The Google Chair on Privacy Society and Innovation was created at CEU-San Pablo University of Madrid in June 2012 and it was the first of its kind created in Europe. The Spanish Minister of Justice attended the official and public presentation of the Chair by Professor José Luis Piñar, as Chairholder.
One of the essential goals of the Google Chair on Privacy, Society and Innovation during these 9 years was the study of the array of legal aspects raised in every technological innovation requiring the use of personal data to operate.
From a multidisciplinary perspective, the Chair analyzed the effect on the right to privacy that the use of certain technologies and applications may have –used in regard to social media, big data, data driven innovation, smartphones, geolocation techniques or artificial intelligence– as well as their impact on our global society.
Our works went further into the study of the classical principles of the right to data protection implementation, such as purpose, security or proportionality, in this new context where the use of technologies that enable large-scale data flow and analysis has become widespread.
For that purpose, in these last years, we have invited the most important subject matter experts from the academia, the public sector and industry to participate in our Permanent Seminars, International Conferences, Publications and Research Projects.
Since its creation in June 2012, the Chair has become a centre for reflection on the main current challenges with regard to new technologies and privacy and a forum for the exchange of ideas with an international outreach for all those whose scientific or professional activity is focusing in this field of knowledge and research.
In order to develop the activities of this Chair, we have collaborated with Government Representatives such as the Ministers of Justice and Internal Affairs, representatives of the judiciary through the President of the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary, representatives of the legislative branch, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the National Court and Data Protection Authorities and the European Data Protection Supervisor. Furthermore, we have worked with scholars from Universities in Spain, the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal, Colombia, Brazil or Argentina, as well as with national and international experts on areas related to data protection and innovation and professionals in the fields of law, economy, sociology or technology.
In these years, there have been only a few issues related to privacy and technological innovation which have not been addressed in this Chair. We we have dealt with, inter alia, cyberjustice, international data collection, privacy and technological companies, cybersecurity or consumer rights to e-commerce, the challenges of multinationals against privacy, security and innovation, including the regulatory framework for privacy as a pull factor for the digital economy, the big data and the right to be forgotten.
In response to the principles governing the activity of the two important institutions promoting it, the Chair’s essential mission was making progress in the knowledge and development of this field, achieving the creation of a real meeting place for all the actors who work in the area of technological innovation, privacy and data protection in our society.
In June 2021 took place the launching of a new Google Chair, the South EU Google Data Governance Chair, whose Board will be headed by Professor José Luis Piñar, former Chairholder of the Google Chair on Privacy Society and Innovation of the CEU-San Pablo University, Madrid.
The Board counts with Professors Maria da Graça Canto Moniz (Nova University Lisbon), Georgios Yannopoulos (University of Athens) and Vincenzo Zeno-Zencovich (University of RomaTre).
This new South EU Chair will focus on scientific reflection and research in the academic field on data governance, in the context of the European countries.
