Transfer Learning for Deontic Rule Classification: the Case Study of the GDPR

in INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LEGAL KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS, Saarbrücken 14-16 December 2022 (2022)

Inferring the Meaning of Non-personal, Anonymized, and Anonymous Data

in Rodríguez-Doncel, Victor; Palmirani, Monica; Araszkiewicz, Michał (Eds.) et al AI Approaches to the Complexity of Legal Systems (2021)

On the awareness of the dynamism pertaining to data and its processing, this paper investigates the problem of having two mutually exclusive definitions of personal and non-personal data in the legal ... [more ▼]

On the awareness of the dynamism pertaining to data and its processing, this paper investigates the problem of having two mutually exclusive definitions of personal and non-personal data in the legal framework in force. The taxonomic analysis of key terms and their context of application highlights the risk to crystalize the whole system upon which the digital single market is built, suffocating its future development. With this premise, the paper discusses the extent of the two main data processing tools provided by the GDPR, questioning the ex-ante categorization of data and its outcome, supporting stakeholders in overcoming this issue. [less ▲]

Can Visual Design Provide Legal Transparency? The Challenges for Successful Implementation of Icons for Data Protection

in Design Issues (2020), 36(3), 82-96

Design is a key player in the future of data privacy and data protection. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) established by the European Union aims to rebalance the information asymmetry ... [more ▼]

Design is a key player in the future of data privacy and data protection. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) established by the European Union aims to rebalance the information asymmetry between the organizations that process personal data and the individuals to which that data refers. Machine-readable, standardized icons that present a “meaningful overview of the intended processing” are suggested by the law as a tool to enhance the transparency of information addressed to data subjects. However, no specific guidelines have been provided, and studies on privacy iconography are very few. This article describes research conducted on the creation and evaluation of icons representing data protection concepts. First, we introduce the methodology used to design the Data Protection Icon Set (DaPIS): participatory design methods combined with legal ontologies and machine-readable representations. Second, we discuss some of the challenges that have been faced in the development and evaluation of DaPIS and similar icon sets. Third, we provide some tentative responses and indicate a way forward for evaluation of the effectiveness of privacy icons and their widespread adoption. [less ▲]

Combining tree kernels and tree representations to classify argumentative stances

in Advances in Semantics and Linked Data: Joint Workshop Proceedings from ISWC 2020 (2020)

Uncertainty in Argumentation Schemes: Negative Consequences and Basic Slippery Slope

in Logic and Argumentation (2020)

This study is an approach to encompass uncertainty in the well-known Argumentation Scheme from Negative Consequences and in the more recent “Basic Slippery Slope Argument” proposed by Douglas Walton. This ... [more ▼]

This study is an approach to encompass uncertainty in the well-known Argumentation Scheme from Negative Consequences and in the more recent “Basic Slippery Slope Argument” proposed by Douglas Walton. This work envisages two new kinds of uncertainty that should be taken into account, one related to time and one related to the material relation between premises and conclusion. Furthermore, it is argued that some modifications to the structure of these Argumentation Schemes or to their Critical Questions could facilitate the process of Knowledge Extraction and modeling from these two argumentative patterns. For example, the study suggests to change the premises of the Basic Slippery Slope related to the Control and the Loss of Control. [less ▲]

DaPIS: an Ontology-Based Data Protection Icon Set

in Peruginelli, Ginevra; Faro, Sebastiano (Eds.) Knowledge of the Law in the Big Data Age (2019)

Privacy policies are known to be impenetrable and lengthy texts that are hardly read and poorly understood. This is why the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduces provisions to enhance ... [more ▼]

Privacy policies are known to be impenetrable and lengthy texts that are hardly read and poorly understood. This is why the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduces provisions to enhance information transparency including icons as visual means to clarify data practices. However, the research on the creation and evaluation of graphical symbols for the communication of legal concepts, which are generally abstract and unfamiliar to laypeople, is still in its infancy. Moreover, detailed visual representations can support users’ comprehension of the underlying concepts, but at the expense of simplicity and usability. This Chapter describes a methodology for the creation and evaluation of DaPIS, a machine-readable Data Protection Icon Set that was designed following human-centered methods drawn from the emerging discipline of Legal Design. Participatory design methods have ensured that the perspectives of legal experts, designers and other relevant stake- holders are combined in a fruitful dialogue, while user studies have empirically determined strengths and weaknesses of the icon set as communicative means for the legal sphere. Inputs from other disciplines were also fundamental: canonical principles drawn from aesthetics, ergonomics and semiotics were included in the methodology. Moreover, DaPIS is modeled on PrOnto, an ontology of the GDPR, thus offering a comprehensive solution for the Semantic Web. In combination with the description of a privacy policy in the legal standard XML Akoma Ntoso, such an approach makes the icons machine-readable and automatically retrievable. Icons can thus serve as information markers in lengthy privacy statements and support an efficient navigation of the document. In this way, different representations of legal information can be mapped and connected to enhance its comprehensibility: the lawyer-readable, the machine-readable, and the human-readable layers. [less ▲]

Classifying argumentative stances of opposition using Tree Kernels

in ACAI 2019: Proceedings of the 2019 2nd International Conference on Algorithms, Computing and Artificial Intelligence (2019)

The approach proposed in this study aims to classify argumentative oppositions. A major assumption of this work is that discriminating among different argumentative stances of support and opposition can ... [more ▼]

The approach proposed in this study aims to classify argumentative oppositions. A major assumption of this work is that discriminating among different argumentative stances of support and opposition can facilitate the detection of Argument Schemes. While using Tree Kernels for classification problems can be useful in many Argument Mining sub-tasks, this work focuses on the classification of opposition stances. We show that Tree Kernels can be successfully used (alone or in combination with traditional textual vectorizations) to discriminate between different stances of opposition without requiring highly engineered features. Moreover, this study compare the results of Tree Kernels classifiers with the results of classifiers which use traditional features such as TFIDF and n-grams. This comparison shows that Tree Kernel classifiers can outperform TFIDF and n-grams classifiers. [less ▲]

From Words to Images Through Legal Visualization

in Pagallo, Ugo; Palmirani, Monica; Casanovas, Pompeu (Eds.) et al AI Approaches to the Complexity of Legal Systems: AICOL International Workshops 2015–2017: AICOL-VI@ JURIX 2015, AICOL-VII@ EKAW 2016, AICOL-VIII@ JURIX 2016, AICOL-IX@ ICAIL 2017, and AICOL-X@ JURIX 2017, Revised Selected Papers (2018)

One of the common characteristics of legal documents is the absolute preponderance of text and their specific domain language, whose complexity can result in impenetrability for those that have no legal ... [more ▼]

One of the common characteristics of legal documents is the absolute preponderance of text and their specific domain language, whose complexity can result in impenetrability for those that have no legal expertise. In some experiments, visual communication has been introduced in legal documents to make their meaning clearer and more intelligible, whilst visualizations have also been automatically generated from semantically-enriched legal data. As part of an ongoing research that aims to create user-friendly privacy terms by integrating graphical elements and Semantic Web technologies, the process of creation and interpretation of visual legal concepts will be discussed. The analysis of current approaches to this subject represents the point of departure to propose an empirical methodology that is inspired by interaction and human-centered design practices. [less ▲]

PrOnto: Privacy Ontology for Legal Reasoning

in International Conference on Electronic Government and the Information Systems Perspective (2018)

Legal Design Patterns for Privacy

in Data Protection / LegalTech Proceedings of the 21st International Legal Informatics Symposium IRIS 2018 (2018)

Fulfilling the legal requirements of mandated disclosure is a challenge in many contexts. Privacy communication is no exception, especially for those who seek to effectively inform individuals about the ... [more ▼]

Fulfilling the legal requirements of mandated disclosure is a challenge in many contexts. Privacy communication is no exception, especially for those who seek to effectively inform individuals about the use of their data. Lawyers across countries and industries are facing recurring problems when (re)writing privacy notices and terms. Visual and interactive design patterns have been suggested as the solution, yet our analysis shows that they are lacking on most privacy policies. This indicates the need for standardization and an actionable pattern library, which we propose in this paper. [less ▲]