This year’s edition brought together great numbers of participants from across disciplines, sectors and continents — exactly the kind of critical, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral exchange CPDP is known for. As a world-leading multidisciplinary conference, CPDP once again offered the cutting edge in legal, regulatory, academic and technological developments in data protection and privacy.

Across 90 panels and over 30 workshops, speakers explored the EU’s astonishing pace of digital legislation — from AI to health data spaces to the role of technology in wars — and questioned how far the Brussels effect can extend in a fragmented, geopolitically charged world. Under the conference theme “The world is watching,” participants examined whether European standards can truly shape global digital practice — or whether they risk reinforcing power asymmetries. These debates were tackled head-on, with nuance, friction, and urgency. As in previous years, CPDP.ai also reserved several sessions for peer-reviewed academic work submitted through our annual Call for Papers — a crucial space for fresh insights and interdisciplinary research. And for the first time ever, the programme featured two dedicated tracks: one on Computer Science and one on Data Protection Officers. Co-curated by subject-matter experts, these tracks aimed to foster deeper exchange within and beyond their respective fields. The curators for the Computer Science Track were Jaap-Henk Hoepman and Marit Hansen; for the DPO Track, Jolien Ghyselinck and Peter Berghmans.

Beyond the main programme, CPDP hosted 18 Culture Club sessions curated by the artistic team of Privacy Salon. Highlights included the return of our book club and several Artist Keynotes. Avatar.fm — the pop-up radio collaboration between Privacy Salon and dublab — broadcasted live for three days from the heart of the conference. It gave a platform to students, junior researchers, artists and activists, amplifying new voices through formats like Console Talks, Internetviews, and spontaneous conversations.

CPDP.ai 2025 was not only a space for deep discussion — it was also a place to reconnect. A range of social events fostered informal dialogue and networking among participants. Whether over cocktails, music, or conversation, these evenings helped shape the collaborative spirit that makes CPDP unique. Thank you for being part of it.

CPDP ("Computers, Privacy and Data Protection") is a non-profit platform originally founded in 2007 by research groups from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Université de Namur and Tilburg University. The platform was joined in the following years by the Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA) and the Fraunhofer Institut für System und Innovationsforschung. CPDP has now grown into a platform carried by 20 academic centres of excellence from the EU, the US and beyond. As a world-leading multidisciplinary conference CPDP offers the cutting edge in legal, regulatory, academic and technological development in privacy and data protection. Within an atmosphere of independence and mutual respect, CPDP gathers academics, lawyers, practitioners, policy-makers, industry and civil society from all over the world in Brussels, offering them an arena to exchange ideas and discuss the latest emerging issues and trends. This unique multidisciplinary formula has served to make CPDP one of the leading data protection and privacy conferences in Europe and around the world. 

Computer Science and Data Protection Officer Tracks As a novelty at CPDP.ai, this year’s edition features two “dedicated tracks”. Join us on Wednesday to engage in multidisciplinary debates around computer science topics. On Thursday, data protection officers and other privacy professionals get together to discuss subjects of particular interest to data protection officers, and the challenges and opportunities that these professionals face in an evolving digital landscape. Curated by experts with a strong grounding in these subjects, the dedicated tracks aim to nurture interdisciplinary discussions and connections amongst specialists and with the wider CPDP community.