STEaPP Researchers appointed to the Open Rights Group Advisory Council

petrashub.org/">PETRAS Internet of Things (IoT) Research Hub, and Michael Veale, EPSRC PhD researcher working on responsible public sector machine learning have been appointed members of the Open Rights Group (ORG) Advisory Council.

ORG is a UK-based digital campaigning organisation working to protect the rights to privacy and free speech online. With almost 3,000 active supporters, ORG is a grassroots organisation with local groups across the UK. In the last years, ORG has campaigned on a wide number of digital rights issues, including privacy concerns brought up by biometric passports and the Investigatory Powers Act to restrictive copyright law and enforcement mechanisms such as the Digital Economy Act. 

Both Leonie and Michael will support ORG through legal and subject-specific advice, helping ORG's policies and campaigns to be well informed.

Commenting on the appointment, Leonie, said: "As researchers interested in the intersection of technology, human rights, and politics, Michael and I are keen to study and analyse the effects of threats to privacy and the societal and legal dimensions that technology brings. We are therefore delighted to contribute to the work of the Open Rights Group and hope we can make an impactful contribution to ORG's ongoing work".

Leonie and Michael's engagement highlights the latest activities of members of STEaPP's Digital Policy Lab and shows how STEaPP's research community is committed to not only work collaboratively across disciplines and with the policy community, but also with civil society and the non-profit sector to develop responses to the challenges and opportunities deriving from the increasing digitisation and the deployment of emerging technologies.

Should this topic be of interest to you, have a look at our Digital Technologies and Policy (MPA) programme, scholarships are available!