Institutet för rättsinformatik
The Swedish Law and Informatics Research Institute, Law and Information Technology, ICT regulations, E-governance, Privacy
June 19 – 30, 2017 (2 weeks)
Topics that will be covered include cybersecurity, consumer protection, legal issues of social media, Internet and telecom infrastructure, data protection, intellectual property, antitrust, and much more…
Source: Geneva Summer Schools – University of Geneva – Internet Law
The Institute for Technology and Society of Rio de Janeiro (itsrio.org) invites researchers, students and professionals working with technology policy to apply to its Global Policy Fellowship Program and spend four weeks in Brazil at ITS Rio.
Source: Applications Now Open: ITS Global Policy Fellowship Program | ITS Rio
When: March 16, 2017, 10:00–16:00
Location: Clarion Hotel Stockholm, Ringvägen 98
RSVP: March 9, torsten@uppdragshuset.se
Early birds: Breakfast and coffee is served at 09:30.
Night owls: Dinner is served at 18:00. Please confirm in your RSVP.
Uppdragshuset and TU Wien invites you to a day workshop on patent retrieval from both an academic and an industry perspective. During the day we will elaborate on a variety of topics. From disclosing recent research in patent text mining done at the University to reviewing resulting tools applied on real life innovation processes. This overall project for exploring automated information retrieval is a cooperation between Uppdragshuset and the TU Wien and is funded by the European research program Eurostars. View program.
Stanley Greenstein will defend his doctoral dissertation “Predictive Modelling in a Legal Context” at the Faculty of Law, Stockholm University on June 1st, 2017.
Individuals are spending an ever-increasing portion of their lives within the on-line environment, the internet and social media catalysts in this regard. The by-product of this hyper-connectivity is large amounts of both content and meta data, that hold untapped knowledge concerning the personality and behavioural characteristics of these individuals.
Predictive modelling is a technology based on applied statistics, mathematics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. In analysing examples (historical data), algorithms are able to identify correlations between these data that are invisible to human beings. This knowledge is subsequently incorporated into computer models, where algorithms are tasked with applying this extracted knowledge on novel circumstances, sometimes automatically and in real time. One use of this technology is to identify and predict human behaviour. This insight is a powerful tool, as the ability to predict human behaviour brings with it the ability to influence human behaviour.
Private corporations are increasingly resorting to predictive models in order to identify business risks and vulnerabilities. Predictive models are becoming an indispensable part of the corporate decision-making apparatus, where individuals are no longer judged at face value but rather according to their digital image. This is an essential tool for corporations, as the traditional relationship between corporation and client has been disrupted by human mobility and globalization. As a result, predictive models are determining a large amount of human interaction with the internet: they determine the music people listen to, the news feeds people receive, the content people see, the partners that are suggested, the jobs sought, the diagnosis of disease and whether people will be granted credit, to mention but a few.
This dissertation examines predictive modelling from the legal perspective. This technology is a powerful tool and for all the many associated societal benefits, there are accompanying dangers. This study begins by examining the European legal sphere while inspiration is drawn from the international context. It examines the technology of predictive modelling, making an inventory of the potential harms, a common denominator in this regard the threat to personal autonomy. Thereafter, it investigates the extent to which the European legal regime of data privacy (data protection and human rights) addresses these harms. Finally, a strategy entitled ‘empowerment’ is presented. It comprises an inventory of traditional legal, soft law and technical mechanisms, which, if placed at the disposal of individuals (or possibly taken into consideration by the legislator), will level the playing field between corporation and individual, ultimately protecting personal autonomy by reinstating the power balance.
Conference TILTing Perspectives 2017: ‘Regulating a connected world’
17-19 May 2017, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands
Technology is transforming society on many fronts. In recent years, we have seen the rise of social media and the sharing economy, a sustained move from atoms to bits, and the rapid development of cloud computing, big data, smart devices, and robotics. Along with these developments we see a continuous stream of new legal and regulatory issues. For every problem solved, two new problems seem to surface.
Source: Tilburg University – Conference TILTing Perspectives 2017: ‘Regulating a connected world’
TILT opened a Call for Fellowship applications. This program is for internationally renowned senior scholars who wish to spend the 2017- 2018 academic year, or a semester, in residence at TILT as part of its multi-disciplinary research team to work on some of the most interesting, challenging and urgent issues relating to emerging and disruptive technologies.
Applications will be accepted on or before April 15, 2017.
Source: Job opening: Open Call for Fellowship Applications, Academic Year 2017-2018 (7521)
The Council of Europe has adopted the first international guidelines on Big Data and data protection (Convention 108). The guidelines adopt an approach that goes beyond the traditional individual dimension of data protection and takes into account the social and ethical impact of the use of Big Data.
Guidelines: https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016806ebe7a
IRI is partner in a new research project funded by the European Commission – SAYSO – Standardisation of Situational Awareness Systems to Strengthen Operations in Civil Protection.
The project will run for 24 months and has an overall budget of 1500000 €. The partners come from eight European countries.
The University of Skovde is looking for a motivated PhD student to work on Big Data Privacy. The recruited student will work in the project “Disclosure risk and transparency in big data privacy” directed by Vicenç Torra.
The PhD thesis will be on assessing disclosure risk for big data, and on developing new data protection mechanisms for this type of data (e.g., for graphs and social networks).
Deadline for the application is January 8th. This is a 4 years project.
The 11th IGF was held from 6 to 9 of December 2016 in Zapopan, Jalisco, México. The meeting marked the first gathering of the global multistakeholder IGF community since the renewal of the IGF’s mandate for 10 years by the United Nations General Assembly at the WSIS+10 High Level Event2 last year. With the overall meeting theme of ‘Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth’, the IGF provided a substantive platform for engaged and informed discussions about, among many other things, how the Internet can support and help to enable sustainable growth as envisaged by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The international Conference for e-Democracy and Open Government brings together e-democracy, e-participation and open government specialists working in academia, politics, government and business to critically analyse the innovations, issues, ideas and challenges in the networked societies of the digital age.
Venue: Danube University Krems
Date: 17.05.2017 – 19.05.2017
Source: CeDEM17 – Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government 2017 – Danube University Krems
Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) has a vacancy for an Assistant/Associate professorship Regulation of Technology.
Job description
The successful candidate is expected to research, teach, and supervise graduate and PhD students in the field of ‘technology regulation’. (S)he is expected to develop new ideas in research and education, and acquire funding (independently or jointly with other colleagues) for future research. These activities should help TILT with the further expansion of its research and education in the field of technology regulation. Research will be conceptual, fundamental and applied, for example, in studies commissioned by third parties (government, EU, and private parties).
Deadline
Submission date: no later than 16 January 2017.
Source: Job opening: Assistant/Associate professorship regulation of technology (1,0 fte) (7901)
Marianne och Marcus Wallenbergs Foundation (MMW) has granted IRI’s Director Peter Wahlgren 2 340 000 SEK for the research project “Legislation for the future”. MMW funds research projects of high scientific potential and provides individual support to outstanding scientists.
Stockholm Internet Forum 2017. Münchenbryggeriet venue in Stockholm. May 16-18 2017!
The Internet is undoubtedly a powerful technology that has had a tremendous impact on billions of people’s lives by giving access to an “uncompromised” source of information, a possibility to communicate directly to individuals all over the globe as well as to millions of people at the same time.
Stockholm Internet Forum 2017 will focus on the connection(s) between access and power. Enjoying the benefits of cross-sectorial collaboration this can be understood from many perspectives. One major key issue is however the empowering benefits of Internet accessibility – targeting both political, economic and social aspects of Power.
Previous SIF’s have brought 300-500 people to Stockholm and Munchenbryggeriet. SIDA arranges, in collaboration with Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This time there will be a special side-event because, if what I heard is correct, the next meeting with the Freedom Online Coalition, the coalition of some 30 States, is planned to meet around the same dates in Stockholm. Sweden has a leading role in the Freedom Online Coalition. https://www.freedomonlinecoalition.com/
Source: First announcement for #SIF17: “Access and Power” | Stockholm Internet Forum
Regeringen har fattat beslut om att tillsätta en utredning med uppdrag att utreda de rättsliga förutsättningarna för en digitalt samverkande förvaltning. Cecilia Magnusson Sjöberg utses som särskild utredare.
Utredningen får i uppdrag att kartlägga och analysera i vilken utsträckning det förekommer lagstiftning som i onödan försvårar digital utveckling och samverkan inom den offentliga förvaltningen. Utredaren ska även lämna förslag på författningsändringar.
Source: Utredning ser över lagstiftning som försvårar digitalisering i offentlig förvaltning – Regeringen.se
Stanley Greenstein presents his forthcoming dissertation, with the working title ‘Predictive Modelling in a Legal Context’.
Date: 15 December 2016.
Time: 10:00-12:00.
Place: Faculty Room, 8th floor, Department of Law, South House C, Frescati Campus.
Individuals are spending an increased portion of their lives within the digital environment, with the Internet and social media the catalysts in this regard. The by-product of this on-line activity is big data. Predictive modelling is a technology based on statistics, mathematics, machine learning and artificial intelligence that analyses big data, identifying knowledge that is invisible to human beings. This knowledge is built into models, which have the ability to identify and predict human behaviour. They determine the music we listen to (Spotify), the news feeds we receive (Facebook), the pictures we see (Instagram), the perfect love match (dating sites), the job search (job recruitment agencies), the diagnosis of disease (IBM Watson) and whether we will be granted a bank loan (credit agencies). This technology is a powerful tool and for all the associated benefits, there are risks, the main one being the loss of human autonomy. This dissertation investigates the potential legal harms resulting from the use of predictive models in the relationship between commercial actors and individuals. It examines how the legal regime of data privacy (data protection and human rights) addresses the negative effects of this technology and suggests complimentary ways in which to empower the individual.
Opponent: Mark Klamberg.
Supervisor: Peter Wahlgren.
Deputy-Supervisor: Jussi Karlgren.
Please register no later than 7 December on the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/WcVAJ8Li6uJ8ne9V2
A shorter text will be made available to participants who have registered for the seminar. Should you have any queries, please contact Stanley on stanley.greenstein@juridicum.su.se
Welcome!
Stanley Greenstein, Peter Wahlgren and Jussi Karlgren
The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is now accepting fellowship applications for the 2017-2018 academic year through our annual open call. This opportunity is for those who wish to spend 2017-2018 in residence in Cambridge, MA as part of the Center’s vibrant community of research and practice, and who seek to engage in collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and cross-sectoral exploration of some of the Internet’s most important and compelling issues.
Applications will be accepted until Monday January 16, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
Source: Open Call for Fellowship Applications, Academic Year 2017-2018 | Berkman Klein Center
The XXXI Nordic Conference on Law and IT was held at Näringslivets hus in Stockholm on Nov 10-11, 2016. IRI would like to give special thanks to all speakers for their contribution to a successful conference on the theme Secure Digitalisation. The speakers’ presentations are now available under Nordic Conference > Documentation.
2 vacancies are currently open at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) in the context of an ERC-funded project “Understanding information for legal protection of people against information-induced harms” (INFO-LEG) led by Nadya Purtova PhD (ERC Starting Grant 716971).
Vacancies:
Post-doctoral researcher in economics of data-driven businesses and harms (0,8 – 1,0 FTE), http://bit.ly/2fgkQIj
Post-doctoral researcher in information studies (0,8 – 1,0 FTE), http://bit.ly/2fT369x
Deadline: 5 December 2016.
PI.lab Annual Conference ‘Privacy & Big Data’
9 December 2016, 09:00 – 17:00, The Hague
The PI.lab invites you for its annual conference. The theme this year is big data and privacy. Big data applications offer a wealth of societal advantages, in many if not all societal domains. It may, however, also threaten the autonomy, privacy and fair treatment of individuals. We need to strive for a responsible approach to the processing of personal data.
Source: PI.lab Annual Conference ‘Privacy & Big Data’ | PI.lab