Citizen scientists as data controllers: Data protection and ethics challenges of distributed science

This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. Data availability: No data was used for the research described in the articleCitizen-science is a rapidly expanding approach to knowledge production that increasingly involves the collection of personal data in various forms. This processing of personal data invokes relevant data protection laws and, specifically, the designation of data controller, the person(s) or organisation(a) who determine if and how personal data is to be processed and hence are charged with the legal responsibility for compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Traditionally, in the context of research, professional researchers would be designated controllers, and research participants whose data was processed would be “data subjects” and hence enjoy the GDPR’s protections. Yet, citizen-scientists adopt a dual role, acting both as participants and as researchers. This paper maps the implications this dual role has from the perspective of data protection law and research ethics. We explain how the data protection concept of controller has been interpreted very broadly. As a result, in their dual role, citizen scientists can be both data subjects entitled to protection and data controllers, sometimes of their own data, tasked with data protection compliance obligations. If citizen scientists share the objectives of research projects they participate in or co-shape those objectives, it is likely that they – together with the professional researchers - will be considered controllers, and held responsible for the processing of personal data in compliance with the GDPR. The paper discusses how this can affect both the quality of protections provided to participants (including participant-researchers), thus undermining the fundamental goal of research ethics, generally, as well as the practice of citizen science itself. We analyse this question of citizen scientists as data controllers as both a matter of law and research ethics. We conclude with policy recommendations that can be applied both on the level of data protection law (to reconsider how the role of controller is assigned) and research ethics guidelines that should take a nuanced approach to the circumstances of assignment of the status of data controller in citizen science projects as an important step toward responsible and ethical participatory research.European Union’s Horizon 202

Frameworks for Formation and Stability of Kurgan Regional Arboretum Phytocenosis

The article is devoted to solving the problem of biodiversity conservation in the framework of increasing sustainability of natural plant communities in arboretum being an artificial protected area. Research and application have accumulated significant knowledge on various aspects of the above problem, specifically, preserving biodiversity including vegetation, monitoring biodiversity and preserving phytocenosis, plant interaction in phytocenosis, causes of disturbed biodiversity and reducing phytocenosis stability, etc. The research objective is to theorize the frameworks for phytocenosis formation, identify the factors influencing phytocenosis stability, conduct observations and experimental research on the factors affecting the formation and stability of the Kurgan regional arboretum phytocenosis. The models of the way different factors influence the resistance mechanisms of the Kurgan regional arboretum phytocenosis are built as a result of studying research materials and differ from the theoretical model in the fact that the proven distinctions were found in the ratio of limiting and background factors reflecting their regional character

Data portability and data control: lessons for an emerging concept in EU Law

The right to data portability (RtDP) introduced by Article 20 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) forms a regulatory innovation within EU law. The RtDP provides data subjects with the possibility to transfer personal data among data controllers, but has an impact beyond data protection. In particular, the RtDP facilitates the reuse of personal data that private companies hold by establishing a general-purpose control mechanism of horizontal application. Article 20 of the GDPR is agnostic about the type of use that follows from the ported data and its further diffusion. We argue that the RtDP does not fit well with the fundamental rights nature of data protection law, and should instead be seen as a new regulatory tool in EU law that aims to stimulate competition and innovation in data-driven markets. What remains unclear is the extent to which the RtDP will be limited in its aspirations where intellectual property rights of current data holders—such as copyright, trade secrets and sui generis database rights—cause the regimes to clash. In such cases, a reconciliation of the interests might particularly confine the follow-on use of ported data again to specific set of socially justifiable purposes, possibly with schemes of fair remuneration. Despite these uncertainties, the RtDP is already being replicated in other fields, namely consumer protection law and the regulation of non-personal data. Competition law can also facilitate portability of data, but only for purpose-specific goals with the aim of addressing anticompetitive behavior. We conclude that to the extent that other regimes will try to replicate the RtDP, they should closely consider the nature of the resulting control and its breadth and impact on incentives to innovate. In any case, the creation of data portability regimes should not become an end in itself. With an increasing number of instruments, orchestrating the consistency of legal regimes within the Digital Single Market and their mutual interplay should become an equally important concern

AI in Education: learner choice and fundamental rights

This article examines benefits and risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education in relation to fundamental human rights. The article is based on an EU scoping study [Berendt, B., A. Littlejohn, P. Kern, P. Mitros, X. Shacklock, and M. Blakemore. 2017. Big Data for Monitoring Educational Systems. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/94cb5fc8-473e-11e7-aea8-01aa75ed71a1/]. The study takes into account the potential for AI and ‘Big Data’ to provide more effective monitoring of the education system in real-time, but also considers the implications for fundamental human rights and freedoms of both teachers and learners. The analysis highlights a need to balance the benefits and risks as AI tools are developed, marketed and deployed. We conclude with a call to embed consideration of the benefits and risks of AI in education as technology tools into the development, marketing and deployment of these tools. There are questions around who – which body or organisation – should take responsibility for regulating AI in education, particularly since AI impacts not only data protection and privacy, but on fundamental rights in general. Given AI’s global impact, it should be regulated at a trans-national level, with a global organisation such as the UN taking on this role

Frameworks for Formation and Stability of Kurgan Regional Arboretum Phytocenosis

The article is devoted to solving the problem of biodiversity conservation in the framework of increasing sustainability of natural plant communities in arboretum being an artificial protected area. Research and application have accumulated significant knowledge on various aspects of the above problem, specifically, preserving biodiversity including vegetation, monitoring biodiversity and preserving phytocenosis, plant interaction in phytocenosis, causes of disturbed biodiversity and reducing phytocenosis stability, etc. The research objective is to theorize the frameworks for phytocenosis formation, identify the factors influencing phytocenosis stability, conduct observations and experimental research on the factors affecting the formation and stability of the Kurgan regional arboretum phytocenosis. The models of the way different factors influence the resistance mechanisms of the Kurgan regional arboretum phytocenosis are built as a result of studying research materials and differ from the theoretical model in the fact that the proven distinctions were found in the ratio of limiting and background factors reflecting their regional character

The right to be forgotten – private law enforcement

Private law enforcement of the right to be forgotten should be considered in light of the general characteristics of private law. This highlights advantages and limitations, and underlines the need to explicate the actual interests involved in the right to be forgotten. As case law and real-life examples show, enforcement is mostly feasible but may be costly. The right to be forgotten is most effective against large, bona fide corporations. This analysis provides a more realistic view of the possibilities of private law enforcement of newly proclaimed rights