news from the lab

First confirmed speakers

First confirmed speakers for the conference 'EU Cybersecurity: Collective Resilience through Regulation'

We are proud to announce the first confirmed speakers at the conference 'EU Cybersecurity: Collective Resilience through Regulation', which be held in Brussels and virtually on 22 June 2023. Click to read who will be gracing our stages!

Privacy Book Club

Join the next PBC on 20 March 2023!

On 19 December 2022, the Digital Legal Lab hosted its second Privacy Book Club meeting organized by Irene Kamara (Tilburg University) and Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux (Maastricht University). Register now for the next meeting on 20 March, where the PBC will discuss Why Privacy Matters by Neil Richards.

Tjasa Petrocnik edits special issue on the EHDS

Special issue on EU health data governance and the recently proposed European Health Data Space (EHDS)

the journal Technology and Regulation published a special issue on EU health data governance and the recently proposed European Health Data Space (EHDS), that was edited by Digital Legal Lab member Tjasa Petrocnik.

Call for abstracts

EU Cybersecurity: Collective Resilience through regulation

The call for abstracts for the conference EU Cybersecurity: Collective Resilience through Regulation is now open! Researchers are warmly invited to submit their extended abstracts before 28 February 2023. The conference will take place on 22 June 2023 in Brussels, with the possibility to attend virtually.

Academy Early Career Award for Bart van der Sloot

Academy Early Career Award for Bart van der Sloot

Bart van der Sloot, one of the Digital Legal Lab’s project leaders, has received the Academy Early Career Award from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). He is one of twelve young researchers to be awarded for their innovative scientific work.

DLT2022 is a wrap

Digital Legal Talks 2022

Digital Legal Talks 2022 was an exciting day of connecting and reflecting with law & technology researchers from across the world. With Sandra Wachter and Thomas Streinz as keynote speakers and four rounds of parallel sessions packed with talks and discussions, we look back at a successful third edition of the Digital Legal Lab’s annual conference!

DLS Community event

DLS community event

ON 7 SEPTEMBER 2022, A SUCCESSFUL DLS COMMUNITY EVENT TOOK PLACE IN THE VERKADE FABRIEK IN S'HERTOGENBOSCH. IT WAS AN AFTERNOON FULL OF INSIGHTFUL DISCUSSIONS AND RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS. INSPIRING BRAINSTORMS TOOK PLACE TO MAKE PLANS FOR NEW RESEARCH AND EVENTS RELATING TO SIX THEMES DEFINING THE DLS COMMUNITY: (1) RESPONSIBLE DATA SHARING AND REGULATION OF AI, (2) DIGITALIZATION OF JUSTICE SYSTEMS AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION, (3) TECHNOLOGY FOR LAW AND LEGAL PRACTICE, (4) DIGITAL PLATFORMS AS INFRASTRUCTURES AND ENFORCERS OF PUBLIC INTERESTS, (5) ENFORCEMENT AND THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY, (6) DATA PROTECTION AND CYBERSECURITY.

workshop on the Feasibility of Implementing Automatically Processable Regulation

The Feasibility of Implementing Automatically Processable Regulation

Dr. Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux co-organized together with Dr. Clement Guitton and Prof. Simon Mayer a workshop on the Feasibility of Implementing Automatically Processable Regulation on August 26, 2022. The goal of this workshop was to engage in an interdisciplinary debate on how to determine and quantify the feasibility of encoding law into software and cyber-physical systems and discuss the impact of such endeavors on individuals, society, and policymaking.

Privacy Book club

Join our privacy book club!

The Digital Legal Lab is launching a Privacy Book Club! The Privacy Book Club aims to bring together researchers interested in privacy-related topics to discuss new scholarship on privacy, revisit critical theories, and debate the future of privacy. The Privacy Book Club welcomes everyone interested in privacy and data protection and is willing to share their thoughts with the club members. The Privacy book club is an initiative by Dr. Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux (Maastricht University) and Dr. Irene Kamara (Tilburg University).

Conference in Croatia

GoodBrother International Conference on Privacy-Friendly & Trustworthy Technology for Society

Digital Legal Lab researcher Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux (Maastricht University) co-organized the GoodBrother International Conference on Privacy-friendly and Trustworthy Technology for Society on June 28 in Zagreb, Croatia. Professor Esther Keymolen (Tilburg University), who is also a member of the Digital Legal Lab, gave the opening keynote speech on trust.

DIGITAL LEGAL LAB AT CPDP2022

HOW OUR RESEARCHERS CONTRIBUTED TO CPDP IN 10 TWEETS

The 15th edition of the Computers, Privacy & Data Protection (CPDP) 2022 conference took place in Brussels this month. Digital Legal Lab researchers actively contributed to the conference as speakers, moderators and organizers, and we were happy to co-organize and co-sponsor panels by Digital Legal Lab members from Tilburg University and the University of Amsterdam. Catch up on our collaboration’s involvement in 10 tweets!

PhD Club

Digital Legal Lab's doctoral candidates kick off PhD Club

The Digital Legal Lab has launched a PhD Club! Doctoral candidates from the research collaboration gathered in Den Bosch for the PhD Club’s kick-off event on 19 May. The idea for a PhD Club comes from doctoral candidate Ana Hriscu (Digital Legal Lab & Tilburg University). The aim of the PhD Club is to encourage support, exchange and collaboration between PhD candidates working on the Digital Legal Lab team.

New seminar series

Digital Legal Lab kicks off seminar series on 7 june WITH PROF. AMY J. SCHMITZ

Join us for a new series of seminars that brings together the unique research strengths of the Digital Legal Lab’s four participating partner institutions. The invited speakers are internationally renowned researchers whose work explores pressing issues in the field of Digital Legal Studies. We will kick off the seminar series on 7 June in Nijmegen, with Amy J. Schmitz from the Ohio State University.

funding for Gravitation program 'The Algorithmic Society'

CONSORTIUM 'THE ALGORITHMIC SOCIETY' CO-LED BY NATALI HELBERGER RECEIVES MAJOR GRANT

Digital Legal Lab members professor Natali Helberger, professor Linnet Taylor and professor Esther Keymolen are part of the research consortium ‘The Algorithmic Society’, which has been awarded 21,3 million euros from the prestigious NWO Gravitation program.

NEW BOOK

ELENI KOSTA, RONALD LEENES & IRENE KAMARA PUBLISH RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON EU DATA PROTECTION LAW

Digital Legal Lab researchers Prof. Eleni Kosta, Prof. Ronald Leenes and Dr. Irene Kamara from Tilburg University bring together leading European data protection scholars in the newly published Research Handbook on EU Data Protection Law.

Appointment as professor

Esther Keymolen appointed professor of digital technology regulation

Tilburg University has appointed Digital Legal Lab member Esther Keymolen as Professor of Digital Regulation. With her research, Esther will contribute to a conceptual recalibration of key concepts such as responsibility and trustworthiness in the legal domain which is urgently needed in an increasingly data-driven society.

ROUNDTABLE IN DUTCH PARLIAMENT

PRIVACY & HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS OVER NEW COUNTERTERRORISM BILL

Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius, law professor at Radboud University and a member of the Digital Legal Lab, spoke at a hearing in the Dutch Parliament on a bill to provide a legal basis for the processing of personal data in the context of counterterrorism and national security. He warned that the bill is too vague, raising serious privacy and human rights concerns.

expert committee

Natali Helberger appointed to Expert Committee on increasing resilience of the media

Digital Legal Lab member Natali Helberger, professor in information law at the University of AmSterdam, has been appointed to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on Increasing Resilience of the Media (MSI-RES) as an independent expert.

expert committee

Ronan Fahy appointed to Expert Committee on the Integrity of Online Information

Digital Legal Lab researcher Ronan Fahy from the University of Amsterdam has been appointed to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Integrity of Online Information (MSI-INF) as an independent expert. The committee will have its first meeting on 15 March.

Ronald Leenes turns over tilt leadership

Ronald Leenes passes the baton of TILT leadership

After more than 7 years of leading the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT), Professor Ronald Leenes has stepped down from his role as Head of Department. He will remain active as Professor of Regulation by Technology, focusing on research and education. Ronald will also continue to lead the Digital Legal Lab.

ERC Grant

ERC grant to develop safer mental health apps

Digital Legal Lab researcher Linnet Taylor and Tineke Broer from the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) received a Proof of Concept grant worth €150,000 from the European Research Council. The researchers will use the grant to develop a new rating index for app safety, focusing on mental health apps.

New report

Report: Deep fakes may in time disrupt society

Deep fakes can be used to spread fake news, influence elections, introduce realistic fake evidence in court proceedings or to make fake pornographic videos of real individuals. Each of these applications potentially has a very large impact on society, social structures and the rule of law. This is evident from new research led by Digital Legal Lab member Bart van der Sloot (Tilburg University)

Newsletter

The Digital Legal Lab is launching a monhtly newsletter

We are launching a monthly newsletter! In it, we round up the latest news and views from the Digital Legal Lab and deliver it straight to your inbox. Subscribe now to stay updated on our collaboration's latest news, research, events, podcasts, blogs & much more.

A look ahead

Law & tech predictions for the new year

We're wrapping up 2021 by asking Digital Legal Lab researchers what the new year can bring for law, technology, society and all things in between. Find out what Thomas Tombal (Tilburg University), Jill Toh (University of Amsterdam), Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius (Radboud University) and Ruta Liepina (Maastricht University) believe 2022 has in store.

Digital Legal Talks 2021

Second edition of the digital legal talks conference took place

The Digital Legal Lab hosted the second edition of its annual conference, Digital Legal Talks, on 8 December 2021. DLT 2021 was an online afternoon packed with keynotes, presentations and discussions on important current issues related to law and digital technologies. We had keynote speeches by prof. Lilian Edwards (Newcastle University) and prof. Ari Ezra Waldman (Northeastern University), and three rounds of breakout sessions with lots of exciting talks by researchers from within and outside the Digital Legal Lab collaboration.

Funding for Lawnotation

LAWNOTATION project

Professor Gijs van Dijck has been awarded a substantial grant from the PDI-SSH Foundation for his LAWNOTATION proposal. Together with a multidisciplinary team of scientists from five Dutch universities, he will establish a research infrastructure to improve access to legal data. LAWNOTATION is an initiative of the Digital Legal Lab and aims to develop an infrastructure that enables researchers in the fields of law, social sciences and humanities to systematically analyze legal documents such as legislation and court decisions.

Inaugural lecture

Digital Due Process: The Pursuit of Fairness in Digital Adjudication

On 25 November 2021, Digital Legal Lab researcher Pietro Ortolani gave his inaugural lecture as Professor of Digital Conflict Resolution at Radboud University. A video of his address “Digital Due Process: The Pursuit of Fairness in Digital Adjudication” is now available on YouTube. Watch it here.

New paper

Microtargeted propaganda by foreign actors: An interdisciplinary exploration

Researchers including Digital Legal Lab members Ronan Fahy (University of Amsterdam) and Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius (Radboud University) teamed up for an interdisciplinary exploration of microtargeted political advertisements by foreign actors.

New paper

The perils of legally defining disinformation

EU policy considers disinformation to be harmful content, rather than illegal content. However, EU member states have recently been making disinformation illegal. This new article by Digital Legal Lab researchers Ronan Fahy, Naomi Appelman & Natali Helberger discusses the definitions that form the basis of EU disinformation policy, and analyses national legislation in EU member states applicable to the definitions of disinformation, in light of freedom of expression and the proposed Digital Services Act.

join our annual Conference

DIGITAL LEGAL TALKS 2021

The Digital Legal Lab will host the second edition of its annual conference, Digital Legal Talks, on 8 December 2021 (from 12h-17h CET). DLT2021 will be an online afternoon packed with keynotes, presentations and discussions on important current issues related to law and digital technologies. We will have keynote talks by prof. Lilian Edwards and prof. Ari Ezra Waldman. Registration is now open!

DIGITAL LEGAL LAB WORKSHOP

Regulating data & AI: EU’s digital economy & society initiatives as one coherent system?

On 29 September 2021, the Digital Legal Lab research collaboration hosted a workshop on the AI Act and the regulatory coherence of EU initiatives concerning the digital economy and society.

report for dutch ministry of the interior

Data after death – legal aspects of digital inheritances

Just about everyone these days leaves an online footprint. What should happen to our digital stuff when we die? Digital Legal Lab member prof. Mireille van Eechoud (University of Amsterdam) recently had a report published for the Dutch Ministry of the Interior on legal aspects of digital inheritances.

draft paper on the AI Act
& its loopholes

DEMYSTIFYING THE AI ACt

Michael Veale (University College London) and Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius (Radboud University & Digital Legal Lab) published a draft paper on the EU’s proposed Artificial Intelligence Act, giving an overview of the Act and analyzing its implications and its loopholes.

Raphaël Gellert & Pieter Wolters advise ministry

TOWARDS A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR COMBATING ILLEGAL CONTENT ONLINE

There has been growing concern about the widespread use of so-called “internet intermediaries”, such as Youtube or Facebook, to distribute harmful content. With a new report commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, researchers Raphaël Gellert and Pieter Wolters (Radboud University) help the Ministry prepare for a revision of the European framework for the liability and responsibilities of internet intermediaries.

non-discrimination by design

HOW TO DESIGN non-discriminating algorithms

As part of a study commissioned by the Dutch government, a research team led by Bart van der Sloot (Tilburg University) published a report and a practical handbook on non-discrimination by design. The handbook is a step-by-step guide for preventing bias and discrimination in algorithmic systems.

AL Jazeera interview

Why is WhatsApp suing India's government?

digital legal lab researcher Catalina Goanta (maastricht university) joined al jazeera's "Inside story"to talk about the legal battle between whatsapp and india over the government's new internet rules, which would make app messages traceable. Are free speech and privacy under threat?

presentation for the EU's imco committee

Digital Services Act: Safe harbours, due diligence and online ads

Digital Legal Lab researcher Joris van Hoboken, professor of Law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels and a senior researcher at the Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam, was invited to speak at the European Parliament’s IMCO Committee workshop on the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act.

Second seminar in our series on the dsa & DmA

HOW TO DESIGN EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONS FOR REGULATING DIGITAL PLATFORMS

On 19 May 2021, a second seminar in the Digital Legal Lab Seminar Series on the DSA & DMA was organized in the form of a panel discussion hosted during the TILTing Perspectives conference. Panelists were: Nataliia Bielova (Inria Sophia Antipolis), Catherine Batchelor (UK CMA), Anu Bradford (Columbia Law School) and Digital Legal Lab researcher Inge Graef (Tilburg University).

Visual guide to the ai act

Visual guide to the Eu's proposed AI Act

Ronald Leenes, professor of regulation by technology at TILT and head of the Digital Legal Lab research initiative, has created a visual representation of the EU’s Proposal for a Regulation on a European approach for Artificial Intelligence published in April 2021. This work-in-progress visual may be useful in understanding the AI Act and its applicability.

the digital legal lab at tilting 2021

The Digital Legal Lab at Tilting Perspectives 2021: Regulating in Times of Crisis

TILTing Perspectives is the bi-annual conference of the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT), the spearheading partner of the Digital Legal Lab research initiative. Read our day-to-day conference reports here to learn more about our collaboration’s involvement.

Brief on influencer culture

WRITTEN EVIDENCE FOR UK PARLIAMENT ON INFLUENCER CULTURE

In early May 2021, Dr. Catalina Goanta (Maastricht University) co-convened a research group to respond to a call for evidence launched by the UK Parliament to examine the power of influencers on social media and the absence of regulation on the promotion of products or services by social media influencers.

seminar series

Social media content moderation & The digital Services act

In a new seminar series, Digital Legal Lab researchers are joining forces to address questions around the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA). Read prof. Pietro Ortolani's report on the first seminar, which took place on 9 April 2021, here.

Al Jazeera interview

the risks & potential of brain-chip technologies

Dr. Ruta Liepina (Maastricht University) joined Inside Story on Al Jazeera to comment on Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup Neuralink, and to talk about the risks and opportunities of brain implant technologies.

al jazeera appearance

How can social media users be protected from hackers?

Catalina Goanta (Maastricht University) joined Inside Story on Al Jazeera after the personal data of more than half a billion Facebook users were shared online in a security breach. How can social media users be protected from hackers?

tv interview

how the use of predictive algorithms can lead to fundamental rights violations

Natali Helberger (University of Amsterdam) appeared on the dutch research show 'stand van nederland' to talk about the rapidly increasing use of predictive algorithms and the risk of fundamental rights violations.

new podcast series

new podcast series: the digital hearing

The Digital Hearing brings you voices, perspectives and ideas on recent events and issues relating to all things law & tech. In the first episode, ronan fahy (university of amsterdam) and esther keymolen (tilburg university) discuss digitally fueled riots and how to respond to them.

lunchtime talks series

DTDM Lunchtime talks

the digital transformation of decision-making (DTDM) research initiative at the Amsterdam Law School — the amsterdam-based part of our collaboration — has launched a series of online lunchtime talks. Researchers and scholars will share and discuss their research with our research community, as well as connect with other researchers working in similar areas.

new report

Definitions of Disinformation & related concepts

ronan fahy and natali helberger (amsterdam university) contributed to the report "Notions of Disinformation and related concepts" published by erga. The aim of this Report is to provide for clearer and more uniform definitions of disinformation and related concepts, including political advertising and issue-based advertising.

book contribution

A Citizen's guide to artificial intelligence

Merel Noorman (Tilburg University) is one of the authors of "A Citizen's guide to artificial intelligence," a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the ethical, legal, political, and economic stakes of the use of AI in different areas of society.

tv interview

Facebook's australia ban & who should pay for news online

Catalina Goanta (Maastricht University) joined the Al Jazeera show "inside story" to talk about facebook's news ban in australia and who should pay for online news.

Video

How to make data findable & reusable in order to maximize the use of your data

In this video, Kody Moodley (Maastricht University) explains the FAIR - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable - principles, and how adhering to them contributes to maximum visibility and impact of data.

new report

How should the EU respond to the unaccountable power large platforms possess?

How should the EU respond to the unaccountable power large platforms possess? Dr. Catalina Goanta (maastricht university) and prof. Joris van Hoboken (University of Amsterdam) advised the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) on this position paper.

audio documentary

social media influencers & plastic surgery

In an audio documentary by the BBC, dr. Catalina Goanta (Maastricht University) talked about the relationship between social media influencers and clinics promoting cosmetic surgery.

commentary

does apple's iphone tracking tool breach eu privacy law?

Professor Eleni Kosta (Tilburg University) talked to Digital Privacy News about a tracking code installed on millions of Iphones without consent. Does Apple's tracking tool breach EU privacy law?

new study & interview

what the law can and can't do about online harassment

Naomi Appelman (University of Amsterdam) was interviewed by Trouw about a report she wrote with Joris van Hoboken, Anna van Duin, Ronan Fahy and Natali Helberger, showing how difficult it can be for victims of online harassment to take legal action against their attackers.

new book

the risk-based approach to data protection

'The Risk-Based Approach to Data Protection' by dr. Raphaël Gellert is out now! Published by Oxford University Press, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of the GPDR and the risk-based approach to data protection.

Commentary

will the digital services act reshape the internet?

Professor Natali Helberger (University of Amsterdam) talked to VICE about the Digital Services Act – a European regulation that some experts say will change the internet forever – and explained why she thinks the DSA may indeed be groundbreaking.

Kick-off conference

kick-off conference of the digital legal studies collaboration

our first conference was a blast! We welcomed over 250 participants from all over the world. Researchers from our 4 partner universities presented their projects, we had keynote speeches by Julie Cohen and Frank Pasquale, two breakout rounds with lots of interesting sessions, and a closing discussion panel where sparks flew on the topic of technology in relation to law & justice.

interview

How influencers are becoming vehicles of political advertising

Social media platforms are increasingly saying no to political ads. But what about sponsored political speech by influencers? Dr. Catalina Goanta (Maastricht University) appeared on Al Jazeera to talk about the online spread of misinformation and how to regulate it.

interview

Why algorithms can discriminate - and what can be done about it [In dutch]

Tech philosopher and legal scholar Bart van der Sloot (Tilburg University) explains why AI systems can reproduce human bias and discrimination - and what can be done about it. (In Dutch)

innovative study

the return of AI: An analysis of legal research on artificial intelligence using topic modeling

A group of Maastricht University researchers affiliated to the Digital Legal Lab explored what legal research on AI constitutes of and how it has evolved. to do so, they used unsupervised machine learning. read the paper & watch the NLLP workshop 2020 presentation of this innovative study.

Report & interview

the problem with facial recognition technology [in dutch]

In a podcast by online news platform Nu.nl, Esther keymolen (Tilburg University) talked about the concerns around facial recognition technology. She recently published a report on the privacy risks of facial recognition with digital legal lab associates merel noorman, bart van der sloot & other tilburg university researchers.

new study

search engines, digitalization and national private law

In a new study published in the European Review of Private Law, legal scholar Pieter Wolters (Radboud University Nijmegen) discusses search engines, digitalization and the role of national private law. read the paper here, and watch a video seminar by pieter wolters on this topic.

Online talk show

what are social media platforms doing to moderate content during the pandemic?

In this online talk show, Catalina Goanta (Maastricht University) invited three experts to talk about social media content moderation during a global crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. One of her guests, Pietro Ortolani (Raboud University), is also part of our research collaboration.