Global digital integration is desirable and perhaps even inevitable for most States. However, there is currently no systematic framework or narrative to drive such integration in trade agreements. This article evaluates whether community values can offer a normative foundation for rules governing digital trade. It uses the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol as a case study and argues that identifying and solidifying the collective needs of the African region through this instrument will be key to shaping an inclusive and holistic regional framework. These arguments are substantiated by analysis of the regulation of cross-border data flows, privacy and cybersecurity.

By establishing a common data governance mechanism across the EU, the Regulation on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) aims to enhance the reuse of electronic health data for secondary use (e.g. public health, policy-making, scientific research) purposes and realise associated benefits. However, the EHDS requires health data holders to make available vast amount of personal and non-personal electronic health data, including electronic health data subject to intellectual property (IP) rights, for secondary use, which may pose risks for stakeholders (patients, healthcare providers and manufacturers alike). This paper highlights some conceptual legal problems which need to be addressed in order to provide clearer regulatory requirements to ensure effective and consistent implementation of key data minimisation measures (anonymisation or pseudonymisation) and data management safeguards (secure processing environments). The paper concludes that the EHDS has been drafted ambiguously (for example, its definition of “electronic health data” or the list of “minimum categories of electronic data for secondary use”), which could lead to inconsistent data management practices and may impair the rights and legitimate interests of data subjects and rights holders. To address legal uncertainties, prevent fragmentation and mitigate/eliminate risks, the EHDS requires closely coordinated implementation and legislative fine-tuning.

The world is witnessing an increase in cross-border data transfers and breaches orchestrated by State and non-State actors. Cross-border data transfers may lead to friction among States to localize or globalize data and to provide regulatory frameworks. “Data warfare” or information-war operations are often not covered under conventional rules; however, they are categorized as acts of espionage and subject to domestic regulations. As such, the operations are used to achieve a variety of objectives, including stealing sensitive information, spreading propaganda, and causing economic damage. Notable instances of the theft of sensitive information include the recent Bangladesh government website breach, exposing 50 million records, and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) website hack.

Regulating the “data war” under the existing principles of international law may be unsuccessful in creating robust international legal frameworks to address the associated challenges. These developments further accentuate the global divide between data-rich regions in the Global North, with strong data protection mechanisms (such as the GDPR and the California Privacy Rights Act), and regions in the Global South, where there is a lack of comprehensive data protection laws and regulatory regimes. This disparity underscores the urgent need for global cooperation for substantial international regulatory mechanisms.

This article examines the complexities surrounding data warfare; it highlights the imperative need for establishing a robust global legal framework for data protection, delving into the concept of data war. It also acknowledges the growing influence of advanced technologies like data computing and mining and their ongoing threats to the fundamental rights of individuals associated with exposed personal data. The authors address the deficiencies in international legal provisions and advocate for a global regulatory approach to data protection as a critical means of safeguarding personal freedoms and countering the escalating threats in the digital age.

The past decade has seen a marked shift in the regulatory landscape of UK higher education. Institutions are increasingly assuming responsibility for preventing campus sexual misconduct, and are responding to its occurrence through – amongst other things – codes of (mis)conduct, consent and/or active bystander training, and improved safety and security measures. They are also required to support victim-survivors in continuing with their education, and to implement fair and robust procedures through which complaints of sexual misconduct are investigated, with sanctions available that respond proportionately to the seriousness of the behaviour and its harms. This paper examines the challenges and prospects for the success of university disciplinary processes for sexual misconduct. It focuses in particular on how to balance the potentially conflicting rights to privacy held by reporting and responding parties within proceedings, while respecting parties’ rights to equality of access to education, protection from degrading treatment, due process, and the interests of the wider campus community. More specifically, we explore three key moments where private data is engaged: (1) in the fact and details of the complaint itself; (2) in information about the parties or circumstances of the complaint that arise during the process of an investigation and/or resultant university disciplinary process; and (3) in the retention and disclosure (to reporting parties or the university community) of information regarding the outcomes of, and sanctions applied as part of, a disciplinary process. We consider whether current data protection processes – and their interpretation – are compatible with trauma-informed practice and a wider commitment to safety, equality and dignity, and reflect on the ramifications for all parties where that balance between rights or interests is not struck.

The progress in precision medicine has resulted in genomic technology spreading worldwide. This has raised concerns about the ethics of genetic data sharing and privacy. This article focuses on South Asia and first aims to identify, analyze, and understand the laws, regulations, and policies related to genetic data privacy and discrimination in that region. This is accomplished through a qualitative examination of existing laws and policies on privacy rights and a doctrinal analysis of legislation gathered from seven jurisdictions, viz. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Following the presentation of the country-specific study, the article turns to discussing the study's results, which suggest that the area lacks both national norms and a regional policy specific to the protection of personal genetic data. The article then offers possible reasons for this outcome and suggests that the countries must formulate culturally sensitive regulations and universally applicable legal principles for genetic privacy notwithstanding the existing challenges of poverty, non-uniform demographics, and an absence of political will.

On 25 October 2021, Nigeria became the second country in the world, and the first in Africa, to launch a central bank digital currency. Launched with the tag line “Same Naira. More possibilities”, the Central Bank of Nigeria publicized the eNaira as having the capability to deepen financial inclusion, reduce the cost of financial transactions and support a more efficient payment system. However, more than one year after its launch, its usage is yet to gain a critical mass. This article identifies the significant challenges that make the eNaira unacceptable and potentially ineffective. First, its status as legal tender is questionable; secondly, it undermines privacy, a critical component of physical cash. Thirdly, it is incapable of wide acceptance by individuals and entities across Nigeria. The article explains each of these challenges and proposes a roadmap to the eNaira's acceptance and effectiveness.

This article explores the proposed amendments to the AI Act, which introduce the concept of “groups of persons”. The inclusion of this notion has the potential to broaden the traditional individual-centric approach in data protection. The analysis explores the context and the challenges posed by the rapid evolution of technology, with an emphasis on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. It discusses both the potential benefits and challenges of recognising groups of people, including issues such as discrimination prevention, public trust and redress mechanisms. The analysis also identifies key challenges, including the lack of a clear definition for “group”, the difficulty in explaining AI architecture concerning groups and the need for well-defined redress mechanisms. The article also puts forward recommendations aimed at addressing these challenges in order to enhance the effectiveness and clarity of the proposed amendments.

The purpose of this contribution is to briefly present the content of the EU–US Data Privacy Framework recently adopted by the European Commission and then to assess whether it meets the expectations expressed by the Court of Justice of the European Union in its Schrems II judgment and related case law.

The escalating adoption of wearable technology for health data monitoring has led to the real-time aggregation of personal information. This phenomenon has fuelled heightened apprehensions about data security and privacy, given the storage, processing, and sharing of personal health data by corporations. Regulatory frameworks have been enacted to safeguard individual privacy rights, as exemplified by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This research paper, by Ms Varda Mone and Ms Fayazullaeva Shakhlo, offers an overview of extant literature on privacy apprehensions concerning wearable devices, conducting an exhaustive review to discern pivotal privacy issues and proffer prospective remedies. Specifically, the paper delineates the ensuing privacy concerns associated with wearables. Predominantly, wearables introduce security vulnerabilities that may facilitate the misappropriation, compromise, or revelation of delicate health data. The copious health information amassed by wearables can be potentially sold or divulged to external parties’ sans user cognisance or consent. Furthermore, the deployment of wearable technology harbours the potential for discriminatory practices against those with disabilities or chronic ailments. Additionally, apprehensions pertaining to privacy and surveillance stem from the capacity of wearable devices to monitor and trace an individual's movements and activities. To conclude, the paper deliberates on plausible measures to address privacy concerns pertaining to wearable devices, encompassing: a) Fortifying the security apparatus of wearable devices, b) Amplifying user autonomy over their health data, and c) Regulating the collection and utilisation of user health data by wearables. The paper asserts that the amelioration of these privacy concerns is indispensable for leveraging wearable technology's potential to enhance human well-being while ensuring the preservation of personal privacy.

Data has become a critical trans-national and cross-border resource. Yet, the lack of a well-defined approach to using it poses challenges to harnessing its value. This article explores the increasing importance of global data governance due to the rapid growth of data, and the need for responsible data practices. The purpose of this paper is to compare approaches and identify patterns in the emergent data governance ecosystem within sectors close to the international development field, ultimately presenting key takeaways and reflections on when and why a global data governance framework may be needed. Overall, the paper provides information about the conditions when a more holistic, coordinated transnational approach to data governance may be needed to responsibly manage the global flow of data. The report does this by (a) considering conditions specified by the literature that may be conducive to global data governance, and (b) analyzing and comparing existing frameworks, specifically investigating six key elements: purpose, principles, anchoring documents, data description and lifecycle, processes, and practices. The article closes with a series of final recommendations, which include adopting a broader concept of data stewardship to reconcile data protection and promotion, focusing on responsible reuse of data to unlock socioeconomic value, harmonizing meanings to operationalize principles, incorporating global human rights frameworks to provide common North Stars, unifying key definitions of data, adopting a data lifecycle approach, incorporating participatory processes and collective agency, investing in new professions with specific roles, improving accountability through oversight and compliance mechanisms, and translating recommendations into practical tools.