Security, Digital Infrastructure & Fundamental Rights Workshop

Security, Digital Infrastructure & Fundamental Rights Workshop
Call for Papers
Deadline for Abstract Submissions: 10 February 2025

The Erasmus Center of Law and Digitalization (Erasmus School of Law) and the Amsterdam Law & Technology Institute (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) invite submissions for a workshop to be held on 3 & 4 June 2025. The workshop is made possible by the financial support of the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research and the SSH-Breed on Digitalization. The purpose of this event is to create an all-encompassing discussion on the topic of security, digital infrastructures, and fundamental rights. Furthermore, it aims to open up a new dialogue among junior and more senior researchers. The theme of the event is:

“Security in the digital age”

Digital infrastructure, intended as physical hardware and software-based technologies that enable transferring of information and digital services and products, enhances many aspects of everyday life, not just for individuals and companies, but also at societal level. This is particularly true since the digital infrastructure has also led to a digitalization of other infrastructures, on which cities and states depend for the most basic and essential services: electricity, water, logistics, safety and security. However, this improvement has also paved the way to new forms of threats to human rights, and may impact the environment negatively: carbon emissions, water use and mining of critical raw materials for the operation of data centers can lead to a deterioration of the environment and simultaneously lead to a violation of the (emerging) right to a healthy environment. Notably, security threats to infrastructure (such as ports, electricity grids, power plants, and water works) can cause environmental harm and harm to fundamental rights in the context of access to water or energy/heating. To secure the digital infrastructure in the digital age, an all-encompassing approach between different disciplines must be undertaken, as challenges often have a legal dimension, a technical dimension and an economic or social sciences dimension.

Security is a broad concept encompassing multiple dimensions. Security addresses both the individual and collective level: it involves the protection of individual human rights, such as the right to health, the right to data protection and privacy, and the protection of the critical infrastructure, such as harbors or power grids whose vulnerabilities to attacks can impact individuals and businesses. Cybersecurity, Data protection, Critical infrastructure security, Environmental security are just few examples of how to secure the digital infrastructure in the digital age. These dimensions of security are addressed through legislation and policy, as well as through awareness-raising, public and private partnerships, and
technical innovation.

This multifaceted nature of security in the digital age calls for bringing together knowledge from
different perspectives to further secure the digital infrastructure and research possible harms from different fundamental rights perspectives. Therefore, the aim of the conference is to discuss and provide theoretical and technical solutions on the following topic: “The issue of security in the digital age”. During this conference, we want to establish an interdisciplinary discussion that embraces different but highly interconnected areas of security, through the lens of the role that the security of digital infrastructure plays in protecting human rights. Furthermore, we aim to open up a new interdisciplinary
dialogue among academia and societal stakeholders.

The conference welcomes and encourages contributions from a variety of methods and methodologies. In particular, we encourage contributions that build upon the theoretical and empirical aspects of the following subjects:

• The role of cybersecurity in protecting fundamental rights like the right to security, the right to access essential services, and the right to health;
• The relationship between cybersecurity and the rights to privacy and data protection;
• The legal framework on the protection of the critical infrastructure and its impact on fundamental rights;
• Sector specific challenges in securing the digital infrastructure;
• The role of governmental and non-governmental bodies in protecting the digital infrastructure;
• The use of new technologies to secure the digital infrastructure;
• Environmental security and digital infrastructure.

Submission
Prospective contributors are invited to submit their abstract (500 words maximum) with a provisional title to digitalization@law.eur.nl with the subject line “Abstract Security in the Digital Age” by 10 February 2025. Abstracts may be accompanied by a brief running bio of no more than 150 words. In the selection of papers, preference will be given to the author(s) who clearly elaborated on one or more aspects of security in the digital age.

Selected papers will be announced by the beginning of March 2025. A full draft of the paper (6,000 words max) is due on 5 May 2025 with the objective of potentially publishing a collection of (selected) articles from the event in an edited book with a leading publishing house or a special issue journal. Draft papers will be circulated among the participants in advance and each presenter will be accompanied by a discussant.

Participation in the conference is free of charge but registration is required. Registration for non-speakers should be addressed to digitalization@law.eur.nl with the subject line “Registration Security in the Digital Age” by 10 April 2025.

Financial aid
There will be limited funds available to cover accommodation costs for one night. Subject to later
confirmation, there may be limited funds for covering part of the travel costs for the selected
participants.

Questions may be directed to conference organisers at digitalization@law.eur.nl.

Organizing Committee
Clara Boggini, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Silvia De Conca, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Renée Knoop, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Julia Krämer, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Sascha van Schendel, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Wouter Scherpenisse, Erasmus University Rotterdam