This week, CTTC welcomed a visit from the Autoritat Catalana de Protecció de Dades (APDCAT), as part of the ongoing conversations between both institutions aimed at advancing the integration of privacy and data protection strategies into research activities, with a particular focus on 6G communications. These discussions span a range of emerging technological domains, including artificial intelligence, Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), cloud and edge computing, synthetic dataset generation, and other frontier technologies. A key topic of interest is the new model and associated methodology promoted by the APDCAT, which seeks to integrate Fundamental Rights Impact Assessments for AI (FRIA) with Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) into a unified framework.
The event included a seminar delivered by representatives of the APDCAT, which sparked a rich exchange of ideas on the challenges that emerging technologies pose for privacy and fundamental rights. The visit also featured an institutional meeting between senior representatives of both organisations, including their respective directors, Meritxell Borràs (APDCAT) and Ana I. Pérez Neira (CTTC), as well as a guided tour of CTTC’s research laboratories.
Both institutions expressed a very positive assessment of the meeting and agreed on new lines of work to strengthen collaboration in the areas of research and responsible innovation, with a special emphasis on privacy, data protection, and fundamental rights in the development of future digital technologies.