Call for Papers: Online Privacy: Consenting to your Future

International
Conference
Malta, March 21 – 22 2013

Call For papers:
The internet has provided individuals with a virtually unlimited choice for communication and content-sharing services. The social network and user-generated content services (SNS/UGC) get users to quickly connect to wider networks, providing certain personal details and agreement to terms of service. However, when consent can be given as fast as a click of the mouse, the question arises are to whether this remains an effective and fair way of protecting the individual. Do individuals understand the agreements into which they are entering? Is the law adequate and effective in its current state?

With new legislative and policy instruments proposed for data processing in Europe and beyond, the focus turns to what sort of environment consumers, service providers and policy-makers envision for the future. What form of relationship do users want with the services they use? Will new proposals help in creating this relationship?

The CONSENT project, financed by the EU Commission under the FP7 Program, addresses these and other related questions and issues through a comprehensive and scientific approach which combines quantitative and qualitative research on the awareness and perceptions of consumers with a review of existing legislation to produce guidelines as well as a toolkit which could inform system designers, policy makers and legislative bodies across Europe and beyond.

The Online Privacy: Consenting to your Future conference brings together experts from different perspectives (policy makers, academia, industry and citizen groups) to share experience and knowledge as well as to discuss risks and opportunities inherent to the growth of UGC/SNS on the Internet. The Online Privacy: Consenting to Your Future Conference will include invited speakers, reports of the research covered in the CONSENT Project as well as peer-reviewed studies received in response to this Call for Papers.

Papers and Panels are invited to address any one of the following themes:
Consumer attitudes about online privacy
Consumer behaviour and online privacy
Regulating online privacy across borders
Privacy and cloud computing
Privacy protection of online consumers
Privacy and minors online
‘Privacy by design’ online
Reasonable expectation of privacy online and policy-making
Technical tools/applications to control personal information online
Emerging technologies and privacy online
The future of privacy online
Efficacy and fairness of online contracts;
The economics and business models of social networks: present and future;
Consumer usage of SNS/UGCs and perceptions
The European Commission’s proposals on data protection rules to safeguard online privacy rights, including the “right to be forgotten“, and the impact of these rules on business and consumers;
Technical challenges and solutions to balancing consumer needs, the law and business aims;
What input should service providers and other stakeholders be giving to policy makers in Strasbourg & Brussels?
Comparison of global privacy norms in law and policy;
The perspective of data controllers and processors regarding privacy, security and meeting the concerns of the individual;Best practice for SNS/UGC services;
European culture(s) and privacy;
Privacy impact assessments and social-networks.

Authors wishing to submit their contributions should submit an extended abstract of max 1500 words via Abstract Submission form accessible here by 3 December 2012.

Important Dates
3 December 2012: Abstract submission
15 December 2012: Notification of acceptance
28 Februar 2013: Camera-ready paper
21-22 March 2013: Conference