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.

In this special edition of our blog posts, our ESRs write about their experiences and insights they made during their secondments.

Secondments enable ESRs to engage with prominent academics and practitioners at both partner universities and research institutes as well as industrial and regulatory entities. ESRs gain practical experience in how their research might translate into real-life problems encountered by businesses. At the same time, ESRs will be able to complement their research with practical experiences gained throughout the secondment and adapt their research projects accordingly. Finally, they also constitute an invaluable networking opportunity and grant our ESRs the possibility to identify possible career paths. Whether in the academic, regulatory, or industry sectors.

Each ESR will complete two secondments: one at a beneficiary (universities and research institutes) and one at the partners (industry or regulatory bodies) of the LeADS project.

Fatma S. Doğan started on her first secondment at the University of Piraeus in September 2023. During this one-month period, Fatma undertook her secondment at the Data and Cloud Lab under the guidance of Prof. Dimosthenis Kyriazis. Fatma had the chance to communicate with fellow researchers about their studies, and through this exchange, possible collaborations have emerged, given several studies conducted on health data within the University of Piraeus. Fatma also attended the European Researchers’ Night event in Athens on September 29. At this scientific fair, Fatma and fellow ESRs promoted the LeADS project while at the same time engaging with researchers from various fields.

Continuing her studies from December 18th to April 30th, 2024, Fatma is undertaking her non-academic secondment at the Italian Data Protection Authority (GPDP) in Rome. She conducts her studies under the supervision of Dr. Roberto Lattanzi and Dr. Cosimo Comella, focusing on the evolving landscape of data protection regulations, particularly the proposed European Health Data Space regulation. On February 9th, Fatma attended the “State of AI” conference organized as part of the Privacy Symposium. The conference welcomed several esteemed guests from Member States’ supervisory bodies and tech companies such as Google, Meta, and Microsoft. During this full-day event, possible outcomes of the AI Act were evaluated by panel attendees. Speakers from international bodies such as NATO and OECD provided a novel vision to the audience. GPDP’s investigation of OpenAI regarding its data protection breaches of GDPR was also discussed in terms of setting a precedent.

In general, it has been and still is an enriching experience to witness the breakthroughs of AI technologies at GPDP. Though these breakthroughs excite us all, they bring numerous concerns regarding data protection. As one of the supervisory bodies closely following these technological developments, investigations conducted by GPDP remind us of these concerns.

Read more about the latest investigations about OpenAI’s SORA here.

I spent the late spring and early summer of 2023 at Paul Sabatier III in Toulouse, researching algorithmic fairness and non-discrimination under the guidance of the mathematician, Prof. Jean-Michel Loubes. Prof. Loubes has published extensively in the field of fair machine learning, and the afternoons spent brainstorming with him were well spent. While there, I and fellow ESR Soumia El Mestari finished our Working Paper, a final draft of which will be presented in June of this year at ACM FAccT in Brazil. I also finished a second paper which was presented in the autumn of 2023 at the European Conference on Machine Learning and Data Mining. While my time in Toulouse was productive, it was also enjoyable. I look back fondly on the many lunches shared with fellow ESR Barbara Lazarotto, Mohamed Ali Kandi and Giorgia Macilotti, discussing the sociological effects of emerging technologies and whether and how certain risks might be mitigated.