Data protection and privacy in a mobile age

Today’s global IT ecosystem connects billions of people and devices. But the sheer pace of technological change, and the complexity of a value chain – which spans handset manufacturers, network operators, content providers and advertisers, to name but a few – pose enormous challenges to policymakers across the globe. All eyes are currently on Europe, to see how policy developments here can provide a privacy protective and privacy enabling environment that’s fit for a globally connected world.

With the ink barely dry on the “e-Privacy” Directive, and as the European Commission gears up for the review of the 1995 Data Protection Directive, this meeting will look at the factors that affect user privacy in the mobile sector. New user expectations, new patterns of usage, and new service offerings collectively create a complex network of global relationships. So how is it possible to ensure a consistent privacy experience across the mobile value chain? What is the right balance between user education and paternalistic regulation? How can developments in the EU feed into the development of global privacy standards in an international privacy protected framework? And how could a greater appreciation of user privacy, as opposed to data protection, guide the response of stakeholders in the current debate?

Wednesday 26 January 2011

07:45 – 08:00
Registration and breakfast

1. Introduction

08:00 – 08:05
Welcome
Martin Whitehead, Director GSMA Europe

2. Data protection and privacy in a mobile age

Moderator: Alissa Cooper, Centre for Democracy and Technology

08:05 – 08:15
Peter Hustinx, European Data Protection Supervisor

08:15 – 08:25
Alexander Alvaro, MEP (ALDE, Germany)

08:25 – 08:35
Pat Walshe, Director Privacy, GSMA

3. Panel Discussion

08:35 – 09:45
Q&A with panelists

09:45 – 10:00
Wrap–up and conclusions

Join an assembled panel of experts as we debate the future of privacy in the mobile sector.