At a conference April 18 at Santa Clara University, legal professionals from Facebook, Uber, LinkedIn and Dropbox will share how they are dealing with new EU data-protection rules.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 28 2018 — For tech companies, there is a new sheriff in town, and it’s the European Union, wielding the consumer-data-protection rule, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect this coming May.

Although the rules apply only to EU customers—regulating how their information is collected, processed, stored and shared—companies in Silicon Valley and worldwide must comply with GDPR for their EU customer base. Many small – to medium-sized businesses face challenges to comply, while still achieving cutting-edge innovation.

At an evening conference April 18, attendees will learn firsthand from practitioners from Uber, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Dropbox, how they are operationalizing compliance with this new rule, while still innovating at scale. The conference is co-sponsored by Santa Clara University School of Law’s High Tech Law Journal and Privacy Law Student Organization, and co-organized by the San Francisco Bay Area KnowledgeNet Chapter.

The event is called Operationalizing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): How Silicon Valley Tech Titans Balance Innovation with Compliance. It will be held Wednesday, April 18 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Mission Room of Santa Clara University’s Benson Memorial Center, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053.

Reporters are welcome to attend, and are asked to register and RSVP to Deborah Lohse of SCU Media Communications, dlohse@scu.edu or (408) 554-5121.

Panelists will provide practical advice on how to overcome complex challenges in implementing compliance strategy. They will also share how they navigate GDPR’s new individual rights to customers to demand more transparency about what data companies have about them and to update or remove that data.

Panelists will include:

  • Stu Eaton, director, legal, at Uber
  • Andrew Rausa, senior product and privacy counsel at Facebook
  • Elaine Call, senior privacy counsel at LinkedIn
  • Tolga Erbay, head of risk and compliance at Dropbox

The moderator will be Santa Clara Law student Rafae Bhatti, head of security and privacy at HealthTap.

Registration and more information is available at the event’s webpage.


About the High Tech Law Journal
The High Tech Law Journal at Santa Clara is a student-run organization that has become one of the most prominent publishers of high-tech-related legal research and commentary in the country. Over its 30-year history, the Journal has built an impressive academic audience, and provides law student associates and editors with a chance to contribute directly to articles and publications that will shape the leading edge of policy, regulation, and jurisprudence.