Information Technology and Law Series - Böcker

Information Technology (IT) has found its way into legal practice and as part of that into the judiciary. The present publication provides an impression of the developments in three continents, or, better, a country in each of these continents: Australia (Australia), Singapore (Asia), and Venezuela (South America). In addition, reports by Norway, the Netherlands and Italy are provided. These countries can be qualified as the best equipped and organized in IT for the judiciary in Europe.Amongst the issues addressed are electronic filing systems, decision support systems, the employment of knowledge management, and on-line services, including publication of verdicts. The central issue in the development of IT support for the judiciary worldwide appears the use of case management systems.IT is used as a means to bring about changes in most countries. In a very strong way this happened in Singapore, where IT was used to transform an old-fashioned organization, where it was hard or even impossible to get access to case information, into a modern, well-equipped institution.This book is meant to be a comprehensive source on the use of IT in legal organizations, in particular the judiciary, practitioners (attorneys, company lawyers, consultants), governments, but also for academics, both students and staff.This is Volume 4 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

The contention that the provision of European Directives on functional legal requirements for digital signature validity solves a core problem of electronic commerce can at best be called naive. In this book it is made clear that there are no simple shortcuts for the lawyer who is concerned with authenticated digital transactions. Schellekens describes the main aspects of authentication technologies, presenting the technical insights needed to get to the legal semantics of functional equivalence between traditional and digital signatures. He focuses on the usability of authentication technology and what it entails for its users. The research for this book is based on an in-depth literature study and interviews with highly qualified experts in the field. It provides valuable tools and background information not only for everyone active in or setting out on e-business in its widest concept, but also for practising lawyers and students of information technology.

Virtual Arguments examines assistance software; software which supports argumentative tasks and can help with the organization, visualization and evaluation of arguments. The main focus of the book is on defeasible argumentation. Argumentation is defeasible when it is possible that conclusions are withdrawn in the light of further argumentation. The domain of application is the law, where the defeasibility of argumentation is common and often essential. This interdisciplinary study reports on current research in artificial intelligence, legal theory and argumentation theory. It is relevant for all those who are interested in defeasible argumentation, legal reasoning and argument assistance software. The author combines theoretical reflection with illustrative examples and provides an overview of research into the design of argumentation software, which will be of interest both to researchers in the field of artificial intelligence and the law, and to legal practitioners.

In 1967, Justice John Marshall Harlan introduced the litmus test of ‘a reasonable expectation of privacy’ in his concurring opinion in the US Supreme Court case of Katz v. United States. Privacy, regulations to protect privacy, and data protection have been legal and social issues in many Western countries for a number of decades. However, recent measures to combat terrorism, to fight crime, and to increase security, together with the growing social acceptance of privacy-invasive technologies can be considered a serious threat to the fundamental right to privacy. What is the purport of ‘reasonable expectations of privacy’? Reasonable expectations of privacy and the reality of data protection is the title of a research project being carried out by TILT, the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. The project is aimed at developing an international research network of privacy experts (professionals, academics, policymakers) and to carry out research on the practice, meaning, and legal performance of privacy and data protection in an international perspective. Part of the research project was to analyse the concept of privacy and the reality of data protection in case law, with video surveillance and workplace privacy as two focal points. The eleven country reports regarding case law on video surveillance and workplace privacy are the core of the present book. The conclusions drawn by the editors are intended to trigger and stimulate an international debate on the use and possible drawbacks of the ‘reasonable expectations of privacy’ concept. The editors are all affiliated to TILT – Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society, Tilburg University, The Netherlands.  This is Volume 7 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

Open source software licences are based on two fundamental principles: the possibility for users to use the software for any purpose and the possibility to modify and redistribute it without prior authorisation from the initial developer. Some open source software licences, like the General Public Licence (GPL), also impose a corollary obligation on the licensee: to make the source code available to other developers. The idea behind this form of licensing is that when programmers can read, redistribute and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves.A number of legal challenges need to be addressed in order to ensure the most efficient deployment of open contentlicences in Europe and in the Netherlands, not least because most open source licences originate from the United States. This study gives an overview of the current legal situation regarding the use of open source software licences and investigates how the most commonly used open source software licences measure up to Dutch and European law. How does the distinct production and distribution model of open source licences fit in the current legal framework? Does the current legal environment support the use of open source licences or does it rather impede their use? In this last case, would certain adaptations to the law or to the licence terms be appropriate?By its in-depth analysis and clear conclusions, Unravelling the Myth around Open Source Licences amply contributes to the understanding of this complex field that policy makers, regulators, and academics so crucially require. Taking the provisions of the GNU GPL, the BSD, and the Mozilla Public Licence as examples, it investigates the implications of open source licensing from a private law, copyright law and patent law perspective. It also takes a brief look at the issue of the enforcement of these licences. To facilitate the use and enforcement of open source software licences in Europe, and more particularly in the Netherlands, the authors conclude their study by making a number of recommendations for the adaptation of the licence terms with a view to enhancing their compliance with the legal requirements.Lucie Guibault is Senior Researcher at the University of Amsterdam’s Institute for Information Law (IViR). Ot van Daalen is an attorney with the firm of De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in Amsterdam.This is Volume 8 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

How does the ‘on-line’ world relate to the ‘off-line’ world? Is it different, separate, or even unique compared to the off-line world, or just a part thereof? And when do we need to regulate it, and how? These have become important, but complex questions for legislators, policy-makers, regulators, and politicians who design regulatory frameworks to address fast-moving technologies that change society in intricate ways.Over the course of time, governments and international organizations have developed regulatory ‘starting points’, in order to consistently and effectively deal with ICT and Internet regulation. These offer policy one-liners such as ‘what holds off-line, must hold on-line’ and ‘regulation should be technology-neutral’. This book questions these regulatory starting points in detail and systematically explores their application, meaning and value for international e-regulation. It digs deeper than existing literature in trying to find out in which cases the starting points merit attention, and how we should really use them.This volume is the product of close collaboration and debate between scholars working at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT), to which international colleagues have added valuable reactions and reflections. The contributions in this volume have been written by TILT researchers Simone van der Hof, Bert-Jaap Koops, Miriam Lips, Sjaak Nouwt, Corien Prins, Maurice Schellekens. and Kees Stuurman, and by guest authors Dan Burk (University of Minnesota), Herbert Burkert (University of St. Gallen), and Yves Poullet (Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Namur).This is Volume 9 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

This book presents an evaluation of recent legislative initiatives against unsolicited commercial e-mail (spam) in the European Union. The authors provide an analysis of the meaning and interpretation of the relevant new regulatory regime in the EU. They address international aspects of the fight against spam (intra-European activities and supranational policies), the dilemmas of dealing with spam and the importance of effective enforcement mechanisms. Their conclusions and recommendations provide directions, both in terms of further research as well as in terms of practical policy measures. This book is therefore highly recommended for academics as well as policy-makers and practitioners in the field of IT and law. Lodewijk F. Asscher is a researcher at the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam and a local authority councillor for the City of Amsterdam. He prepared the present book in co-operation with Sjo Anne Hoogcarspel, Attorney at Law with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This is Volume 10 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

Cybercrime is remarkably varied and widespread, and financial losses range from a  few hundred dollars being extorted to multi-million dollar cyberfraud cases. Increasingly, cybercrime also involves the risk of terrorist attacks bringing down a major part of the Internet. Countries are discovering that it may be impossible for them to prosecute cybercriminals. Cybercrimes, unlike ‘ordinary’ crimes, are transnational in nature and it is often difficult to say just where they take place. This causes legal problems, since jurisdiction is usually still confined to the place where the crime was committed. A related issue is to what extent the police can investigate cybercrimes across borders, through the Internet: do they infringe the sovereignty of other countries?  This book surveys how these issues in cybercrime jurisdiction are dealt with by countries around the world, including the US, Japan, Korea, India, Brazil, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Italy,Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and the UK. A score of experts assess how well the laws of their countries and the Cybercrime Convention deal with transnational cybercrime, and how jurisdiction conflicts should be resolved. With this in-depth survey of views and practices of cybercrime jurisdiction, the authors hope to contribute to a more concerted international effort towards effectively fighting cybercrime. The book is therefore highly recommended to policy-makers, members of the judiciary, academics and practitioners. Bert-Jaap Koops is Professor of Regulation & Technology at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) of Tilburg University, The Netherlands. Susan W. Brenner is NCR Distinguished Professor of Law & Technology, University of Dayton School of Law, Ohio, US.

The collected essays in this book concern the intriguing matter of the interaction between law and technology and the normative role of information technology. More precisely, they focus on the way information and communication technologies regulate human behaviour. Can information technology be an alternative to legal regulation and, if so, what are the risks? In this book the question is addressed as to how law interacts with technology in general and whether software (‘code’) can be understood as law. Comparisons are made between different technologies of communication (fixed and mobile telephony and the Internet) from the angle of control of communications. A problem is that the tool becomes more and more intransparent: it becomes a means of controlling human behaviour that replaces instruments of law. The impact of this development in the domains of freedom of expression, privacy and property is therefore analysed in depth. The issues raisedin this book were discussed during a conference entitled Code as Code, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The report of the debate between leading experts who attended the Conference forms the round-up in the book, as do the proposals for a future agenda for research. Together and individually, the authors provide substantial and meaningful contributions to the lively debate on the relationship between ‘software code’ and ‘legal code’ as it was initiated by Lawrence Lessig’s book Code and other Laws of Cyberspace (1999). The book is therefore highly recommended to professionals in IT and law, legal scholars, government policy makers and – not to forget – students of IT and law. Coding Regulation is edited by Egbert J. Dommering, Professor of Information Law at the University of Amsterdam, and Lodewijk F. Asscher, researcher at the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, and DeputyMayor for Economic Affairs of the City of Amsterdam. This is Volume 12 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

Customary Law of the Internet is the first book that deals comprehensively with the emergence of a new kind of law on the Internet that could be utilized by governments and private arbitrators to settle disputes and make better laws. This new kind of law is what once used to be the only source of legal rights and obligations: customary law.The author first addresses issues posed by the emergence of the Internet and analyses relevant international treaties, in particular the Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracting. He then comes to the emerging customary norms developed by the Internet community, the importance of custom from an historical perspective and the nature of international custom. The concept of Internet custom is introduced, followed by a detailed methodology for evidencing customary norms in judicial proceedings.The last part of the book is devoted to the novel concept of autonomous Internet law, based on customary norms of the Internet community, arbitral and judicial awards, general principles of law, conventions, model laws, commonly used contract terms and technical standards. Several Internet customs are discussed in the area of intellectual property, electronic contracting, online advertising and transaction security.This book is addressed both to national and international governments, judges and arbitrators as well as to online traders, researchers and the Internet community as a whole. It is an important tool for academics and practitioners interested and active in cyberspace regulation and the Information Technology community.Dr Paul Przemyslaw Polanski (BBus, magister prawa) is presently a senior researcher at the Department of European Law, Faculty of Law, University of Warsaw, and Department of Information Systems, Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management (LKAEM), Warsaw. Previously, he worked as a computer programmer in the Australian IT industryand as a researcher at the University of Melbourne and Monash University. He also worked for legal offices in Poland, specializing in information technology law, contracts, property and EU law. Currently, he administers the e-learning platform www.elaw.pl.This is Volume 13 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

The explosive growth of the Napster and KaZaA services shows that peer-to-peer file sharing has tremendous appeal in our information society. Nevertheless, current legal and economic practices prevent that these services achieve their full potential. Fighting the War on File Sharing looks into the issue from the perspectives of IT, economics and law and combines the results, pointing out ways how to reduce its escalation and to end the war.The approach and the solutions reached recognize the influence of outstanding work produced in different disciplines, such as law and information technology (Lessig), political anthropology (Douglas, Geertz, Smits), new institutional economics (Coase, North, Greif) and jurisprudence (Fuller, Bobbitt, Tamanaha).This book is very important to anyone concerned about how intellectual property law, economics and rhetoric fuel the war on file sharing, and, in general, to everyone interested in the future of the Media Industry on Internet.Aernout Schmidt and Wim Keuvelaar are both affiliated to elaw@Leiden, Centre for Law in the Information Society at Leiden University. Wilfred Dolfsma is affiliated to the Utrecht School of Economics and to Maastricht University (UNU-MERIT).This is Volume 14 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

The seven country reports provide in-depth accounts of changes to the constitutional system (such as a constitutional review and the influence of international law), case law and (policy) developments with respect to freedom of expression, privacy, inviolability of the body, inviolability of the home and freedom of communication.

‘Is private regulation of the Internet over? Have states taken over?’ This book examines the function of self-regulation in cyberspace. It argues that contrary to what is often supposed in the literature, self-regulation is still an indispensable part of regulation of the Internet and will arguably remain so. It is intricately woven into the mesh of rules that governs the Internet today. Private regulation fills substantive or procedural gaps where no state regulation exists or where it is incomplete or ineffective, thus complementing the reach of state regulation. Simultaneously, states supply legal (and financial) frameworks that enable or complement self-regulation. In practice, often unknown to users, their behaviour is regulated by intertwined rules coming from both states and private groups. While each source of rules retains its identity and regulatory strengths, it is dependent on and complementary to the rules and processes of the other to effectively regulate Internet activities.Dr. Jeanne P. Mifsud Bonnici is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Law, Information and Converging Technologies, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK.This is Volume 16 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

This book is the first comprehensive study on the legal aspects of trustmarks: labels or visual representations indicating that a product, process, or service conforms to specific quality characteristics.Trustmark Organisations (TMOs) are independent parties which provide e-merchants with such trustmarks. Security, privacy, and business practice are three areas in which trustmarks play an important role. TMOs will issue a trustmark to e-merchants only if they have demonstrated that they conform to the policy of TMOs regarding security and/or privacy and/or business practice. E-merchants hope that, by displaying the trustmark on their websites, e-consumers will trust their certified practice and be more likely to divulge their personal data and transact with them. Past research has focused on the economic aspects of trustmarks. However, there are no legal studies to be found on the matter.This book aims to fill that gap. It describes the pros and cons of trustmarks fore-economy, e-society and e-policy, assesses TMOs’ practice, and focuses on TMOs’ liability. The book is valuable reading for academics and practitioners in the IT and ICT field and for all those involved in e-commerce both at a European and global level.Dr Paolo Balboni is currently an Associate at Baker & McKenzie, IT/Communications and Intellectual Property Department, in the Milan office in Italy. He is also a Research Associate at Tilburg University, both at the Tilburg Institute for Law Technology, and Society TILT and at the Tilburg Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies and Conflict Resolution Systems TISCO.This is Volume 17 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

INTRODUCTION George Bernard Shaw wrote – ‘when a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed 1 of, he always declares that it is his duty. ’ Years earlier La Rochefoucauld noted, ‘hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue. ’ But whether stupid or wise, men are not just hypocritical; they are often honestly unsure where their duty lies. This is one of the main reasons for the creation of rules and exceptions to these rules. This book looks at the law of copyright, exceptions to copyright, which apply to Higher Education Institutions (hereinafter HEIs) and the position of the academic author in relation to the reward or incentive system. As such, the book further considers whether academic authors within HEIs are fairly remunerated for their academic contri- tions by the system of copyright collecting societies; and if not, whether alternative models exist to remunerate the academic author fairly. 2 HEIs include universities and other institutions such as colleges and vocational institutions, which award academic degrees including diplomas. This book will focus solely on the university sector of HEIs in the UK. In exploring the two broad subject areas of HEIs and Copyright Collecting Societies, a large variety of issues can be isolated for specific consideration.

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Research Objective 1 The modern State is unlikely to be the end configuration of organized political life. Throughout history, both the nature and manifestation of political organization have continuously adapted to the specific needs of the age. Despite the natural tendency of organizations to retain a certain status quo, there is no reason to suggest that the dominant form of political organization, the State, has lost the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Today’s needs are shaped by a process of glob- ization increasing the level of transnational interdependence between actors in terms of social, economic and political activity. As such, this process is likely to inform the next transformation of organized political life. This inquiry sets out to shed some light on the consequences of this transformation for the modern State in the view of its constitutional commitments and responsibilities using the Internet’s - terdependency-imposing nature as foundation for the inquiry. In investigating the way in which traditional public commitments and responsibilities take shape on the Internet, this inquiry aims to further our understanding of how globalization inf- ences decision making in the public interest. The vast amount of literature on the effects of globalization on the State roughly divides into three categories. The first strand of literature stresses the economic dimension of globalization.

Governments radically change under the influence of technology. As a result, our lives in interaction with public sector bodies are easier. But the creation of an electronic government also makes us more vulnerable and dependent. Dependent not just on technology itself, but also on the organizations within government that apply technology, collect and use citizen-related information and often demand the citizens submit themselves to technological applications.  This book analyzes the legal, ethical, policy and technological dimensions of innovating government. Authors from diverse backgrounds confront the reader with a variety of disciplinary perspectives on persistent themes, like privacy, biometrics, surveillance, e-democracy, electronic government, and identity management. Clearly, the use of technology by governments demands that choices are made. In the search for guiding principles therein, an in-depth understanding of the developments related to electronic government is necessary. This book contributes to this understanding. This book is valuable to academics and practitioners in a wide variety of fields such as public administration and ICT, sociology, political science, communications science, ethics and philosophy. It is also a useful tool for policymakers at the national and international level. Simone van der Hof is Associate Professor at TILT (Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society), Tilburg University, The Netherlands. Marga Groothuis is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law of Leiden University in the Netherlands. Specific to this book: Offers the reader a clear structureEnables the reader to see across disciplinary bordersOffers an in-depth insight into new modes of government in various policy domains  This is Volume 20 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

The existence of financial identity theft in the United States, and its (gradual) spread to other areas of the world, increases the need to understand how identity theft occurs and how perpetrators of the crime manage to take advantage of developments within contemporary society. This book aims to provide such an understanding through an in-depth comparative analysis which illustrates how states, financial service providers, consumers, and others facilitate the occurrence of financial identity theft in the United States and the Netherlands.

Governments radically change under the influence of technology. As a result, our lives in interaction with public sector bodies are easier. But the creation of an electronic government also makes us more vulnerable and dependent. Dependent not just on technology itself, but also on the organizations within government that apply technology, collect and use citizen-related information and often demand the citizens submit themselves to technological applications.  This book analyzes the legal, ethical, policy and technological dimensions of innovating government. Authors from diverse backgrounds confront the reader with a variety of disciplinary perspectives on persistent themes, like privacy, biometrics, surveillance, e-democracy, electronic government, and identity management. Clearly, the use of technology by governments demands that choices are made. In the search for guiding principles therein, an in-depth understanding of the developments related to electronic government is necessary. This book contributes to this understanding. This book is valuable to academics and practitioners in a wide variety of fields such as public administration and ICT, sociology, political science, communications science, ethics and philosophy. It is also a useful tool for policymakers at the national and international level. Simone van der Hof is Associate Professor at TILT (Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society), Tilburg University, The Netherlands. Marga Groothuis is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law of Leiden University in the Netherlands. Specific to this book: Offers the reader a clear structureEnables the reader to see across disciplinary bordersOffers an in-depth insight into new modes of government in various policy domains  This is Volume 20 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

The existence of financial identity theft in the United States, and its (gradual) spread to other areas of the world, increases the need to understand how identity theft occurs and how perpetrators of the crime manage to take advantage of developments within contemporary society. This book aims to provide such an understanding through an in-depth comparative analysis which illustrates how states, financial service providers, consumers, and others facilitate the occurrence of financial identity theft in the United States and the Netherlands.

But more important than that, this book provides a deeper reflection: are current legal systems adapted to business models such as that of Google or are they conceived for an industrial economy?

Human information and communication technology (ICT) implants have developed for many years in a medical context. Such applications have become increasingly advanced, in some cases modifying fundamental brain function.Today, comparatively low-tech implants are being increasingly employed in non-therapeutic contexts, with applications ranging from the use of ICT implants for VIP entry into nightclubs, automated payments for goods, access to secure facilities and for those with a high risk of being kidnapped. Commercialisation and growing potential of human ICT implants have generated debate over the ethical, legal and social aspects of the technology, its products and application. Despite stakeholders calling for greater policy and legal certainty within this area, gaps have already begun to emerge between the commercial reality of human ICT implants and the current legal frameworks designed to regulate these products.This book focuses on the latest technological developments and onthe legal, social and ethical implications of the use and further application of these technologies.

Google’s has proved to be one of the most successful business models in today’s knowledge economy. Its services and applications have become part of our day-to-day life. However, Google has repeatedly been accused of acting outside the law in the development of services such as Adwords, Googlebooks or YouTube. One of the main purposes of this book is to assess whether those accusations are well-founded. But more important than that, this book provides a deeper reflection: are current legal systems adapted to business models such as that of Google or are they conceived for an industrial economy? Do the various lawsuits involving Google show an evolution of the existing legal framework that might favour the flourishing of other knowledge-economy businesses? Or do they simply reflect that Google has gone too far? What lessons can other knowledge-based businesses learn from all the disputes in which Google has been or is involved?This book is valuable reading for legal practitioners and academics in the field of information technologies and intellectual property law, economists interested in knowledge-economy business models and sociologists interested in internet and social networks.Dr. Aurelio Lopez-Tarruella is Senior Lecturer in Private International Law at the University of Alicante, Spain.

Human information and communication technology (ICT) implants have developed for many years in a medical context. Such applications have become increasingly advanced, in some cases modifying fundamental brain function.Today, comparatively low-tech implants are being increasingly employed in non-therapeutic contexts, with applications ranging from the use of ICT implants for VIP entry into nightclubs, automated payments for goods, access to secure facilities and for those with a high risk of being kidnapped. Commercialisation and growing potential of human ICT implants have generated debate over the ethical, legal and social aspects of the technology, its products and application. Despite stakeholders calling for greater policy and legal certainty within this area, gaps have already begun to emerge between the commercial reality of human ICT implants and the current legal frameworks designed to regulate these products.This book focuses on the latest technological developments and onthe legal, social and ethical implications of the use and further application of these technologies.

Ensuring online safety has become a topic on the regulatory agenda in many Western societies.

The book shows how and why laws that regulate the design and development of privacy-invading technologies (PITs) may more effectively ensure the protection of privacy than laws that only regulate data controllers and the use of such technologies.

The book in front of you is the first international academic volume on the legal, philosophical and economic aspects of the rise of 3D printing. In recent years 3D printing has become a hot topic.

Given the popularity of drones and the fact that they are easy and cheap to buy, it is generally expected that the ubiquity of drones will significantly increase within the next few years. This raises questions as to what is technologically feasible (now and in the future), what is acceptable from an ethical point of view and what is allowed from a legal point of view. Drone technology is to some extent already available and to some extent still in development. The aim and scope of this book is to map the opportunities and threats associated with the use of drones and to discuss the ethical and legal issues of the use of drones.This book provides an overview of current drone technologies and applications and of what to expect in the next few years. The question of how to regulate the use of drones in the future is addressed, by considering conditions and contents of future drone legislation and by analyzing issues surrounding privacy and safeguards that can be taken. As such, this book is valuable to scholars in several disciplines, such as law, ethics, sociology, politics and public administration, as well as to practitioners and others who may be confronted with the use of drones in their work, such as professionals working in the military, law enforcement, disaster management and infrastructure management. Individuals and businesses with a specific interest in drone use may also find in the nineteen contributions contained in this volume unexpected perspectives on this new field of research and innovation.Bart Custers is Associate Professor and Head ofResearch at eLaw, the Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, The Netherlands. He has presented his work at international conferences in the United States, China, Japan, the Middle East and throughout Europe and has published over 80 scientific, professional and popularizing publications, including three books.

The book presents timely and needed contributions on privacy and data protection seals as seen from general, legal, policy, economic, technological, and societal perspectives. It covers data protection certification in the EU (i.e., the possibilities, actors and building blocks); the Schleswig-Holstein Data Protection Seal; the French Privacy Seal Scheme; privacy seals in the USA, Europe, Japan, Canada, India and Australia; controversies, challenges and lessons for privacy seals; the potential for privacy seals in emerging technologies; and an economic analysis. This book is particularly relevant in the EU context, given the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) impetus to data protection certification mechanisms and the dedication of specific provisions to certification. Its coverage of practices in jurisdictions outside the EU also makes it relevant globally. This book will appeal to European legislators and policy-makers, privacy and dataprotection practitioners, certification bodies, international organisations, and academics.Rowena Rodrigues is a Senior Research Analyst with Trilateral Research Ltd. in London and Vagelis Papakonstantinou is a Senior Researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Brussels.