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The University of Southampton
Web Science Institute

Members of the ICO visit Southampton

Published: 24 May 2019
ICO Guest lecture

Simon McDougall and Reuben Binns from the Information Commissioner’s Office visited the University to give a talk on Privacy, Data Protection and Auditing, to Web Science CDT students on Tuesday 21 May 2019.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent regulator for data protection and information rights law, upholding information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. Understanding the impact of new developments in technology including the web, AI, and ML, is essential to our strategy for protecting data protection rights.

Simon McDougall is the ICO’s Executive Director of Technology Policy and Innovation. Reuben Binns (a Southampton Web Science PhD graduate) joined the ICO in December 2018 as a research fellow, to investigate a framework for auditing algorithms and conduct further research on AI, ML, and data protection. Simon and Reuben talked about the ICO’s work on AI, and about the role that interdisciplinary research can play in informing better regulation of technology.

The ICO is the UK's independent body set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.  The scope of their work includes:

  • Legislation;
  • Dealing with concerns raised by members of the public;
  • Sharing best practice with international partners;
  • Funding research focused on privacy and data protection issues.

 

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