Data privacy in transatlantic perspective: conflict or cooperation?

January 24, 2008Duke Law News

Jan. 24, 2008 ― Data privacy will be the focus of an academic conference at Duke Law School on Jan. 28. “Data Privacy in Transatlantic Perspective: Conflict or Cooperation?” will bring together experts from academia, government, and the private sector in the United States and Europe to discuss law, regulations, and policies that affect the transfer of personal information. The conference is sponsored by Duke’s Center for European Studies and the Center for International and Comparative Law.

The daylong conference will begin at 8:45 a.m. in room 3041 of Duke Law School, located at the corner of Science Drive and Towerview Road on Duke’s West Campus. Parking is available on Cameron Boulevard near its intersection with Science Drive. For more information, contact Sharon Peters.

The ease with which personal data is electronically gathered, stored, and shared can come into conflict with laws and policies designed to protect personal privacy, particularly when combined with the demands of national security. And although European and American law is designed to safeguard privacy, transatlantic approaches differ considerably. Conference speakers and panelists will examine such issues as the challenges of designing comprehensive privacy laws and policies, how corporations handle the demands of multiple, sometimes, conflicting, data privacy standards, the transfer of information between law enforcement agencies, and comparative approaches to these matters.

“This conference represents an unprecedented opportunity for American and European policymakers, business leaders, and scholars, to openly debate today’s privacy challenges,” says Francesca Bignami, a professor of law and director of the Center for European Studies. Panelists and presenters include representatives of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Federal Trade Commissions, Intel, Google, Interpol, the European Union, and European Commission, as well as scholars from Duke Law School, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and other American and European universities and institutions.

North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley has proclaimed Jan. 28 to be Data Privacy Day, an observance intended to raise public awareness of data privacy issues that is also held nationally and internationally.

For a conference agenda, visit the conference web site.

For media inquiries and assistance, please contact Frances Presma at (919) 613-7248.