2024, the final year of the LeADS project, will finish with an intensive three-day meeting packed with a wide variety of LeADS activities. Organized by the LeADS consortium, the activities will take place in Pisa at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies. During these three days, three distinct events will take place, amongst them the Conference on Legally compliant data-driven society on 11 October 2024.

The first panel on Data-driven markets and Innovation Rationale will be initiated at 12:00 with opening remarks by Prof. Giovanni Comande’. The following talks were by Giovanni Pitruzzella, the Constitutional Court, Jeroen van den Hoven TU Delf, and Antonio Buttà, the AGCM.

The second panel on Research and secondary use of data will be initiated at 2 pm with opening remarks by Prof. Giovanni Comande, followed by talks by Loes Markenstein, EDPB, Regina Becker, Luxembourg National Data Service LNDS, Guido Scorza, Italian DPA, and Piotr Drobek, UODO Personal Data Protection Office, Poland.

Finally, Gabriele Lenzini, UniLu, will initiate the third panel at 4 pm on Data Society and technological sovereignty security, which will be followed by talks by Riccardo Masucci, Intel Bruxelles, Jorge Maestre Vidal, Indra · Digital Labs, Domenico Ferrara, ENISA, and Nicola Lattanzi, IMT.

ESR Barbara Lazarotto will present her research paper written along with her colleague Pablo Trigo Kramcsák on the topic of “Another Data Dilemma in Smart Cities: The G DPR’s Joint Controllership Tightrope Within Public-Private Collaborations” at The Annual Privacy Forum (APF) 2024 organized by ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity), DG Connect (Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology), and Karlstad University.

The event will be a critical platform for discussing personal data protection, industry developments, and future challenges. It will bring together academia, industry, and government experts to explore the evolving landscape of data privacy and legal frameworks. By fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, the event aims to contribute to the ongoing effort to enhance data privacy across the EU and beyond.

More information on the event and the full program can be found here

The book with the proceedings of the event, along with Barbara’s research paper is here

On July 17th, ESR Barbara Lazarotto participated in a panel discussion on ‘The Impact of EU AI Regulation on Latin American AI Governance: Emerging AI Authorities?’ at CPDP Latam.

The event took place at FGV Cultural Center in Botafogo, in Rio de Janeiro, focusing on discussing diverse data protection topics in Latin America in its two-day program. For this reason, the Conference has a diverse audience and is held in three official languages: Portuguese, Spanish, and English. Although the Conference was held in person, the opening and closing plenaries were live-streamed, and live translation services were also offered.

The panel took a comparative approach by addressing the different complexities and challenges faced by Brazil, Chile, and the European Union when it comes to the AI governance models. The Panel was moderated by Ine van Zeeland (SMIT, VUB), joined by speakers Lucas Borges de Carvalho (ANPD), Pedro Martins (Data Privacy Brasil), Alberto Cerda (law professor from the University of Chile), Bárbara Lazarotto (LSTS, VUB), and Filipe Medon (FGV).

Barbara also submitted a paper co-authored with Rocco Saverino and Pablo Trigo Kramcsák to the CPDP Latam 2024 call for papers.

ESR Tommaso Crepax presented his article on “The ‘Meta-moth-phosis’ of Data Portability: Observing the Transformation of Data Portability Through a Comparative Analysis of Definitions Across European Legislation” at this year’s Privacy Symposium conference, which took place in Venice, Italy, from June 10th to June 14th.

In his article, Tommaso examines the varying interpretations of data portability across different legislative frameworks. While each jurisdiction labels the concept as “portability,” the underlying understanding of what constitutes portability significantly differs. This research shows that the notion of data portability has undergone a substantial transformation: initially centered on empowering users by enabling data export and transfer, it has progressively shifted focus to benefit the data market by making data accessible to various entities in an easily-modifiable, machine-readable format. The metamorphosis of portability is complete in the Data Act: from larva to moth—the meta-moth-phosis.

For more information, read his blog post and abstract.

Between the 13th and 17th of May, ESR Fatma Doğan had the opportunity to attend the Summer School, an event that brought together researchers from a variety of fields to share insights, foster collaboration, and advance collective knowledge. It was an invigorating experience, to say the least.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the summer school was the opportunity for Fatma to present a part of her PhD research. Sharing her work with such a diverse and knowledgeable audience was exhilarating. The feedback received was invaluable, offering new perspectives and ideas that Fatma is eager to incorporate into her research. The summer school provided a fantastic platform for Fatma to network with other researchers. Engaging with peers from different disciplines opened her eyes to various methodologies and approaches that she hadn’t considered before. These interactions highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in driving innovation and solving complex problems.

The event featured many esteemed scholars who gave insightful talks on a wide range of topics such as Nadya Purtova, Lilian Edwards, Michael Veale, Uli Sachs and Yong Lim. Just to give an example, Fatma shared some remarks from Woodrow Hartzog’s speech.

Prof. Hartzog delved into the complex risks of AI and the challenges of regulating this technology. He highlighted the difficulty of understanding AI’s full risks, noting the divide between techno-optimists and techno-doomers. Prof. Hartzog stressed the dangers of an unregulated information ecosystem and the necessity of proactive measures to prevent harmful advancements by less scrupulous actors. He pointed out the growing privacy risks posed by IoT devices like facial recognition doorbells and the increasing use of AI for micro-management in schools, workplaces, and universities. This creates an “AI micro-managing machine” that personalizes ads and perpetuates misinformation—a scenario he described as a “snake eating its own tail.”

Regarding regulation, Prof. Hartzog critiqued Biden’s executive order on AI, which focuses on transparency but often falls short. Transparency is insufficient without real power for individuals, and debiasing AI is challenging and doesn’t necessarily make systems less dangerous. Ethical guidelines and advisory boards, while well-intentioned, often lack authority, creating a false sense of progress. Emphasizing individual control over personal data is misleading when system designs don’t support genuine autonomy. Prof. Hartzog mentioned that governments must protect individuals regardless of their choices because ‘no technology is neutral’. Lawmakers should be involved in tech development to ensure alignment with societal values. He highlighted the importance of maintaining social trust and pointed out that meaningful AI development might reduce industry profits but is essential to avoid societal harm. Technologies requiring significant human exploitation might not be necessary.

Reflecting on historical lessons, Prof. Hartzog noted the decline in public trust in tech companies and the growing calls for stricter regulations, such as bans on facial recognition. Local efforts, like city councils banning facial recognition, demonstrate meaningful action once considered unimaginable. Finally, Prof. Hartzog emphasized that addressing bias in AI is crucial but just a starting point. Bias correction alone won’t eliminate the risk of AI being used oppressively. He compared AI regulation to speed limits—necessary for safety despite being imperfect. He also noted that surveillance-driven advertising contributes to misinformation, underscoring the need for comprehensive and proactive AI governance, ethical development, and privacy protection to ensure technology serves society responsibly.

This summer school was more than just an academic exercise; Fatma is looking forward to applying the insights gained to her ongoing research. Lastly, Fatma is thankful to the organizers and participants who made the Summer School a success.