Digital Transformation of Decision-Making

On 11 September 2020, Joris van Hoboken and Ronan Fahy presented a paper at a symposium on Transnational Legal Ordering of Privacy and Speech, hosted by the University of California, Irvine School of Law. The paper is entitled “Regulating Disinformation in Europe: Implications for Speech and Privacy ,” and discusses the ongoing dynamics in the regulation of disinformation in Europe, focusing on the intersection between the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy. The discussion began wi…

In mid-October, the Dutch government launched the CoronaMelder App to aid with its national contact tracing efforts. However, the privacy, security and effectiveness of the app remain problematic. Joran van Appeldoorn speaks to Folia and NPO Radio 1 about these issues.
Joran van Appeldoorn, with other researchers, are investigating of the technological solutions that are being utilised to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of the Digital Transformation of Decision-Making and Information (DTDM)…

On Wednesday, 2 December 2020 , we, together with our partner universities – Maastricht University, Tilburg University, and Radboud University Nijmegen – will look back at the first year of the Digital Legal Studies research collaboration during our kick-off conference ‘Digital Legal Talks’. We will have keynote speeches by Julie Cohen and Frank Pasquale , and associated researchers from all fourpartner universities will present our research and discuss our work with academics, policymakers and practit…

How are AI-based systems being used by private companies and public authorities in Europe? The new report by AlgorithmWatch and Bertelsmann Stiftung sheds light on what role automated decision-making (ADM) systems play in our lives. As a result of the most comprehensive research on the issue conducted in Europe so far, thereportcovers the current use of and policy debates around ADM systems in 16 European countries and at EU level.
The deployment of automated decision-making (ADM) and AI-based sys…

On 11 September 2020, the DTDM initiative organised a discussion with Jennifer Cobbe and Elettra Bietti on the societal dependence on digital platforms and how to imagine a new platform ecosystems.
The Covid-19 pandemic has increased our dependence on a small number of digital platforms which are encroaching on and influencing ever more parts of society, creating the need to reimagine how these digital platforms can work to the benefit of society. The discussion was based on a piece written by Jen…

How is the COVID-19 pandemic shifting the ways in which governments are utilising technologies and data to respond to the crisis globally? What are the implications of these developments for justice? The latest book published by Meatspace Press , Data Justice and COVID-19: Global Perspectives , edited by Linnet Taylor , Aaron Martin , Gargi Sharma and Shazade Jameson , brings together reflections and essays from 33 countries to provide a global perspective on the technological response to the pandemic….

A new research project on technological solutions in a COVID-19 exit strategy, with a particular focus on the legal, ethical and societal conditions, has started in June. The project was commissioned by ZonMW as a so-called “urgent research question” project, and is a combined research effort of researchers from the Digital Transformation Initiative at the Faculty of Law , and the Research Priority Area ICDS (Information, Communication & The Data Society) at the University of Amsterdam. Digital tec…

The Dutch Parliament has asked the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations to commission a study into the legal aspects of digital inheritances . The Institute for Information Law (IViR), in collaboration with the Private Law department of the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam, has received a successful tender for this research. Virtually every surviving relative will be confronted with issues relating to access to and management of online ‘assets’ after death. The use of social med…

The DTDM initiative is organising a panel Discussion with Christiaan van Veen, Anton Ekker and Naomi Appelman.
SyRI Panel Discussion 29 May 2020, Friday16:00 – 17:30 The DistrictCourt of The Hague ruled that the government has a ‘special responsibility’to guarantee fundamental rights and to avert any discrimination or social stigmatisation in the application of new technologies. Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this responsibility for the fundamental rights and social implications of au…

The study, commissioned by the Dutch government , focuses on the legal framework governing the dissemination of disinformation, in particular through Internet services. The study provides an extensive overview of relevant European and Dutch legal norms relating to the spread of online disinformation, and recommendations are given on how to improve this framework. Additionally, the study includes an analysis of the relevant legal framework in 6 different countries (U.K., U.S., France, Germany, Sweden an…