CELS/CIPIL Joint Seminar on the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Dr David Erdos, University Lecturer in Law and the Open Society, Faculty of Law & WYNG Fellow in Law, Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge
Thursday 28th April, 5-7pm, B16, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge

This seminar will take a first look at the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) now finally agreed by the European institutions.   Is it a “historic victory” for EU citizens as argued by Viviane Reding - the EU Commissioner responsible for its inception in 2012 - or does it as DIGITALEUROPE suggests fail to "strike the proper balance between protecting citizens’ fundamental rights to privacy and the ability for business in Europe to become more competitive" as well as appropriately reconcile the right to data protection with other fundamental rights?  The talk will argue that, whilst the GDPR will further the EU’s track record of safeguarding individuals in a world of ever accelerating technological threats, it is also likely to both entrench and augment many of its pathologies including a lack of clarity as regards goals, a poor fit with liberal freedoms, an excess of bureaucratic red tape, and a large and growing gap between the law on the books and contemporary digital realities.