CyLab Seminar: Jody R. Westby

*Please note this CyLab seminar is open only to Carnegie Mellon University faculty, students and staff.

Speaker: Jody R. Westby, Esq., CEO, Global Cyber Risk LLC, Managing Principal, Global Cyber Legal LLC

Talk Title: Why Content on Technology-Related Laws and Regulations Should Be Integrated in Interdisciplinary Curricula

Abstract: Technology-related laws and regulations around the world are being enacted at a record pace and are highly inconsistent. They are changing business operations, impacting economies, shifting markets, influencing government policy, spurring innovation, and driving cyber event-driven litigation. The resulting chaos presents an opportunity for academia to integrate information about these legal frameworks – and their impacts – in undergraduate and graduate curricula for engineering, computer science, business, social sciences, and policy schools.

Privacy and data breach laws have been around for a couple of decades, but recent laws are mandating security controls and targeting specific technologies, such as surveillance software, digital design interfaces, and artificial intelligence, while others are focused on the commercial use of technologies, such as “gatekeeper” online platforms, online marketplaces, social networks, content-sharing platforms, and app stores. According to Stanford University’s 2023 AI Index, 37 AI-related pieces of legislation were adopted globally in 2022, and 123 AI-related bills have been passed since 2016. Most recently, the EU Parliament adopted the EU Artificial Intelligence Act – the world’s most comprehensive AI legislation – and will now begin working with Member States on the final text, which they plan to finish by the end of 2023. While the U.S. leads in innovation, it lags in regulation, making it even more important that American universities expand their perspective and include an understanding of global technology-related laws and regulations in interdisciplinary curricula.

This talk will:

• Present an overview of global technology-related legal frameworks;
• Discuss the impact of these laws and the consequences of ignoring them; and
• Identify the benefits of including content on global technology laws and regulations in interdisciplinary curricula.

Bio: Jody Westby has served as CEO of Global Cyber Risk LLC and Managing Principal of GlobalCyber Legal LLC since 2005. She was Adjunct Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology,School of Computer Science from 2012-2016 and Distinguished Fellow at Carnegie Mellon CyLab from 2005-2012. Jody received her B.A. from the University of Tulsa, summa cum laude, and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, magna cum laude. Jody has published seven books on privacy, cybersecurity, cybercrime, cybersecurity research, and cyber governance, all published by the American Bar Association. She led the development of the International Toolkit on Cybercrime Legislation and was editor and co-author of the 2010 UN publication, The Quest for Cyber Peace, published in six languages. She has published numerous articles and papers, is a professional blogger for Forbes, and publishes a technology column for Leader’s Edge magazine. She is vice chair of the ACM U.S. Technology Policy Committee, co-chair of the ABA Privacy and Computer Crime Committee, and co-chair of the ABA Cybercrime Committee. Earlier in her career, she launched In-Q-Tel for the CIA, was senior managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, was senior fellow and director of IT Studies for the Progress and Freedom Foundation, and was director of domestic policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Westby practiced law at Shearman & Sterling and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Jody began her career with ten years in the computer industry as a computer operator, programmer, systems analyst, and data base administrator, primarily for American Airlines and The Williams Companies.