Category: Events

On Thursday 21 May we will hold our CPDP panel centered around the ‘rights of access to corporate documentations and the trade secrets defence‘.

The EU digital rulebook strikes a balance between transparency for affected users and actors’ claims of confidentiality. The most prominent ex post transparency mechanism is the data subject access right to personal data under the General Data Protection Regulation. Yet, such access rights can be restricted in order to protect the rights and freedoms of others, including trade secrets. While jurisprudence about the balancing between conflicting positions of rights is consistent about the right to access corporate documentation such as log files in practice this often leads to a protracted legal battle. This panel will revisit experiences with trade secret claims by providers of digital technologies, the responsibilities of regulators and the impact of the digital omnibus on transparency rights.

The panel will be guided by the following questions:

1. What qualifies as a trade secret and as confidential business information?
2. How do trade secret claims affect transparency rights?
3. What balance has the law struck between transparency rights and trade secret claims?
4. What is the role of regulators, and what is the impact of the Digital Omnibus on transparency rights?

Moderated by Vilma Margarit (IViR) and in conversation with:

• Michaela Gehring – European Ombudsman Inquiries Office
• Lisa Steinfeld – NOYB
• Danny Mekić – University of Leiden
• Ljubiša Metikoš – IViR

Organized by Dr. Kristina Irion and the Institute for Information Law (IViR).

On 16-17 April, the Artificial Secrecy researchers are excited to organise an expert workshop “Between secrecy claims and transparency needs: Why, how and for whom the EU digital rulebook negotiates and produces transparency of regulated digital technologies”.

Through this workshop, we aim to connect academics with expertise in corporate confidentiality protection, including trade secrets, with researchers focused on transparency in EU digital and freedom of information laws.

The aim of the workshop is twofold:

First, to explore how EU digital and data regulation balances the protection of confidential information with transparency requirements, including transparency for affected users, qualified transparency for regulatory bodies and public transparency.

Second, to invite participants to contribute to an edited volume on the nexus between transparency and confidentiality. The bundle would include contributions on the covered legislation and emerging case law, as well as contributions clarifying the protection of confidentiality in relation to regulated digital technologies and FOIA requests at the EU and member states’ levels.

The workshop is structured along the following eight panels:

1. Transparency of regulated digital technologies
2. Confidential business information as a counterclaim
3. Transparency regimes before and behind the trade secret barrier
4. Transparency under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Artificial Intelligence Act
5. Right to an explanation of Automated Decision Making under the GDPR and the AI Act
6. Transparency rights under the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act
7. Transparency rights under the Data Act and the Data Governance Act
8. Freedom of Information requests to regulatory authorities

Stay tuned!