Legal and Ethical Use of Technologies and Health

This project of the interdisciplinary Research Group on Law, Science, Technology & Society (LSTS) supported by the Industrial research Fund of the VUB, focuses on the optimisation of legal and ethical use of technologies for Cybersecurity and Health.

Since its creation in 2003, LSTS has focused upon the articulations of law, science, technology, ethics and society, taking technological developments and their consequences as a starting point. Although LSTS’s core expertise is legal, it also has a strong track record in legal theory, philosophy (of law, of sciences and of technology) and it notably engages in criminological (surveillance and security), science and society studies (STS). LSTS’s challenges include studying and (re)thinking the constitutive and legal framework of democracies in relation to contemporary scientific and technological developments that seem to confront individuals with irreversible decision-making processes with a major impact on their lives.

LSTS nurtures a bottom-up interdisciplinary approach, whereby disciplinary scientific (legal, criminological, sociological, technological, etc.) practices and research meet, seek mutual interest and understanding, and build up articulations that remain respectful of the different constraints of the disciplines involved, their own way of constructing questions and issues and their mutual impacts.

The Law, Science, Technology & Society (LSTS) research group comprises, amongst others, two distinct labs: the Cyber and Data Security Lab (CDSL) and the Health and Ageing Law Lab (HALL).

The primary focus of the Cyber and Data Security Lab (CDSL) is to investigate the legal dimensions of cybersecurity and information security. Through funded research projects, advisory roles, publication of findings, and fostering international dialogue, CDSL aims to advance knowledge, raise awareness, and generate innovative ideas within the legal framework of cybersecurity and information security, both at the global level and within the European Union.

The Health and Ageing Law Lab (HALL) consists of dedicated team of specialized researchers who focus on various aspects related to health and ageing. The lab conducts interdisciplinary research in several areas, including privacy and data protection, the application of advanced technologies in healthcare, pharmaceutical development and research, e-Health, m-Health, and healthy ageing. By fostering collaboration and synergy among its members, HALL aims to create a coordinated research approach and generate valuable outcomes in these fields.