Literature - Legal.digital

CyberEurope: The regulatory evolution of cybersecurity in Europe

We trace the regulatory evolution of cybersecurity in Europe, from the first NIS Directive to the most recent legislative proposals on the subject as part of our series of articles named CyberEurope. “Cybersecurity,” in its most common meaning, means the activity of analyzing and detecting cyber threats, and taking appropriate

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EU’s policies to AI: are there blindspots regarding accountability and democratic governance?

Maria Inês Costa (PhD Candidate at the School of Law of the University of Minho. FCT research scholarship holder – UI/BD/154522/2023) ▪ In her recent State of the Union (SOTEU) 2023 speech, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen addressed several pressing issues, including artificial intelligence

Literature

These new tools could make AI vision systems less biased

Two new papers from Sony and Meta describe novel methods to make bias detection fairer. By Melissa Heikkilä for MIT Technology Review on September 25, 2023 https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/09/25/1080191/these-new-tools-could-make-ai-vision-systems-less-biased/

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Causal foundations of bias, disparity and fairness

The study of biases, such as gender or racial biases, is an important topic in the social and behavioural sciences. However, the literature does not always clearly define the concept. Definitions of bias are often ambiguous or not provided at all. To study biases in a precise manner, it is

Literature

Research WODC Deepfakes: are our legal frameworks adequate?

It will not have escaped anyone's notice that the application of AI has advanced by leaps and bounds. Among other things, advances in technology mean that today it is possible to use so-called "deepfakes. These are imitations of people that, through advanced technology, are barely distinguishable from the real thing.

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Compensation for unlawful processing of personal data

"Any person who has suffered material or immaterial damage as a result of a breach of this Regulation is entitled to receive compensation from the controller or processor for the damage suffered." It follows that three requirements come into play when assessing whether there is a right to compensation: 1.

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From the Digital Services package to the Digital Markets Act: the road to a (more) secure, open, and fundamental rights-friendly digital space

Inês Neves (Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Porto | Researcher at CIJ - Centre for Legal Research | Member of the Jean Monnet Module team DigEUCit) ▪ Aware of the shortcomings arising from the lack of changes to the European Union’s legal framework governing online platforms and digital services,

Literature

A comparative analysis of non-discrimination law in Europe

This comparative analysis, drafted by Isabelle Chopin and Catharina Germaine (Migration Policy Group), compares and analyses the information set out in the country reports relating to 2021 in a format mirroring that of the country reports themselves and draws some conclusions from the information contained in them. The report further

Literature

Digital legacy in the Netherlands: Risks and ambiguities

Via Ars Aequi. It appears that many Dutch people have not properly arranged their digital legacy. This can lead to risks such as online survival and identity fraud. A will can usually be a solution, but not everyone makes a will. Digital estate includes personal, financial, business and social media

Literature

An end to shadow banning? Transparency rights in the Digital Services Act between content moderation and curation

This paper analyzes the phenomenon of "shadow banning" from a legal perspective, which is a content moderation sanction that is undetectable to those affected. The paper connects concerns about shadow banning to new visibility management techniques in content moderation, such as delisting and demotion. The EU Digital Services Act is

Literature

Chronicle of privacy law

The text is a summary of developments in data protection and the GDPR between January 2021 and October 2022, focusing on the rights of data subjects, such as access and erasure rights, and discussing issues related to the use of the "legitimate interest" basis, data breach notification, cross-border data transfers,

Literature

Chronicle of privacy law

The text is a summary of developments in data protection and the GDPR between January 2021 and October 2022, focusing on the rights of data subjects, such as access and erasure rights, and discussing issues related to the use of the "legitimate interest" basis, data breach notification, cross-border data transfers,

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Against Predictive Optimization

On the Legitimacy of Decision-Making Algorithms that Optimize Predictive Accuracy. The flaws include biased and discriminatory outcomes, opaqueness and lack of transparency, lack of accountability, reinforcement of existing stereotypes, lack of control and consent, potential for misuse or abuse, and the fallibility or incompleteness of data. These flaws pose a

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Open Access: Data Protection without Data Protectionism

The Right to Protection of Personal Data and Data Transfers in EU Law and International Trade Law. The book suggests a rights-based interpretation of data transfer mechanisms in the GDPR and proposes new designs for data flow clauses in free trade agreements that protect privacy and trade. It is part

Literature

Bias in algorithms - Artificial intelligence and discrimination

The report focuses on the potential for bias in predictive policing and offensive speech detection algorithms and how this can lead to discrimination. It emphasizes the need for comprehensive assessments of algorithms to identify and address bias before such systems are used for decision-making. Regular assessments by providers and users

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Study on the impact of recent developments in digital advertising on privacy, publishers and advertisers

This study has collated evidence which on balance indicates a strong case to reform digital advertising. It indicates that the status quo is unsustainable for individuals, publishers and advertisers. Digital advertising that relies on the collection of personal data, tracking and massive-scale profiling can have unintended consequences on data protection

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Trends in racial and ethnic discrimination in hiring in six Western countries

We examine trends in racial and ethnic discrimination in hiring in six European and North American countries: Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States. Our sample includes all available discrimination estimates from 90 field experimental studies of hiring discrimination, encompassing more than 170,000 applications for

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Whiteness of AI erases people of colour from our ‘imagined futures’, researchers argue

This is according to experts at the University of Cambridge, who suggest that current portrayals and stereotypes about AI risk creating a “racially homogenous”. By Kanta Dihal and Stephen Cave for University of Cambridge on August 6, 2020 https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/whiteness-of-ai-erases-people-of-colour-from-our-imagined-futures-researchers-argue

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An analysis of Dutch case law: what factors play a role in awarding (or not) and determining the extent of damages under the GDPR?

Since May 2018, the GDPR has been directly applicable in the European Economic Area, including the member states of the European Union, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland. Four years later, awarding damages for GDPR violations is still not a common practice in the Netherlands, despite the fact that news reports regularly

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Fairness perceptions of algorithmic decision-making: A systematic review of the empirical literature

Algorithmic decision-making increasingly shapes people's daily lives. Given that such autonomous systems can cause severe harm to individuals and social groups, fairness concerns have arisen. A human-centric approach demanded by scholars and policymakers requires considering people's fairness perceptions when designing and implementing algorithmic decision-making. We provide a comprehensive, systematic literature

Literature

Digitization, Surveillance, Colonialism

This article discusses the importance of privacy in the context of the recent Supreme Court ruling on abortion in the United States. The ruling has led to the potential for personal data, such as browsing histories and location data, to be used to prosecute women seeking abortions and those who

Literature

Smartphone platforms as privacy regulators

Recent developments underscore the increasingly important role of online platforms in impacting data privacy in the digital economy. Platform policies can make or break the enjoyment of privacy by users, and platforms should be required to make official disclosures about their privacy-related policies and practices for their respective ecosystems, according

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Fortifying the Algorithmic Management Provisions in the Proposed Platform Work Directive

The European Commission proposed a Directive on Platform Work in 2021 that aims to address the issue of misclassification of the employed as self-employed and to regulate algorithmic management on platforms. The provisions in the proposal are well-drafted but may face resistance and lobbying during the legislative process and in

Literature

Big Data Analytics, Insurtech and Consumer Contracts: A European Appraisal

Automated personalization in consumer insurance contracts is not yet a reality in Europe, but mass customization and robotization of insurance contracts are a growing problem, according to this article in European Review of Private Law. https://kluwerlawonline.com/journalarticle/European+Review+of+Private+Law/30.4/ERPL2022030

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University of Twente: On the Efficacy of Online Proctoring using Proctorio

The results of a controlled experiment using Proctorio, an online proctoring system, show that it is ineffective at detecting cheating. https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/275927505/3e2a9e5b2fad237a3d35f36fa2c5f44552f2.pdf