protection rules export privacy standards worldwide’ Brussels Privacy Hub Co-Director Christopher Kuner is cited on two occasions as main expert for what he terms “the Brussels effect”, namely that through data protection Europe is trying to extend its influence over other countries. “In terms of regulatory influence, Europe is definitely a superpower”, so Kuner. To read the full article on POLITICO, click here.
2 February 2018
2nd edition of Meet the Author – summary now available
On 18 December 2017, the Brussels Privacy Hub held the 2nd edition of its Meet the Author Series of Lunchtime “The relationship between EU consumer law and data protection”. Dr Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius (University of Amsterdam) and Agustin Reyna (BEUC) presented their article for the Common Law Review co-authored with Prof Natali Helberger (University of Amsterdam) named “The perfect match? A closer look at the relationship between EU consumer law and data protection”. The presentation was followed by interventions of Christian D’Cunha (European Data Protection Supervisor), Prof. Gloria González (Brussels Privacy Hub, LSTS, VUB) and Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub). A full recording of the video can be found here. If you prefer reading to watching, a summary of the debate and interventions is available now!
31 January 2018
Brussels Privacy Hub and Privacy Salon host successful launch for CPDP 2018
On 23 January 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub teamed up with Privacy Salon to host a launch event for the 11th edition of CPDP. The event was an exclusive roundtable on “Cross-border data transfers”, where the discussants Max Schrems (noyb), Renate Nikolay (Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Vĕra Jourová, DG JUST, European Commission) and Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna (Future of Privacy Forum) debated especially data flows in the transatlantic context. The heated debate was moderated by Omer Tene (IAPP). If you missed the debate, find a full recording here.
19 January 2018
CPDP launch event: Speakers confirmed!
On 23 January 2018, the Brussels Privacy Hub and the Privacy Salon will be hosting an exclusive launch event for the 11th edition of CPDP. This year's launch will be an Evening Roundtable on "Cross-border Data Transfers" starting at 18.00, followed by a cocktail. The excellent debate moderated by Omer Tene (IAPP), will include Max Schrems (noyb), Renate Nikolay (Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Vĕra Jourová, DG JUST, European Commission) and Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna (Future of Privacy Forum (FPF)) and focus on “cross-border data transfers” especially in the transatlantic context. Registration.
20 December 2017
2nd edition of the Meet the Author Series highly successful
On 18 December 2017, the Brussels Privacy Hub held the second event in its Meet the Author Series of Lunchtime debates titled “The relationship between EU consumer law and data protection”. The well-received format gives authors of recent books and articles on privacy related issues an opportunity to present their book or article before a critical audience. For this edition, Dr Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius (University of Amsterdam) and Agustin Reyna (BEUC) presented their article for the Common Law Review co-authored with Prof Natali Helberger (University of Amsterdam) named “The perfect match? A closer look at the relationship between EU consumer law and data protection”. The presentation was followed by critical interventions of Christian D’Cunha (European Data Protection Supervisor), Prof. Gloria González (Brussels Privacy Hub, LSTS, VUB) and Hielke Hijmans (Brussels Privacy Hub), who also moderated the lively debate afterwards with the audience. A summary of the event will follow soon. Since the public debate should be inspiring for authors, readers and also for a wider public, we also fully recorded the session. The video can be found here.
02 December 2017
Prof. Christopher Kuner is a Visiting Professor at Chuo University in Tokyo
From mid-November through early December Hub Co-Director Prof. Christopher Kuner was a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Comparative Law at Chuo University in Tokyo, Japan. He was hosted by Prof. Hiroshi Miyashita, who was previously a Visiting Scholar at the Brussels Privacy Hub. During his stay Prof. Kuner gave lectures and participated in various workshops. In particular, he was the keynote speaker at a staff seminar at Chuo Law School entitled “EU General Data Protection Regulation and Artificial Intelligence Society” on 29 November.
28 November 2017
Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action at the Responsible Data Community Call on the GDPR
On 22 November 2017, the Responsible Data Forum organised a Community Call on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), during which the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action was introduced by Prof. Dr. Gloria González Fuster. More information, including additional resources on the protection of data in humanitarian action, can be found in this blog post: Looking back at the GDPR community call and sharing resources.
23 November 2017
Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action at the Council of Europe
On 23 November 2017, the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action of the Brussels Privacy Hub and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will be presented at the 35th Plenary meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS No.108). This presentation further underlines the importance and relevance of the Handbook for Humanitarian Action and will greatly enhance its visibility.
21 November 2017
Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action to be presented at the annual DG ECHO partners’ conference
DG ECHO (Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations) is hosting its partners’ annual conference on 30 November to 1 December. In collaboration with the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, BPH will present the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action to organizations delivering humanitarian aid around the world.
A more detailed summary of the conference will follow after the event.
6 November 2017
2nd edition of the Brussels Privacy Symposium
The Brussels Privacy Hub and the Future of Privacy Forum held the 2nd Annual Brussels Privacy Symposium on 6 November 2017 on the topic “AI Ethics: The Privacy Challenge”. With three keynote speeches and four panels the symposium provided an excellent overview of the ethical and legal issues connected to algorithms and artificial intelligence. The speakers were among the best in their respective fields and offered insights into fields from computer engineering to airport security. The event, which had been booked out for weeks, was attended by over 100 participants, who actively participated in the discussions in the panels. The papers of the Symposium will be published by IEEE Security & Privacy. More information and material on the event can be found here.
26 October 2017
Hub collaborating with DPIA-lab organised debate on ethics
On 26 October 2017, the Brussels Privacy Hub in cooperation with DPIA-Lab organised a debate named “Data protection and ethics. Does more ethics imply more duties for controllers?” with Professor J. Peter Burgess, Dariuz Kloza and Wojciech R Wiewiórowski debating on the role of ethics in data protection. A summary of the debate will be published soon.
12 October 2017
Max Planck Conference: in-depth material now available
On October 12, the Brussels Privacy Hub and the Max Planck Institute for Procedural Law held a joint conference entitled “Jurisdiction, Conflicts of Law and Data Protection in Cyberspace” in Luxembourg. The excellent conference proceedings (find the programme here) merited in-depth material to be uploaded for the Hub audience. Please find here a summary of the different panels. To replay the whole conference watch part 1 and part 2 as a video.
12 October 2017
Hub and Max Planck Institute Luxembourg hold joint conference on jurisdiction, conflicts of law, and data protection on the Internet.
On 12 October, the Brussels Privacy Hub and the Max Planck Institute for Procedural Law held a joint conference entitled “Jurisdiction, Conflicts of Law and Data Protection in Cyberspace” at the Institute’s headquarters in Luxembourg. The program of the conference included presentations by academics and experts from around the world, including Advocate General Saugmandsgaard Øe of the Court of Justice of the EU. There were nearly 100 people in attendance. The entire conference was filmed, and the video of it will be posted here shortly. A short written summary of the conference will also be posted.
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