d.pia.lab is launching a new empirical study, “Measuring Risks to Rights”, and we would like to invite professionals, experts, and scholars, who have carried out, contributed to or professionally work with risk assessments in data protection to participate.
The study is a joint initiative of d.pia.lab at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the Centre for IT & IP Law (CiTiP) at KU Leuven, bringing together interdisciplinary expertise in data protection law, psychology, and philosophy. The study has received the institutional patronage of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). The EDPS letter of support can be found here (98.85 KB) "pdf".
WHAT IS THE RESEARCH ABOUT?
This initiative aims to advance the academic understanding of how individuals perceive risks to fundamental rights and freedoms, a central component of the General Data Protection Regulation’s risk-based approach. We hope that the findings will help clarify a number of open questions concerning the performance of Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and contribute to the development of future guidance on risk assessment practices, ultimately benefiting both regulators and the public at large.
WHAT IS NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE?
The questionnaire is relatively extensive and takes between one and a half and two hours to complete. If you decide to participate, we recommend doing so at a time when you feel fresh and can dedicate an uninterrupted period to the task. The questionnaire is designed to be completed on a computer; please avoid using a smartphone. To protect the integrity of the research, please do not use AI to generate, evaluate, or refine your answers.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
We welcome participation of individuals who:
- are 18 years of age or older;
- have a good command of English; and
- have some professional, academic, or practical experience with risk assessments, including DPIAs, PIAs, data protection risk assessments, data security risk assessments, or related methodologies.
No particular professional title is required.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE?
To participate use the following LINK.
REWARDS
As a token of our appreciation, we have prepared several rewards for participants. We will announce details of the reward scheme over the next two weeks. However, those who are curious and do not wish to wait are warmly invited to participate now and learn about the benefits.
SIGN IN FOR FUTURE EMPIRICAL STUDIES ON DIGITAL REGULATIONS
We believe that empirical evidence can ground a better form of data protection law. To advance this vision, we are building a community of professionals and researchers who want to contribute to future empirical studies on digital regulation. If you are interested, please register here.
RESEARCH TEAM
César Augusto Fontanillo López (KU Leuven/Yale Law School)
Maciej Otmianowski (VUB)
Prof. Kris Baetens (VUB)
Prof. Niels van Dijk (VUB)
EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION SUPERVISOR'S INSTITUTIONAL PATRONAGE
The European Data Protection Supervisor, Wojciech Wiewiórowski, has recognised the study as a highly relevant contribution to the field and has generously supported it through this patronage. It is important to note that the EDPS is neither conducting the research nor a party to the project. The findings and conclusions of the study should therefore not be considered as reflecting the official position ofthe EDPS.
The study is part of the fundamental research project: "Risk as a subjective phenomenon. Integrating cognitive science into the concept of risk in European data protection law" which is funded by the Belgian Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) [reference no. G000724N] and the Polish National Science Centre (NCN) [NCN reference no. 2022/47/I/HS5/02457] in the Weave initiative.
