Consumers rights at the age of acceleration of digital innovation : towards a neuro-ethical law in GDPR and DFA ?

  • Panel
  • Maritime
  • Wednesday 20.05 — 17:20 - 18:40

Organising Institution

Inria

France

Inria is the French national institute for research in digital science and technology, and since January 2024 has been responsible for the Agence de programmes dans le numérique (Digital Programs Agency), designed to strengthen the collective dynamics of higher education and research. Its DNA is based on world-class research, technological innovation and entrepreneurial risk. Within 220 project teams, most of which are shared with major research universities, more than 3,800 scientists are exploring new avenues, often in interdisciplinary collaboration with industrial partners, to meet ambitious challenges. As a technology institute, Inria supports a wide range of innovation paths: from open source software publishing to the creation of technology startups (Deeptech).
  • Academic 3
  • Business 1
  • Policy 2
The act of influencing, even manipulating consumers is a practice as widespread as it is age-old. Nevertheless, the digital age has brought about a genuine revolution. The risk of influence and manipulation now stems from algorithms, AI systems articulated HCIs and BCIs, Agentic AI... They either involuntarily induce behaviours below the threshold of awareness, or they are intentionally designed to do so. These digital techniques are truly unique in that they are automated, personalised and scalable. Many european instruments adresses certain digital practices of consumer influence and manipulation : GDPR, AI Act, DSA, UCPD and, in a near future, the Digital Fairness Act. What is at stake in this panel, is to conduct a prospective analysis to assess the relevance of establishing a new and effective neuro-ethical legal framework for consumers, at the intersection of these different instruments.

Questions to be answered

  1. Should the amendments to the GDPR (in the Digital Omnibus Act) include rules concerning systemic risks for consumers?
  2. What are the consumers data processed in the era of AI systems linked to HCIs and BCIs, and of agentic AI?
  3. How should the design of consumer interactions, interfaces and experiences be regulated in the DFA?
  4. Can the law of technical standardisation contained in the AI Act serve as a model for the GDPR and DFA in order to promote fair practices of design for consumers?

Moderator

Juliette Sénéchal

Inria - France

Juliette Sénéchal is a professor of private law and a member of the Law and Legal Perspectives Research Centre (CRDP) at the University of Lille, as well as a member of the Department of Research in Intangible Law (DReDIS – IRJS) at the Sorbonne. Since 2025, she has been deputy scientific director at Inria, in charge of humanities and social sciences. From 2023 to 2025, she was a delegate to the SPIRALS project team at the Inria Centre at the University of Lille. Her scientific work focuses on the study of contemporary changes in European digital law in the context of the development of digital services and artificial intelligence systems and models. In particular, from 2023 to 2025, she co-organised a series of interdisciplinary discussions on the regulation of digital practices that influence and manipulate human ‘consumers’ with Sabine Bernheim-Desvaux. The results were published in the book Vers un droit neuro-éthique ? (Towards a neuro-ethical law?), which brings together computer science researchers from various Inria project teams, as well as researchers from other disciplines (neuroscience, psychology, economics, management science, sociology, law). We were thus able to formulate proposals aimed at making the protection of humans more effective within the framework of a future European Digital Fairness Act She has also been a member of the Cross-Disciplinary Project LOOP (closed Loop neurOtechnologies: from sensOrs to aPplications) since September 2025. This project brings together psychiatrists, neuroscientists, computer scientists and lawyers from Inserm, Inria and the University of Lille, under the auspices of the Alliance Neurotech.EU.

Speaker

Fabien Lechevalier

Paris-Saclay University (CERDI) - United Kingdom

Fabien Lechevalier is a PhD candidate in law at Paris-Saclay University (CERDI) and an affiliated researcher at the Stanford Law School (TTLF). His research focuses on informational privacy law, data governance models, and interdisciplinary approaches at the intersection of law and design, with a particular interest in design methods within legal environments. He teaches law across several higher education institutions, including Paris-Saclay University, Mines-Télécom Institute, and ENSCI-Les Ateliers.

Speaker

Audrey Pety

CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés) - France

Audrey Pety is an interaction designer at the CNIL's Digital Innovation Laboratory. With a background in industrial design from ENSCI - les ateliers (Paris), she develops participatory mediation and data visualisation tools, notably with the SOC studio. Since 2022, she has been interested in archiving native digital heritage in dialogue with the French Web Legal Deposit (BNF). She joined LINC in 2023 to develop tools for designing a user experience that respects privacy, through a process of co-construction and support.

Speaker

Johanna Gunawan

University of Maastricht - Netherlands

Johanna T. Gunawan is an Assistant Professor of CS and Law at the Maastricht University Law and Tech Lab. Her research spans UX, privacy, consumer protections, and law. At present, she is focusing on dark patterns and manipulative interfaces across multiple contexts – she also studies surveillance technologies and privacy erosion. Before joining Maastricht University, she earned her PhD in Cybersecurity at Northeastern University,

Speaker

Luis Velasco

EDPS - Europe

Head of Unit Technology & Privacy at the European Data Protection Supervisor