We are delighted to welcome Dr Juliana da Cunha Mota to Kent Law School. Her research interests lie at the intersection of human rights and technology and technology regulation, with a particular focus on privacy, data protection and freedom of expression in the digital environment. She joins a community committed to thinking about law critically and in its broader social context. In this profile, we learn more about her academic journey, research and what she is most looking forward to in her new role.
Can you tell us about your academic background and what brought you to Kent Law School?
I am a qualified lawyer in Brazil, where I conducted my bachelor studies. When I graduated, in 2016, the field of ‘law and technology’, especially privacy and data protection, was still somewhat incipient in Brazil. This is why I decided to come to the UK to pursue my LLM in Cambridge. After the masters’, I returned to Brazil to act as a privacy and data protection lawyer. I soon began to realise that the law in the books was significantly different from the law in reality. This drove me to pursue a DPhil (PhD) in Law at the University of Oxford, where I examined how the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice adjudicate the rights to privacy and data protection in light of technological changes.
After completing my DPhil, I joined the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies of the University of Oxford as a Digital Policy Postdoctoral Researcher, where I officially started using socio-legal methods to analyse legal phenomena in the digital space. Particularly, I assessed the role of fact-checkers and their legal consciousness and ability to curb hate speech online.
I knew I wanted to continue working in an environment where socio-legal studies are valued and where critical thinking prevails. This is what attracted me to KLS. Being a researcher in law and technology, it is impossible to completely disentangle the law from society and social phenomena. Thus, KLS’ critical and interdisciplinary ethos are a perfect fit for my research.
How would you describe your research interests?
My research interests lie at the intersection of human rights and technology and technology regulation. I look, particularly, at data protection, privacy, and freedom of expression. I am interested in analysing how new technologies allegedly disrupt our traditional notions and doctrine of international human rights law. In doing so, I also assess the roles of the Courts and how they contribute to advancing rights.
Why is this research important or timely?
We always hear that law cannot keep up with technology. This is a widely spread assumption. During my PhD, I used to tell people that I was researching data rights and privacy, and I repeatedly heard back that ‘privacy was dead’, that because of big tech no one had privacy anymore.
My research disputes this idea. It is a very convenient idea if we want to keep technology unregulated or if we don’t want to hold it accountable for human rights violations. The question is, however, if that is the approach we want to take.
In sum, I think my research is timely as, the more technology allegedly disrupts rights, the more we need to talk about regulatory models, or discuss ways to use our existing normative tools to ensure human rights are still respected.
What are you currently working on, or planning to work on next?
I have two focus at the moment. First, I am turning some chapters of my DPhil dissertation into articles. The chapter that I am working on at the moment concerns the principle of subsidiarity before the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice and how does it impact the evidentiary assessment of these courts in cases involving new technologies. I try to shed some light into the black-box of evidentiary assessment before these Courts, which often defer to the national Courts, while still performing proportionality analyses which require a high-level knowledge of how technology interferes with human rights.
In parallel, I am starting to develop my future research project, which will draw parallels between climate rights litigation and digital rights litigation. In the last decade, international courts recognised the existence of collective rights when it comes to climate change; it has not done so with regards to technology, however. So, I will investigate the lessons from climate rights litigation to digital rights litigation.
What opportunities are there for students to engage with your research?
There are two avenues for students to engage with my research. First, they are welcome to get in touch if they want to pursue research in areas relating to law and technology. I will be happy to discuss project ideas.
Second, I am a great moot enthusiast, and I have been particularly involved with mooting in human rights and media law in the past. This year, I am judging two international moot court competitions, and I would be very happy if students were interested in joining similar competitions. In the future, I hope to assist preparing teams for these kinds of competitions.
What are you most excited about in your new role?
Working in an environment where interdisciplinarity and critical thinking are valued is the most exciting part of my new role. I look forward to continuing embedding these values into my research and, now, my teaching.
What would you say to anyone considering studying Law in the future?
Now is the perfect time to study law, especially considering the recent technological advancements, such as AI. We often hear that AI will replace people in the future, but I am particularly reticent to believe that AI will replace lawyers and regulators. We need people to uphold the rule of law in light of technological changes and, more importantly, we need regulators that adequately understand how law, regulation, and technology work to propose adequate and timely regulatory models.
Would you like to add anything else?
I am truly happy and honoured to have joined KLS. I look forward to contributing to the school, working alongside colleagues and engaging with the students!
We are delighted to welcome Juliana and look forward to the energy and perspectives she will bring to our students and colleagues alike.