When we started our work on the Strategy for the five-year mandate of the European Data Protection Supervisor, one of the first issues we discussed was whether it should be either a living document, ready to be changed or adjusted, or a robust, future-proof plan. 

If you believe everything you read in the papers or see in films, artificial intelligence (AI) is either going to be the saviour or the downfall of the world as we know it. While we’re not yet witnessing either extreme, it is not under dispute that the various applications of AI raise a number of challenges for those defending the rights and freedoms of individuals.

The EDPS is lucky to benefit from the expertise of seconded national experts. These are data protection experts employed by an EU Member State’s national Data Protection Authority (DPAs) who are seconded to work with one of the teams at the EDPS for an extended period. The secondment process allows for a productive exchange of perspectives and knowledge between national DPAs and the EDPS, paving the way for smoother future cooperation.

At the end of last month, the EDPS had the privilege of hosting the 31st edition of the annual European Data Protection Case Handling Workshop at which we welcomed colleagues from 28 EU and non-EU data protection authorities.

The unique set up of the workshop is an opportunity to meet a wide array of practitioners and to share our experiences of investigating complaints, providing guidance to controllers and enforcing data protection law.