Under the guidance of Professor Dr Dirk Bruckmann and Professor Dr jur Dieter Kopetz, students visited the European Parliament in Brussels. Whilst there, they also met a representative of the European Data Protection Supervisor’s supervisory authority and presented the ‘EU Data Protection App’ they had developed to him.
Students on the Mobility and Logistics and International Business and Social Sciences degree programmes had plenty of questions for MEP Jens Geier during their visit to Brussels. For example, they were interested in how the European Parliament’s legislative decisions are implemented in the Member States, and how processes are organised given the two seats in Brussels and Strasbourg. As well as the question-and-answer session, the programme also included a lecture on the role and history of the European Parliament and a tour of the ‘Parlamentarium’ visitor centre. The students were accompanied by Professor Dr Dirk Bruckmann, Professor of Transport Logistics, and Professor Dr Dieter Kopetz, Professor of IT Law.
In addition, the students met Thomas Zerdick, Head of the IT Policy Unit at the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). He gave a detailed presentation on the work of the EDPS and the risks facing IT users. The students had brought along their newly developed ‘EU Data Protection App’ and an accompanying poster for the Head of Unit.
The app was designed under the supervision of Professor Kopetz as part of the interdisciplinary project “IP 24”, which is offered to fifth-semester students at the Faculty of Communication and Environment. It is intended to offer citizens in EU Member States a form of “first aid for data protection” by listing the contact details of data protection authorities and the relevant data protection legislation. This makes it easier for those affected by data misuse to contact the relevant supervisory authority and provides them with the necessary information from the respective national data protection law, which implements the EU General Data Protection Regulation of 2018. In addition, the app contains details of the most important court cases. European data protection authorities can use the app as a directory of their counterparts’ contact details for cross-border cooperation in Europe. The app is to be further developed and updated at least once a year. The poster contains a brief description and the QR code for a free download, and is to be displayed in a suitable location within the supervisory authority. Zerdick was very impressed by the idea and the design of the app. Meanwhile, further representatives from the 28 EU Member States have expressed great interest.
