The Legal Lens: A Focus on Law, Business and Technology is a series of online sessions offering insights into prominent business and legal issues affecting organizations across all industries.

On February 12th, join us for an informative talk on Digital Platforms and the Attention Economy led by the data law expert and U of T Law GPLLM faculty member, Dera Nevin.

About the Workshop:
Attention has emerged as a powerful driver of wealth. Attention is both the world's most valuable resource, and also endangered, and there is no sector of the economy where this is more visible than digital platforms. We will explore the strategies digital platforms use to capture and monetize user attention,including behavioural design, AI algorithms and dark patterns, and highlight some of the social and legal challenges arising from these tactics. We will unpack the legal implications of the Attention Economy for privacy and data protection, employment, antitrust, consumer protection, and national security, and analyze case studies such as Facebook's acquisition of Instagram and the US government's TikTok ban. Participants will also delve into emerging responses, including redefining antitrust principles, merging and conflating privacy and national security interests, addressing digital manipulation, and emerging global regulatory frameworks and schisms. 

About the Speaker:
Dera Nevin is a data lawyer and expert, with more than 20 years of experience addressing digital risk issues, including privacy, data protection, information risk management, e-discovery and the application of emerging technologies to the delivery of legal services. Ms. Nevin specializes in applying artificial intelligence, automation and synthetic data strategies to complex client challenges. A graduate from the University of Toronto's Juris Doctor (JD) program, Ms. Nevin is called to the bar in Ontario and New York.