In April, the hosts, Phil, Joe and Jasmine, of Data Protection Made Easy came together to review recent news around AI and GDPR as well as detailed talks about individual rights and team collaboration. 

Discover the key takeaways from this month’s podcasts below.

Data Protection Made Easy: April’s Rundown 

Episode 164: GDPR Radio

In April’s first episode, we explored how AI systems can perpetuate bias and discrimination and whether it impacts individual rights. 

Over the years, facial recognition technology has come under fire for racial bias. In some technology, white male faces have a higher recognition rate than a 35% error rate for identifying faces of colour. 

AI technology has a lot of potential—it can make our lives easier and more efficient—but many systems operate unchecked, leaving room for racial bias, misinformation and data misuse. 

Listen to episode 164 to learn about AI bias and the lawful basis for data sharing in healthcare scenarios. 

Is the UK doing enough to regulate AI? Head to our recent blog to discover what AI regulations are available and their impact on the UK GDPR. 

Episode 165: Bridging the Gap Between IT and Privacy

In our second episode, we spoke with Rebecca Balebako, a Privacy Engineer, about building successful collaboration between IT and privacy teams. 

IT and data privacy teams may seem separate but share similar objectives. Both are responsible for protecting data. While IT relies on cyber security protocols, privacy teams focus on keeping all data handling GDPR compliant.

Rebecca and our hosts discussed ways to unite both teams and how they can integrate data protection best practices at the beginning of any IT project. 

Plenty more interesting points were raised, so listen to episode 165 for all our advice. 

Episode 166: GDPR Radio – Consent or Pay Model

Annoyed by social media ads? Meta, the social media platform, might have the solution. 

In 2023, Meta introduced a ‘pay or okay’ business model. Users can access Facebook and Instagram free of charge, consenting to behavioural tracking. Alternatively, they can pay for a premium service, which involves no targeted advertising. 

The EU Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued guidance for this model, including transparent information about the data subject’s options and respect for the individual’s rights to access or erase their personal data. 

The ‘pay or okay’ model raises many concerns about data privacy and freedom of choice. Will this be the future of advertising? Are there more privacy-focused options available? Listen to episode 166 for our full discussion.

Episode 167: Exploring Individual Rights

Our last episode of April ended with a deep review of individual rights around data access. Topics included subject access requests (SARs), the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and how to better protect individual rights. 

We also reported a very exciting development regarding a new SAR handling software that will soon be available. This tool is set to be a Data Protection Officer’s best friend! 

Part two of this mini-series will be released on May 10th, 2024 and will explore how the DPDI Bill impacts data access rights further. For now, tune in to part one of this series.  

Listen to Data Protection Made Easy Podcast

Next month, we’ll be extending our discussion on subject access requests and hearing more from Rebcca about AI and privacy. 

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