We had so much to talk about that our conversation had to be split in two episodes 🫶

What you will find in this episode:

👩‍🎓AI Act & DSA: Legal Boundaries and Responsibilities. The AI Act sets regulatory limits for artificial intelligence, while the Digital Services Act ensures platforms are accountable for online content and its societal impacts.

Interculturality: Sex Work vs Human Trafficking. Distinguishing sex work from trafficking requires precise legal definitions and sensitivity to cultural contexts.

👩‍💻GDPR, AI Act & Online Content. GDPR and the AI Act together protect personal data and regulate AI-driven systems on digital platforms.

Public-Private Collaboration. Effective legal protection against exploitation demands enhanced cooperation between public and private sectors.

⛔Victim Treatment: Non-Punishment & Consent. Upholding the principle of non-punishment and recognising consent complexities are essential for victim-centred justice.

Timeline

Legal perspectives follow-up 

0:34 - 1:35 The limitation of the AI Act - the DSA as addressing the consequences.

1:41 - 2:55 Interculturality - how  sex work and human trafficking differ.

3:07 - 4:11  Liability and decisions taken by the deployer.

4:35 - 8:09  The GDPR and AI Act and the multiple purposes in the scope of online content - the legal framework in the context of the online platforms.

8:20 - 11:13  The question of implementing more protection and collaboration between public-private actors ?

11:41 - 13:28  The treatment of victims - principle of non punishment for human trafficking victims & consent. 

Technical perspectives

13:56 - 18:31  The technical issues - human over the loop - research transparency.

18:32 - 21:52  The “positioning” concept.

21:53 - 24:52  Remediation of discrimination, biases - “the women question”.

25: 00 - 28:58  Ex post control over the AI system - overblocking/underblocking concepts.

29:18 - 32:51 Explainability of AI system - automated decisions in this context of human exploitation - right of explainability.

33:07 - 36:00  Legal remedy/technical remedy if the AI is not high risk - deep fakes.

36:03 - 39:00  Implementing collaboration & ethics to address those issues - digital literacy.

Signature questions

39:57 - 41:29 What female figures inspired your research?

41: 38 - 42:45 What key advice would you give to women exploring the world of AI and Law?

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• Introduction: 00:00 - 01:46

• Salomé Lannier's presentation: 01:46 - 02:46

Her research background and interests: 02:47 - 07:57
PROTEX project (Protect against exploitation): 07:58 - 10:35

• The necessity of interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives: 10:36 - 23:20

• Practical challenges of supervision by authorities and platforms: 23:20 - 28:50

• Tech perspective: AI tools detecting human trafficking: 28:51 - 35:01

• EU AI Act applicability to these tools and the consequences on "potential" victims of exploitation: 35:01 - 43:23

• What about the AI-based tools used by the platforms? The answer is in the next episode, stay tuned :)

In this episode, we welcomed Salomé Lannier, Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Luxembourg, whose work takes part at the intersection of criminal law, digital regulation, and human exploitation.

Drawing on her research and the PROTEX project (https://lnkd.in/d-mW4ujb), this conversation explores one of the most complex challenges in today’s digital landscape: how AI systems are used to detect human trafficking and the legal and ethical risks they raise.

From the absence of a clear legal definition of “exploitation” to the growing use of algorithmic tools by law enforcement and platforms, the episode highlights a critical tension: tools designed to protect can also misidentify, discriminate, or even harm the very individuals they aim to support.

We discuss the use of AI in detecting online sexual exploitation, the risks of biased or opaque data labelling. The second part of our discussion with Salomé, in which we discuss on the blurred abilities of platforms and law enforcement and limits of existing legal frameworks, will follow in next episode, stay tuned.

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Drawing on her extensive research on EU migration law and digital surveillance, the conversation examines how algorithmic profiling, automated decision-making, and interoperable large-scale IT systems are transforming border management across Europe. We discuss the evolution of EU surveillance law, the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union in shaping judicial benchmarks, and the increasing reliance on data-driven tools in systems such as ETIAS and VIS.

The episode also addresses the implications of the newly adopted AI Act, the limits of the GDPR, and the persistent difficulty of ensuring meaningful remedies for individuals affected by automated decision-making. As migration governance becomes increasingly digital, questions of vulnerability, accountability, and data protection move to the forefront of legal debate.

At its core, this conversation asks a critical question: how can the European Union reconcile its security objectives with its commitment to fundamental rights in an era of AI-driven border governance?

Introduction: 00:00 - 01:34

Niovi Vavoula's background: 01:35 - 14:10

Legal perspectives: 14:11 - 33:00

Technological perspectives: 33:01 - 48:07

Signature questions: 48:08 - 51:49

Selected References:

• Vavoula, N. (2021). Artificial Intelligence at Schengen Borders: Automated Processing, Algorithmic Profiling and Facial Recognition in the Era of Techno-Solutionism. European Journal of Migration and Law.

• Vavoula, N. (2022). Immigration and Privacy in the Law of the European Union. Brill Nijhoff.

• Vavoula, N. (2023). Data Retention and the Future of Large-Scale Surveillance: The Evolution and Contestation of Judicial Benchmarks. European Law Journal.

• Vavoula, N. (2023). (Discriminatory) Algorithmic Profiling and Ineffective Remedies: The Cases of ETIAS and VIS. ASYL.

• Vavoula, N. (2024). Algorithmic Accountability Through the “Human over the Loop” in Interoperable and AI-Reliant EU Large-Scale IT Systems. European Papers.

• Vavoula, N. (2024). The Tr-AI-nsformation of EU Migration, Asylum and Border Management. Computer Law & Security Review.

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