The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will have its 8th anniversary in May 2026. It is undeniable that it triggered a chain reaction with many other jurisdictions adapting their own regulations, which is often recounted as a success story. However, is this accurate? The original proposition was to improve compliance with data protection law in the EU through harmonization. Was this overall objective achieved, especially in light of emerging EU regulations on data flows, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity? Did other jurisdictions improve compliance with their privacy legislation? Did technology support or inhibit the adoption of good privacy practices?

The Privacy Symposium conference at large, as well as its scientific paper track, studies the following questions: what can we learn from nearly 10 years of living with the GDPR? What have other jurisdictions learned from the EU, and what can the EU learn from them? What can technology contribute? The conference promotes international dialogue, cooperation and knowledge sharing on data regulation, compliance, and innovative technologies. It connects legal and technology experts with researchers, authorities, and professionals.

We are soliciting papers that present original research addressing challenges related to data protection compliance with innovative technologies. In particular, we welcome multidisciplinary work that combines legal, technical, and societal expertise. We accept research and academic papers from both senior researchers and PhD candidates, as well as industry and practitioner papers with a solid scientific foundation.

Submitted papers will undergo a thorough peer review. All submissions will receive 3 reviews by our multidisciplinary programme committee. Top quality papers will be invited for presentation. Accepted papers will be published in the Springer conference proceedings and the Springer-Link Digital Library. They will also be indexed by leading Abstracting and Indexing (A\&I) databases like Scopus, DBLP, ISI, Google Scholar, etc. There will also be a best paper award.

Participating as an academic offers a unique opportunity to engage with leading experts and high-ranked policy makers and business representatives from all over the world who also attend the Privacy Symposium. Participation in the conference is not financially supported and must be self-funded.


Topics
We welcome multidisciplinary contributions bringing together legal, technical and societal expertise, including theoretical, analytical, empirical, and case studies. We particularly encourage submissions that fall under one of the following thematic areas:

Track 1: Law and Data Protection

Multidisciplinary approaches, arbitration, and balance in data protection;
International law and comparative law in data protection and compliance;
Competition law and data protection;
Cross-border data transfer approaches and solutions;
International evolution of data protection regulations;
Interaction between regulations, standards, and soft law in data protection;
Data subject rights and data portability.

Track 2: Technology and Compliance

Emerging technologies compliance with data protection regulation;
Privacy in blockchain and distributed ledger technology;
Data protection compliance in the Internet of Things, edge, and cloud computing;
Privacy-preserving mobility and connected vehicles;
Smart cities and data protection;
Privacy-enhancing technologies (PET), anonymisation and pseudonymisation;
Privacy by design and by default;
Privacy engineering;
Data sovereignty.

Track 3: Cybersecurity and Data Protection

Privacy-aware threat monitoring;
Security by design for data protection;
Privacy-aware and compliant authentication and authorization;
Identity theft and identity usurpation.

Track 4: Data Protection in Practice

Audit and certification methodologies;
Domain-specific data protection best practices (e.g., in health);
Privacy engineering in practice;
Innovation management and data protection;
Economic models and impact of data protection and compliance management.

Track 5: Artificial Intelligence, Privacy, and Data Protection

AI impact on privacy and data protection;
AI for data protection: machine learning and privacy policies, AI-supported privacy decisions, smart assistants and privacy;
Data protection for AI: privacy-preserving federated learning, data altruism and consent in training models, data protection and AI risk assessments.

Track 6: Socio-economic Dimension of Privacy, Data Protection, and Compliance

Data monetisation and valuation;
Data protection and environmental, social, and governance;
Data protection compliance, economy, and financial sector.

Track 7: Space and Data Protection

Satellite communication and data regulation and protection;
Earth observation and privacy;
Data interoperability.
Paper Submissions and Publication Guidelines

The Privacy Symposium solicits submission of original papers (unpublished), including research and academic papers, as well as industry and practitioner papers.

Format and Requirements

Papers shall be in English and up to 20 pages, shorter papers are encouraged. Authors are invited to use preferably the LNCS’ Latex template or MS Word Template available here: https://www.springer.com/gp/computer-science/lncs/conference-proceedings-guidelines

Only PDF files will be accepted for the review process.

Submitted papers must not be currently under review in any other conference or journal and must not have been previously published. All submitted papers must conform to the LNCS Formatting Guidelines. Privacy Symposium conference series takes the protection of intellectual property seriously. Accordingly, all submissions will be screened for plagiarism using a plagiarism tool. By submitting your work, you agree to allow Springer to screen your work.

All submissions must be done through the EasyChair online submission system.