Protecting confidentiality of data used in assistive communication services

In view of the debate on the proposed ePrivacy Regulation in the EU, Jim Kleewein, Technical Fellow at Microsoft, explains in detail how confidentiality can be guaranteed for services integrated into the core electronic communication services.

Electronic communication and collaboration services such as Outlook.com, Skype, Gmail, Slack, and OneDrive are not merely channels for communication between people, people and businesses, or people and automation (such as bots or support agents). They also help individuals manage their day thanks to services relying on AI or machine learning that are tightly integrated into the communications experience. These include calendar services, reminders, task management capabilities, travel planning, package tracking, and a great many other ways to help people do more with their time.

Providing these productivity and time-enhancing capabilities can, and should, be done without compromising the confidentiality of their communication and whilst respecting data protection.

Read the second blog of this series on the technical and organizational measures required to ensure confidentiality of data here.

Cornelia Kutterer
Senior Director, Rule of Law and Responsible Tech, European Government Affairs, Microsoft

Cornelia is responsible for AI, privacy and regulatory policies in the EU with a focus on digital transformation and ethical implications. She leads a team working on corporate and regulatory affairs, including competition, telecom and content policies. She has long standing experience in Information Society & Internet policies at European level and speaks regularly at regional and international conferences. Previously, Cornelia was Senior Legal Advisor at BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation, heading up the legal department and driving the policy agenda for consumers’ digital life with a focus on intellectual property, data protection and e-commerce. She has also gained experience in a top 10 law firm in the fields of competition law and regulatory affairs and in a German organisation focusing on the freedom of services and labour law. She started her professional career in the European Parliament as a political advisor to an MEP in 1997. Cornelia is a qualified German lawyer, and holds a master’s degree in information technology and telecommunication laws. She studied law at the Universities of Passau, Porto (Portugal), Hamburg and Strathclyde (UK).