cels-logo-conf-27-marchA one day conference on “EU Internet Regulation after Google Spain” is being held at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law on 27 March 2015.

The one-day conference, made possible as a result of a kind donation from Hogan Lovells and organised by the Centre for European Legal Studies, will explore the implications of C-131/12 Google Spain; Google v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD), Mario Costeja González (2014), the Court of Justice of the European Union’s long awaited “right to be forgotten” case.

Click here to register before 23 March.

Although directly focused on search engines, this key judgment has wider implications. Sessions will explore not only the future of search engines’ data protection obligations but also the general shape of EU regulation of the internet, questions related to jurisdiction and applicable law and the historic pathway to the Google Spain judgment. This conference will be of interest to scholars of law, sociology and political science as well as computer scientists interested in the governance framework for technology, and its implications for the design of code.

Confirmed speakers/panellists include Professor Artemi Rallo Lombarte (former Director of the Spanish Data Protection Authority), William Malcolm (Senior Privacy Counsel at Google), Eduardo Ustaran (Partner, Hogan Lovells), David Smith (UK Deputy Information Commissioner) and Professor Dr. Johannes Caspar (Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information). Wilem Debeuckelaere, President of the Belgium Privacy Commission, will deliver a keynote presentation on the changing landscape for search engines after Google Spain.

The conference programme is as follows

09:30 – 10:00: Coffee and refreshments

10:00 – 11:30: Session 1: The Pathway to Google Spain

  • Professor Artemi Rallo Lombarte, Jaume I University and former Director of Spanish Data Protection Authority
  • Jef Ausloos, KU Leuven
  • Dr. Orla Lynskey, London School of Economics

11:30 – 12:00: Coffee and refreshments

12:00 – 13:30: Session 2: The Changing Landscape for Search Engines After Google Spain

  • Willem Debeuckelaere, President, Belgium Privacy Commission (Keynote)
  • William Malcolm, Senior Privacy Counsel, Google
  • Julia Powles, University of Cambridge
  • Eduardo Ustaran, Partner, Hogan Lovells

13:30 – 14:30: Lunch

14:30 – 16:00: Session 3: The General Shape of EU Internet Regulation After Google Spain

  • Dr. David Erdos, University of Cambridge
  • David Smith, UK Deputy Information Commissioner
  • Hugh Tomlinson QC, Matrix Chambers

16:00 – 16:30: Coffee and Refreshments

16:30 – 17:45: Session 4: Jurisdiction, Applicable Law and Beyond after Google Spain

  • Prof. Dr. Johannes Caspar, Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information
  • Brendan Van Alsenoy, KU Leuven
  • Christian Wiese Svanberg, Attorney-at-law, Plesner

17:45 – 18:30: Reception