This track will examine what trustworthy, transparent and accountable AI demands in practice under a fast-evolving regulatory landscape, from the data used to build and run these systems to questions of human oversight, intellectual property, safety and security. It will also look at what comes next, as AI systems begin to act on their own: taking decisions and carrying out tasks on behalf of users and organisations.

The Scientific Track will feature presentations of selected papers from the Privacy Symposium Call for Papers and discussion among the research community. The Call for Papers aims to identify original papers from researchers and senior practitioners addressing challenges related to data protection, regulatory compliance, and innovative technologies.

This track will look at how data protection rules are converging — and diverging — across regions, as new treaties, adequacy arrangements and interoperability mechanisms take shape. It will consider how digital sovereignty and localisation pressures are reshaping cross-border data flows, and open the floor to authorities and stakeholders working to build common ground and practical cooperation across jurisdictions. 

This track will address the economics of data protection: what compliance costs, what it returns, and how the debate on simplification and competitiveness is changing that calculation.

This track will deal with the daily reality of applying data protection law, which increasingly has to be read alongside other digital regulation. Authorities, practitioners and other stakeholders will share how they read the requirements, what recent decisions have changed, and which questions remain open.

This track will examine certification as genuine evidence of compliance rather than a paper exercise. It will cover the design, approval and uptake of schemes, seals and codes of conduct, their use as a safeguard for international transfers, and how certification might extend to AI systems. Authorities, certification bodies and certified organisations will share what the process actually involves.

This track aims at facilitating multistakeholder dialogue and cooperation; promoting international data transfers for research purposes; and supporting the secondary use of medical and health data to benefit society as a whole.  

It will discuss in detail the impact of the ongoing regulatory changes in Europe and beyond, including on health data sharing, the use of AI and the evolution of medical devices. It will delve deeper into the frameworks for lawful processing for research, highlighting the methods to secure sensitive data and the latest technological developments in practice. Finally, key stakeholders and authorities will explore how international data transfers for medical research are facilitated, while enhancing patients’ rights.  

Leading these discussions, the Privacy Symposium is particularly honoured to welcome the Ministers of Health from Greece and Romania. Overall, the health track will feature speakers ranging from high-level authorities to researchers, academics, patients’ associations, and industry representatives. Speakers will share insights and best practices on international cooperation, EHDS, GDPR, the Digital Omnibus, AI Act, MDR, and other regulations’ impact on medical data and research, among other programme topics.  

This track will address the terms on which public authorities obtain personal data for law enforcement, security and other public interest purposes. It will cover cross-border access to electronic evidence, data retention, and the discussion over encryption and lawful access. Authorities, industry representatives and academics will discuss what necessity and proportionality require in practice.

This track will focus on the evolving role of Data Protection Officers and data compliance professionals, as their scope of work widens beyond data protection into AI governance and the broader digital rulebook. It will discuss how the role is understood differently across jurisdictions, what the simplification agenda means for the profession, and how the qualification and recognition of DPOs are taking shape. It will bring together DPO associations, practitioners and authorities to consider where the profession is heading.