Riga Graduate School of Law (RGSL) was happy to host a public lecture by Dr Edina Harbinja, Senior lecturer in media/privacy law at Aston University, UK, “Is it time for post-mortem privacy online?”on 15 March 2019.
At the opening of the lecture RGSL Masters Programmes Director Waleed Gumaa thanked representatives from law firm Ellex Kļaviņš for their support, as the lecture by Dr Harbinja was the last public lecture in a series of four organized by RGSL in cooperation with the law firm in the 2018/2019 academic year.
In her research, Dr Edina Harbinja argued that the same autonomy and freedom to dispose of one’s physical wealth should extend online and enable individuals to decide what happens to their online “wealth” (mainly their personal data) when they die. One of the most significant vehicles that would enable this control is post-mortem privacy. This refers to the right of a person to preserve and control what becomes of his or her reputation, dignity, integrity, secrets or memory after death.
In her talk, Dr Harbinja explored post-mortem privacy from a philosophical, legal and technological angle. She will discuss the most recent case law, statutes, and offer ideas for ways forward in legislating the area around the world.
Dr Edina Harbinja’s principal areas of research and teaching are related to the legal issues surrounding the Internet and emerging technologies. Edina is a pioneer and a globally recognised expert in post-mortem privacy, i.e. privacy of the deceased individuals. Her research has a policy and multidisciplinary focus and aims to explore different options of regulation of online behaviours and phenomena, including privacy and data protection, IP, contract law, property and succession. She has published widely on aspects of internet law and regulation, and has been a visiting scholar and invited speaker to universities and conferences in the USA, Latin America and Europe. Her research has been highly impactful and has been cited by legislators, courts and policymakers in the US, Australia and Europe. Edina also regularly engages with the media, and her key appearances include Nature, the BBC Tomorrow’s World, BBC Ideas, ABC, The Law Society Gazette, The Legal Practice Management Magazine etc.
Dr Harbinja is a member the Advisory Council at Open Rights Group, Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, and a member of the Executive Committee, British and Irish Law, Education and Technology Association (BILETA). Edina is also an alumna of the Leadership Foundation’s Aurora programme and the UK Digital Economy Ambassador, as a part of the CHERISH-DE Digital Economy Crucible Programme, Swansea University. She is a peer reviewer for a number of IT law journals. Edina is one of the chief editors of the EUP book series ‘Future Law’, and has been invited to guest edit two journals in the area of technology and law so far. Find her on Twitter at @EdinaRl.
The lecture by Dr Harbinja was the last public lecture in a series of four organized by RGSL in cooperation with Ellex Kļaviņš in the 2018/2019 academic year where distinguished academics and industry experts present topics of importance to our society and industry. These events offer a unique opportunity to engage with key influencers, experts and officials on today`s critical issues that not only have a direct impact on day to day lives but also globally.