Privacy and Data: Law and Practice

21 February 2020

UCL Institute of Brand and Innovation Law (IBIL) concludes the fourth ‘Privacy and Data’ two-day course at UCL Faculty of Laws.

Dr Michael Veale presents at Privacy and Data course

This week, UCL Laws’ Institute of Brand and Innovation Law (IBIL) successfully concluded its fourth ‘Privacy and Data’ two-day course at UCL Faculty of Laws for those working with IP, in privacy, confidential information, data security and management, in the media, with public figures, and developing technologies.

The course builds upon the success of earlier courses, the first of which was held at the Faculty in 2017. The course is the brain-child of UCL Visiting Professor Amanda Harcourt, who has been providing legal and policy advice within the creative industries for over 30 years. Again, this year the course brought together an unrivalled line-up of speakers from private practice, the bar, law enforcement, academia and the technology and cryptography sector. Professor Harcourt’s thought-provoking introduction to the course alluded wryly to the Andy Warhol adage, speculating that ‘perhaps in the future’ we might all enjoy ‘15 minutes of privacy.’

Over the two days of the course, a full-house enjoyed a packed programme with topics which ranged from the very technical (data protection) to big ideas (understanding the news and technology landscape). The course included presentations from international cyber-security experts, statisticians, professionals working in data management for the state and those specialising in preserving the reputations of those in the public eye. Speakers also included Dr Steven Murdoch, Principal Research Fellow at UCL’s Department of Computer Science (‘What is Encryption, Do We Need It and How does it Work?’) and Dr Michael Veale, Lecturer in Digital Rights & Regulation at UCL Laws (‘Data on the Move: Tech and Politics’).

Speaking after the event, IBIL co-director, Dr Daniela Simone reported that attendees had praised Amanda Harcourt’s excellent facilitation skills and her curation of topics under review. ‘One described the course as “Literally shocking and fantastic” because it “makes you think about who is responsible, who has the power and who deserves to control the story.”’

Find out more

Read more about the course on the event page
To register your interest in next year’s course, contact Lisa Penfold here.

Photo credit: Danielle Denny