Regulation aims to protect individuals as they interact with organizations seeking to collect and use personal data. However, the current regime is failing to prevent manipulative practices, like dark patterns. Could a duty of loyalty prevent this? Professor Woodrow Hartzog, author of Privacy’s Blueprint, took us through the arguments.

We used ‘data sovereignty’ to mean legal or policy levers governments use to manage cross-border data flows. They commonly include local storage or processing rules, and bans or conditions on international data transfers. Our panel of legal, policy and technical experts considered the drivers and how businesses could respond.

We teamed up with One HealthTech to discuss health data sharing and protected characteristics such as age or race. The coronavirus pandemic highlights the challenges, e.g. the virus has disproportionately affected BAME men. Our panel explored the legal, data science and health angles to using this data.

We’ve looked at fairness in an NHS context before, and returned to the topic in light of a report co-authored by Jeni Tennison, Vice President of the ODI. Jeni joined us to reflect on technical, ethical and legal barriers to sharing and using personal data – including the need for a fair value exchange.

The Big Data paradigm assumes that more data means better AI models. However, that assumption appears in conflict with the GDPR’s data minimisation principle. Dr. Reuben Binns joined us to share his work at the ICO on the trade offs, AI and data protection, and on AI auditing.

Facial recognition can identify and track individuals in public spaces. We don’t yet fully understand the benefits and the risks it presents. Olivia Varley-Winter joined us to present the Ada Lovelace Institute’s work on public attitudes to facial recognition. Uncertainty about how it works, who uses it and why undermines public trust.

Publishers auction ads to advertisers wanting to reach people like you. These auctions often rely on detailed profiling, tracking and a complex set of inferences. Dr. Michael Veale and others argue that this is unlawful under the GDPR and complained to the ICO. Michael joined us to reflect on this emerging issue.

Data-driven innovation has clear benefits, but are they being shared equitably? The question is particularly important for the NHS as companies derive commercial value from our health data. Eleonora Harwich, Director of Research at Reform, shared insights from their report Making NHS Data Work for Everyone.