Approaches to data protection (or privacy) regulation vary widely, with differences that can be challenging to navigate and pose the question of how to attain minimal regulatory convergence. At the same time, rapid changes, that have been intensified by the emergence of COVID-19, spark other concerns, related to the very ability of data protection legislation to tackle issues such as discriminatory profiling, for example. These are some of the elements of an effervescent scenario that will benefit from a panel with different sectoral and regional perspectives, distributed between Global North and South - namely from the US, the EU, Brazil and India.
The motto of the session is: how have the legal, technological and societal changes precipitated by COVID-19 impacted discussions about data protection regulation around the world?
• Considering contexts, legal systems and regulatory stages in each different country/region represented in the panel, what is the main challenge each one currently faces in safeguarding privacy and data protection?
• Regulatory convergence does not mean replication, but rather synergy. To what extent do particular characteristics of the regulatory environment of each country/region play a role in the choices and possibilities of regulation and enforcement?
• Between government regulation and industry self-regulation there is co-regulation, an approach that is explicitly endorsed by GDPR, as well as the Brazilian General Data Protection Law. Considering the ongoing regulatory discussions in other places such as the US and India, is it possible to say that the latest generations of data protection laws converge to a co-regulation model?
• As technology advances, the notion that traditional data protection regulation is not capable of adequately dealing with some of its challenges is reflected in the introduction of more specific legislation and standards, such as in the field of A.I. What is the current status of this movement in each different country/region and how do all of these different approaches relate in seeking greater protection for individuals and groups?
