On February 10, 2020, the UK Government’s Committee on Standards in Public Life* (the “Committee”) published its Report on Artificial Intelligence and Public Standards (the “Report”). The Report examines potential opportunities and hurdles in the deployment of AI in the public sector, including how such deployment may implicate the “Seven Principles of Public Life” applicable … Continue Reading
In this final instalment of our series of blogs on the European Commission’s plans for AI and data, announced on 19 February 2020, we discuss some potential effects on companies in the digital health sector. As discussed in our previous blog posts (here, here and here), the papers published by the European Commission cover broad … Continue Reading
In November 2019, the Council of Europe’s* Committee of Experts on Human Rights of Automated Data Processing and Different Forms of Artificial Intelligence (the “Committee”) finalized its draft recommendations on the human rights impacts of algorithmic systems (the “Draft Recommendations’’). The Draft Recommendations, which are non-binding, set out guidelines on how the Council of Europe … Continue Reading
On 19 February 2020, the new European Commission published two Communications relating to its five-year digital strategy: one on shaping Europe’s digital future, and one on its European strategy for data (the Commission also published a white paper proposing its strategy on AI; see our previous blogs here and here). In both Communications, the Commission … Continue Reading
The European Commission, as part of the launch of its digital strategy for the next five years, published on 19 February 2020 a White Paper On Artificial Intelligence – A European approach to excellence and trust (the “White Paper”). (See our previous blog here for a summary of all four of the main papers published … Continue Reading
On 19 February 2020, the European Commission presented its long-awaited strategies for data and AI. These follow Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s commitment upon taking office to put forward legislative proposals for a “coordinated European approach to the human and ethical implications of AI” within the new Commission’s first 100 days. Although the papers … Continue Reading
On January 23, 2020, the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee approved a resolution on artificial intelligence (“AI”) and automated decision-making (“ADM”). The resolution references several major pieces of work carried out by the European Commission on AI and provides a list of existing EU instruments that are relevant to AI and ADM … Continue Reading
On December 12, 2019, the European Parliament endorsed a non-binding resolution on enabling the digital transformation of health and care. The resolution calls on the European Commission to take a number of actions to foster the development of digital health systems in Europe to improve patient care and support research efforts — particularly those using … Continue Reading
On December 19, 2019, Advocate General (“AG”) Henrik Saugmandsgaard Øe handed down his Opinion in Case C-311/18, Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems (“Schrems II”). The AG’s Opinion provides non-binding guidance to the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) on how to decide the case. In brief, the AG recommended that … Continue Reading
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has issued and is consulting on draft guidance about explaining decisions made by AI. The ICO prepared the guidance with The Alan Turing Institute, which is the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. Among other things, the guidance sets out key principles to follow and steps … Continue Reading
On December 3, 2019, the EU’s new Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, suggested a change of approach to the proposed e-Privacy Regulation may be necessary. At a meeting of the Telecoms Council, Breton indicated that the Commission would likely develop a new proposal, following the Council’s rejection of a compromise text on November … Continue Reading
The Advocate General’s (“AG”) Opinion in Case C-311/18, Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems (“Schrems II”), has been delayed until the 19th December 2019. (The original publication date was set for the week before, on the 12th December.) The primary question before the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”), and the AG, in Schrems … Continue Reading
On October 31, 2019, Elizabeth Denham, the UK’s Information Commissioner issued an Opinion and an accompanying blog urging police forces to slow down adoption of live facial recognition technology and take steps to justify its use. The Commissioner calls on the UK government to introduce a statutory binding code of practice on the use of … Continue Reading
On 19 September 2019, the European Parliamentary Research Service (“EPRS”)—the European Parliament’s in-house research service—released a briefing paper that summarizes the current status of the EU’s approach to developing a regulatory framework for ethical AI. Although not a policymaking body, the EPRS can provide useful insights into the direction of EU policy on an issue. … Continue Reading
On July 25, 2019, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published a blog on the trade-offs between different data protection principles when using Artificial Intelligence (“AI”). The ICO recognizes that AI systems must comply with several data protection principles and requirements, which at times may pull organizations in different directions. The blog identifies notable trade-offs … Continue Reading
On July 16, 2019, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) released a new draft Data sharing code of practice (“draft Code”), which provides practical guidance for organizations on how to share personal data in a manner that complies with data protection laws. The draft Code focuses on the sharing of personal data between controllers, with … Continue Reading
On July 29, 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) handed down its judgment in the Fashion ID case (Case C-40/17). The CJEU found that when a website operator embeds Facebook’s “Like” button on its website, Facebook and the website operator become joint controllers. The case clarifies the relationship between website operators … Continue Reading
On June 26, 2019, the EU High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI HLEG) announced two important developments: (1) the launch of the pilot phase of the assessment list in its Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI (the “Ethics Guidelines”); and (2) the publication of its Policy and Investment Recommendations for Trustworthy AI (the “Recommendations”). The … Continue Reading
On June 25, 2019, as part of their continuing work on the AI Auditing Framework, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published a blog setting out their views on human bias and discrimination in AI systems. The ICO has also called for input on specific questions relating to human bias and discrimination, set out below. … Continue Reading
On June 10, 2019, the UK Government’s Digital Service and the Office for Artificial Intelligence released guidance on using artificial intelligence in the public sector (the “Guidance”). The Guidance aims to provide practical guidance for public sector organizations when they implement artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. The Guidance will be of interest to companies that provide … Continue Reading
On June 20, 2019, Keith Krach was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become the Trump administration’s first permanent Privacy Shield Ombudsperson at the State Department. The role of the Privacy Shield Ombudsperson is to act as an additional redress avenue for all EU data subjects whose data is transferred from the EU or Switzerland … Continue Reading
On June 3, 2019, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), released an Interim Report on a collaboration project with The Alan Turing Institute (“Institute”) called “Project ExplAIn.” The purpose of this project, according to the ICO, is to develop “practical guidance” for organizations on complying with UK data protection law when using artificial intelligence (“AI”) … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office published a draft code of practice (“Code”) on designing online services for children. The Code is now open for public consultation until May 31, 2019. The Code sets out 16 standards of “age appropriate design” with which online service providers should comply when designing online services (such … Continue Reading
On April 8, 2019, the EU High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (the “AI HLEG”) published its “Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI” (the “guidance”). This follows a stakeholder consultation on its draft guidelines published in December 2018 (the “draft guidance”) (see our previous blog post for more information on the draft guidance). The guidance retains … Continue Reading
