In June 2019, the UN SG´s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation issued its final report. In her analysis published last week on INCYDER, Taťána Jančárková of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) Law Branch points out that many topics covered in this report and the ensuing recommendations come as little surprise or even suffer from vagueness. ´Nevertheless, the report provides a useful insight on the forms that digital cooperation can take,´says Jančárková, welcoming the panel´s clear stance on the issue of responsibility for artificial intelligence: it must remain with humans. ‘Bringing up the issue of data as a public good deserves a mention, too, but the main value of the report lies in committing the international community’s attention to the digital aspects of sustainable development, including security, “ says Jančárková.
Next, the CCDCOE Law Researcher Ann Väljataga takes a closer look at the Council of Europe´s Conclusions on the Retention of Data for the Purpose of Fighting Crime issued in June 2019. The Conclusions reflect on the status quo and provide guidelines for the Commission and Member States on what to consider in their pursuit of a proportionate and harmonised EU data retention regime. As Väljataga suggests in her analysis, if compared to the applicable CJEU case law, the Council’s conclusions are bent towards giving data retention a chance. ‘Although the Council remains unwavering in its opinion that all investigative measures must comply with fundamental rights and freedoms, it highlights the essential role of data retention in fighting serious crime such as terrorism or cyber crime,’ says Väljataga,
The third analysis published recently on INCYDER by the CCDCOE Law Researcher Liina Lumiste[i] focusses on The Guidelines by European Commission. The EC Guidelines were issued earlier this year to provide a common baseline of an ethical minimum when designing, developing or using AI. ‘What should be kept in mind – and that is emphasised in the Guidelines as well – is that tensions between different principles and requirements may arise. For example, ensuring privacy and data protection while setting up a robust system may raise the need for deliberation,’ says Lumiste. Her paper includes a list of similar guidelines by other organizations focusing on AI, eg the OECD´s Principles on AI published in May 2019 and the Montréal Declaration, to name a few.
INCYDER, an initiative of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, is an interactive research tool focusing on the legal and policy documents adopted by international organisations active in cyber security. The collection of documents is periodically updated and supported by a comprehensive system of tags that enable filtering the content by specific sub-domains.
The articles published at INCYDER do not necessarily reflect the policy or the opinion of the NATO CCDCOE or NATO. The Centre may not be held responsible for any loss or harm arising from the use of information contained in this publication and is not responsible for the content of the external sources, including external websites referenced in this publication.
[i] Née Liina Hirv