Mon, 10/03/2022
Today we visit with Mailyn Fidler, Nebraska Governance and Technology Center faculty, on her trip to the African Data Protection Conference from September 11th through the 18th.
Tell us about your research and your work.
I research African technology policy laws, from cybersecurity to data protection. I track how politics affects the development and goals of laws in these new technological areas. I have traveled to and conducted in African countries since 2015.
What lead to your travels in Ghana?
I attended the African Data Protection Conference, hosted jointly by the University of Ghana School of Law and the University of Passau. I presented research that makes up part of a forthcoming book I am writing on African technology policy.
How does your work correlate with your visit to Ghana?
This trip was the first African conference I presented my work at, so I appreciated the opportunity to receive feedback from African scholars. It was also my first time in Western Africa, which was important for my research, because West Africa plays such a central role in driving pan-African technology policy.
How does technology tie into your interests, your work, and your visit?
Technology is at the heart of this work as a place that politics takes place. That’s what this research, and this trip, is about: showing how technology regulation is an instrument of politics, not just shaped by politics.
More about Fidler's research on African Technology Policy can be found here.
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