Privacy online and offline: The citizen, the personal and the public interest

A two-day course on Privacy

About the course

Condemned by judges, QCs, law professors, senior lawyers and computer scientists, supported by a 100,000 signature petition of objection, and facing legal challenge, the Investigatory Powers Bill has now been passed by Parliament.  It is understatement to describe this law a radical shift in the UK’s privacy and surveillance regime.  In January 2017, UCL’s Institute of Brand and Innovation Law is providing an opportunity for lawyers and policymakers to consider the state of the current privacy landscape.

Certain rights and freedoms are granted to citizens in respect of their privacy and the protection of their personal information. But, on this crowded planet, and in a global marketplace, what rights do citizens actually have to take action against surveillance? By drone, by a neighbour, employer or suspicious spouse? By Government or by large corporations? How effective are laws in protecting personal data? Digital communications and data are stored and transported by multi-national corporations crossing into jurisdictions where protection levels vary. Is the gathering and remote analysis of the metadata lawful?

We expect our governments to respond to real security threats to society. How much
of our privacy will we, should we, sacrifice to keep us safe? What takes precedence:
state security or citizens’ privacy?

Governments ask for more and more transparency from their citizens in order to protect us. At the same time they have the capacity to shield their activities from genuine democratic scrutiny. Uncontrolled disclosures such as the NSA Snowden release and Wikileaks are examples of responses by individuals to the increased scrutiny of our lives. But such disclosures are themselves unlawful and undemocratic, carrying their own dangers. Can we balance greater personal transparency with greater transparency from governments?

These questions and more will be considered in this two-day CPD course for lawyers
working in IP, data management, the media, privacy and confidential information.
Speakers include internationally respected lawyers from both the UK and the USA;
those who have formulated policy, and advised private citizens, corporations,
governments, and former government employees; the current director of Europol;
experts in international data protection, security, computer science and cryptography.

Places are limited so students are encouraged to apply early.

The areas covered

1. The Citizen: Democracy and Privacy
   The Human Rights Act, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the Human Rights Convention. Citizen’s physical privacy; eg drones by air over personal real property; UK Home Office mega-database TPT programme.
2. Privacy, Freedom of Expression and the Press
   An update on press regulation; super injunctions, gagging, free speech, celebrity and the public interest, phone hacking.
3. Privacy, encryption and the state: a clouded issue?
   Security, cloud storage and government access to citizens’ data: Governments ask for more and more transparency from their citizens in order to protect us. At the same time they have the capacity to shield their activities from genuine democratic scrutiny. Uncontrolled disclosures such as the NSA Snowden release and Wikileaks are one type of response to the increased scrutiny of our lives, but are unlawful and in themselves undemocratic, carrying their own dangers. How can we balance greater personal transparency with greater transparency from governments in the current political climate? A review of the current relations between digital services and the state including use of meta-data by government agencies and private corporations.
4. EU Data Protection: The Future
   What is the current EU Data Protection regime? What are the current risks and challenges faced in the online world in this respect? In order to comply with the current EU framework what is required from countries seeking entry to and trading with the EU?
5. Global: Data Transfer and Data Sharing
   The private citizen and the sharing of information internationally; Schrems and the new Privacy Shield, Vidal-Hall and Google; Data Protection and the re use and misuse of private information.
6. Children: Balancing Privacy and Protection
   Privacy, net neutrality and the protection of younger users of the internet from the influences of pornography, violence and radicalisation.
7. Whistleblowing: the Law and Ethics of Leaking
   Employee obligations to their employer; company whistle-blowers and when does an employee obligation cross the line to public interest publication; WikiLeaks, Monsack Fonsecca, limits of client confidentiality. What is the public interest in this context?
8. How private is private?
   A practical and thought-provoking demonstration of the limitations of online security.
9. Born in the USA: national security and the law
   The interaction between the US Constitution and federal laws, for example, the Homeland Security Act; PATRIOT Act; Freedom of Information Act; Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement;
   Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
10. My Proprietary Information and My Customers
    A discussion as to how to balance the protection of corporate patents that maintain customer confidence forming the basis of a company’s trading against policy justifications for access to protected corporate proprietary data. A moderated class exercise.
11. Privacy and public safety
    The policy, legal and security justifications for access to citizens’ data and communications; international law enforcement responses to genuine threat.
12. Applied Cryptography
    Privacy-preserving cryptographic protocols; anonymous electronic cash and identification; invisible access to databases; new techniques in the design and deployment of advanced cryptographic protocols.
13. Surveillance: Gadgets and Governance
    Surveillance equipment and techniques, the procedures required and standards that must be met to employ them lawfully in the interests of law enforcement and serving client needs. What resources are available to the professional working in surveillance and related forensic activities, when is the use of these devices unlawful? How does one serve the client and stay within the law?

The speakers

Lisa Felton, Vodafone
Lisa Felton is currently Global Head of Services Regulation and Content Standards at Vodafone responsible for consumer policy, content, payments, internet safety and sector specific regulation. Felton has 14 years’ experience as a lawyer both within Vodafone and in private practice.   She trained at Goodman Derrick and then moved to Bristow’s Corporate and Commercial Department.  In 2009 she was appointed Senior Solicitor at Vodafone, and became the manager for Global Governance and Strategy with a specific mandate in respect of e-commerce and telecoms regulation.  She holds an MA from Oxford University in Law and a Masters in International Law of Human Rights.  Lisa is also Chair of the Family Online Safety Institute the international non-profit organization which works to make the online world safer for kids and their families.

Peter Houppermans, Electronic Bodyguards
Peter Houppermans is an expert on delivering privacy. He specialises in implementing, maintaining and – when necessary – rescuing online privacy for VIPs, their families and their businesses. He was formerly employed in information security for various arms of the British government, and has also specialised in crisis management and privacy law.

Peter could tell you some amazing stories, but he isn’t going to. Not ever.

Julian Knowles QC, Matrix Chambers
Julian is internationally respected trial counsel and an accomplished appellate expert.  He is instructed regularly in courts at the highest levels and has appeared in over 30 cases in the House of Lords, Privy Council and Supreme Court.     In great demand as a leader in trials and appeals of factual and legal complexity in the UK and overseas, Julian is also one of the UK’s best known and most experienced international criminal lawyers. In an historic win, Julian recently overturned decades of criminal jurisprudence relating to “joint enterprise” for murder, in the first joint Supreme Court/Privy Council case.   He is often involved in multi-jurisdictional cases involving extradition, mutual assistance, and money laundering issues.   Julian has an international practice and advises in relation to jurisdictions all around the world including, in particular, Hong Kong, the Caribbean and the Channel Islands. He has been called to the Bars of Northern Ireland and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

James Laddie QC, Matrix Chambers
James practises principally in the fields of employment and discrimination law, commercial law and civil actions against the police. He also practises in the fields of media, sports, public, election and human rights law.   Prior to becoming a Silk before he was 40, he had been ranked in the highest band of juniors in both employment law and police law in Chambers and Partners for several years, being nominated for Employment Junior of the Year in both 2010 and 2011. He has also been highly ranked in employment and in human rights in the Legal 500 for many years.  James has very extensive experience in conducting long and complex trials. In recent years he has been involved in some of the most high-profile and challenging employment claims in England. He has a particular interest in confidentiality and privacy, whistleblowing and disability issues and is very familiar with the issues that arise in cases which have a high media interest.  James is also a very experienced appellate practitioner and has had more than 30 reported employment cases in the last decade. These reported cases illustrate the breadth of his practice, covering all forms of discrimination, whistleblowing, human rights, contract, restrictive covenants, TUPE, working time, trade unions, restrictive covenants and more.

Andrew Lee, Brandsmiths
Andrew is an experienced litigator with boutique firm Brandsmiths which specialise in intellectual property, sport and media law. Brandsmiths act for well-known brands such as Microsoft, BMW, Rolls Royce, Lucozade, Ribena and The LAD Bible. They also act for high profile individuals including Gordon Ramsay and David Haye and others in the public eye.   Andrew has extensive experience in advising clients in respect of the protection of their reputations and the protection of confidential and private information. This includes obtaining pre-publication undertakings and/or injunctions against the press, and helping clients in difficult personal situations where there is a threat by others to disclose private information. He has particular experience of dealing with problems arising on the internet such as individuals (often anonymously) posting defamatory allegations or undertaking campaigns of harassment, identifying those individuals and obtaining relief for clients.

Dr Steven Murdoch, UCL Computer Science
Dr Steven J. Murdoch is a Royal Society University Research Fellow in the Information Security Research Group of University College London, working on developing metrics for security and privacy. His research interests include authentication/passwords, banking security, anonymous communications, censorship resistance and covert channels. He has worked with the OpenNet Initiative, investigating Internet censorship, and for the Tor Project, on improving the security and usability of the Tor anonymity system. His current research on developing methods to understand complex system security is supported by the Royal Society. He is also working on analysing the security of banking systems, especially Chip & PIN/EMV, and is Innovation Security Architect of Cronto, an online authentication technology provider and part of the VASCO group.

Mike O’Neill, Optimal Risk Management Ltd
Mike is the Managing Director of Optimal Risk Management Limited, a Risk, Resilience and Security company. After leaving the British Army as a Major in 1990 Mike developed a second career in risk and security management consulting. He has operated around the World on: risk and threat assessments; crisis response; contingency planning, investigations and surveillance projects. He is a Chartered Security Professional, a Fellow and past Director of the Security Institute, a member of the Association of British Investigators and past Chairman of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) Specialist Services Section.

Optimal Risk works as a trusted adviser to our clients by helping them identify and avoid risks; mitigate the impact of events, secure their assets and people; investigate misconduct and build resilient businesses.

Dan Tench, Olswangs LLP
Dan Tench is a litigator with particular expertise in judicial review, competition law, media law (including data protection, privacy and defamation) and sports law, undertaking many leading cases in all these areas.

Dan has advised bringing and defending major judicial reviews and other administrative law challenges and on competition litigation cases.  Many of his public law matters have involved issues of significant political controversy and he has exceptional experience in aligning an approach to litigation with broader political and media concerns. He has prepared senior individuals for appearances before (and attended with them at) Parliamentary Select Committees.  Dan has also substantial experience in advising claimants and defendants in defamation, privacy and other media litigation matters including general reputation management matters, securing injunctions and judgments in leading edge internet cases as well as bringing and defending claims for and against all types of traditional media.  He has been involved in responding to many significant data security breach situations with a targeted strategy to minimise the damage, potential liability and disruption caused to the client.  He acted for the claimants in the leading data protection case of Vidal-Hall & Ors v Google.

Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol
Since 2009, Rob Wainwright has been Director of Europe’s law enforcement agency, Europol.  The agency uses its unique information capabilities and the expertise of its staff to identify and track the most dangerous criminal and terrorist networks in Europe. Law enforcement authorities in the EU rely on this intelligence work and the services of Europol’s operational coordination centre and secure information network, to carry out over 18 000 cross–border investigations each year.  Having graduated in 1989 from the London School of Economics, University of London with a BSc, Rob Wainwright worked for the following ten years as an intelligence analyst in the UK in the fields of counter-terrorism and organised crime.   Between 2000 and 2003, he was the Head of the UK Liaison Bureau at Europol, and also responsible for the Europol National Unit in London. The Liaison Bureaux are a key link in Europol’s cooperation with the EU Member States.  In 2003, he was promoted to the position of Director International of the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), where he was responsible for its international operations and for developing and implementing the UK strategy against facilitated illegal immigration.  He also managed the UK’s National Central Bureau for Interpol and its Europol National Unit.   Between 2006 and 2009, he was Chief of the International Department of the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). In this leading role, he oversaw 20,000 law enforcement cases each year as well as establishing the international strategy and operational capabilities of the newly formed agency. His mandate extended from SOCA’s international operations and global partnerships to the worldwide network of SOCA liaison officers and the national bureaux for Interpol and Europol.

James Welch, Liberty
James is a solicitor and has been the Legal Director of Liberty since February 2000.  Liberty is a campaigning organisation which seeks to protect civil liberties and promote human rights in the United Kingdom.  Its legal department gives advice on human rights issues and acts in what it believes will be test cases before the domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights.  It also intervenes in significant cases before the higher courts.   Recent cases that James has been involved in include:
Paton v Poole Borough Council – challenge in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to surveillance by a local authority R (Watson) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – challenge to the compatibility with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2104 Liberty & others v GCHQ – challenge in the IPT to the compatibility with Article 8 ECHR of the Tempora programme.  Now being pursued in the ECtHR as 10 Human Rights NGOs v UK.

Before moving to Liberty James was a partner at a legal aid firm in Harlesden, North-west London.

Mark S Zaid, Mark S Zaid PC, Washington D.C.
US attorney, Mark Zaid specializes in litigation and lobbying on matters relating to international transactions, torts and crimes, national security, foreign sovereign and diplomatic immunity, defamation (plaintiff) and the Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts (FOI/PA).   Through his practice Mr. Zaid often represents former/current federal employees, intelligence and military officers, whistleblowers and others who have grievances or have been wronged by agencies of the United States Government or foreign governments, as well as members of the media. Mr. Zaid teaches D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education classes on “Defending Security Clearances” and “The Basics of Filing and Litigating Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Requests”. He has been named as a Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer every year since he was profiled in 2009, as well as a “Best Lawyer” by Washingtonian Magazine in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 (issued bi-annually), for his national security work. As the National Law Journal once wrote, “if Agent Mulder ever needed a lawyer, Zaid would be his man.”

Mr. Zaid is also the Executive Director and founder of the James Madison Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization with the primary purpose of educating the public on issues relating to intelligence gathering and operations, secrecy policies, national security and government wrongdoing. Starting in January 2014, Mr. Zaid also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University teaching in the Global Studies/National Security Certificate programs.  In connection with his legal practice on international and national security matters, Mr. Zaid has testified before, or provided testimony to, a variety of governmental bodies including the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, the House Government Operations Committee, the Department of Energy, the Public Interest Declassification Board and the Assassination Records Review Board.

Fees and booking

Application Process

Bookings for this course can be made either

• offline (using the booking form in the course brochure) or
• online using the booking form below.

All applications should be accompanied by:

1. A short personal statement indicating what you hope to achieve by attending the course.

The application deadline is 20 December 2016, or earlier if we are fully booked before that date.

The course fee is £830, plus VAT (Total, £996)

The course fee covers all course materials, tuition and refreshments and a light lunch on each day of the course.

Discounts are available to firms that either:
a)  sponsor the Institute of Brand and Innovation Law; or
b)  provide speakers for the course.
Download the Course Brochure and Application Form