Main session 4: Chasing shadows: Can regulation keep up as online tracking continues to transform?

Since 2002, the European Union has sought to safeguard online users' privacy by protecting the confidentiality of communications and terminal equipment. In the meantime, online service providers have adapted by exploiting alternative methods, such as device fingerprinting, to monitor user behaviour. The rapid digitalisation of our lives has only intensified concerns about online privacy, but the regulatory landscape has remained largely the same. As a result, questions are raised whether existing laws are well-suited to address the evolving practices and technologies for online tracking. The latest effort to update online privacy rules has arrived in the form of a proposed amendments to the General Data Protection Regulation, which would introduce new rules regarding the processing of personal data in the terminal equipment of natural persons. Key questions: Do current regulations and proposed changes effectively address the challenges posed by modern online tracking technologies? Can these changes keep pace with emerging developments which promise to further reshape the online tracking landscape? New technologies have been proposed as alternatives to third-party cookies for online tracking that are more privacy friendly. How well do these alternatives align with data protection requirements? Moderator: Rob van Eijk, Senior Fellow, Future of Privacy Forum, Netherlands Speakers: Cristiana Teixeira Santos, Assistant Professor in Law and Technology, Utrecht University Itxaso Domínguez de Olazábal, Policy Advisor, EDRi Rosa Barcelo, Data privacy and cybersecurity lawyer, McDermott Will & Schulte