Approaches to Privacy: The EU vs. the U.S.

The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has prompted governments—as well as public and private organizations—to adopt protective measures to prevent the spread of the virus and to mitigate its effects. Included in these measures are the processing of information on the movement of employees and suppliers, as well as sensitive health data.

UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professor of Finance Eric Ghysels will lead a discussion examining the differences in data protection laws in the United States and in the European Union (EU). Information Technology Foundation Vice President and Director of ITIF’s Center for Data Innovation Daniel Castro will join Thomas Zerdick of the European Data Protection Supervisor’s Office in examining how these differences are playing out in response to the pandemic. They’ll address such questions as how we should address the trade-offs of personal privacy protections versus issues of public health, how current data protection laws address these issues and what a re-imagining of these regulations might look like moving forward.

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• Keyword(s):
• covid-19 188
• data privacy 6