ABOUT EVENT

Law, Privacy and Surveillance in the Age of AI

February 20, 2027, Iași, Romania, Faculty of Law, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași

“You are being watched.”

For nine editions, the International Conference Legal Perspectives on the Internet (COPEJI) has explored the changing relationship between law, technology and human life. We have examined how law evolves through technology, the convergence of physical and virtual worlds, lives fueled by data and enhanced by AI, digital bubbles and, most recently, the challenge of governing the ungovernable.

For its 10th edition, COPEJI turns to one of the most consequential powers technology has acquired: the power to watch. Cameras recognize faces. Devices reveal locations. Platforms record behaviour. Employers monitor workers. Financial institutions scrutinize transactions. States deploy increasingly sophisticated surveillance technologies. Algorithms profile, classify and predict. Artificial intelligence can transform fragments of data into detailed representations of individuals, their relationships, preferences and possible future behaviour.

The Machine is watching. But today's “Machine” is not one machine. It is an ecosystem of algorithms, platforms, databases, biometric systems, financial infrastructures, connected devices and public and private actors capable of observing and evaluating individuals on an unprecedented scale. This raises a fundamental legal question:

If the Machine is watching us, who is watching the Machine?

Who decides what may be observed—and for what purpose? Who determines which data, behaviours, transactions or individuals are relevant or irrelevant? When does prediction become suspicion? Can meaningful consent exist in an environment of continuous data collection? Can anonymity survive ubiquitous identification? Who is responsible when an algorithm gets it wrong? And how can law make increasingly opaque systems of surveillance accountable?

COPEJI 10.0 invites scholars, practitioners, policymakers, computer scientists and researchers from other disciplines to explore law, privacy and surveillance in the age of AI.

Suggested Topics

Contributions may address, but are not limited to:

• Privacy, personality rights, consent and civil liability for unlawful surveillance, profiling, misidentification and AI-driven decisions; consumer protection and surveillance through smart devices and digital services;
• Corporate surveillance, platform power and the surveillance economy; AI governance, algorithmic decision-making, competition, trade secrets and transparency;
• Financial surveillance; AI-based fraud detection, algorithmic credit scoring, FinTech, digital payments and currencies, sanctions and financial privacy;
• Employee monitoring, workplace biometrics, algorithmic management, automated recruitment and performance assessment, remote-work surveillance and platform work;
• Children’s privacy and data, parental and educational monitoring, age-verification technologies, connected devices and the evolving digital autonomy of the child;
• Predictive policing, facial recognition, biometric identification, AI-assisted investigations, digital evidence, lawful interception, spyware, algorithmic suspicion and the right to a fair trial;
• Cross-border surveillance, jurisdiction and digital sovereignty; international data transfers, intelligence and law-enforcement cooperation, national security, migration and biometric borders, international human rights and state responsibility;
• Data protection, AI-powered profiling and automated decision-making; algorithmic transparency and accountability, cybersecurity, encryption, online tracking, smart cities, IoT and the right to anonymity—or even the right not to be observed;
• State surveillance and constitutional limits; fundamental rights, necessity and proportionality, AI in public administration, judicial and democratic oversight, and watching the watchers.

Interdisciplinary, comparative, theoretical and practice-oriented contributions are particularly welcome. The suggested topics are illustrative rather than exhaustive.

Submission Guidelines

• Abstract: up to 300 words
• Keywords: 5 keywords
• Language: English
• Presentation: oral presentation in English
• Submission deadline: 15 January 2027
• Notification of acceptance: 25 January 2027
• Conference date: February 20th, 2027
• Venue: Iași, Romania

Each participant may submit one paper.

Registration for Authors/Presenters with a Paper

Registration form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/4uCybEsRKr

Participation fee:

• Single-authored paper: 50 EUR.
• Co-authored paper: 35 EUR per author.

Registration for Participants without a Paper — Listeners Only

This registration option is intended exclusively for participants attending the conference without presenting a paper.

Registration form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/QXWbVK1y7c

Participation fee: 50 EUR per participant.

Payment Information

If you have been granted an exemption from paying the participation fee, please indicate the reason in the registration form and upload the corresponding proof.

Details regarding the payment will be communicated after you receive the acceptance email for your proposed title or paper, sent from copeji@uaic.ro. If you are registering as a participant without a paper, you will receive the payment instructions by email after completing the registration form. Please allow a few more working days for processing.

Kindly note that receiving an acceptance email does not secure participation. Attendance is confirmed only upon payment of the participation fee, unless you have been expressly exempted. Participants who do not complete the payment within the indicated timeframe will not be able to attend the conference.

Speakers

[TO BE CONFIRMED]

Publication Information

At present, no information is available regarding the possible publication of conference papers. Acceptance of an abstract or presentation does not imply or guarantee publication. Should a decision concerning publication opportunities be made, authors will be informed in due time of the relevant arrangements, requirements and procedures.

Further information regarding registration, publication opportunities, conference committees and the programme will be announced on the conference webpage.

Academic Disclaimer

The views, opinions, arguments and conclusions expressed in conference abstracts, papers, presentations and discussions are solely those of their respective authors and speakers. They do not represent the views or official positions of the organisers, organising or scientific committees, host institution or partner institutions.

The acceptance of a contribution or its inclusion in the conference programme does not constitute endorsement of its content or support for any particular idea, ideology, movement or position. The conference provides a forum for academic exchange and critical debate. Authors and speakers remain responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of their contributions.

Contact: copeji@uaic.ro