Kent Law School early career researchers Dr Asta Zokaityte and Dr Will Mbioh have been awarded a grant of £5,000 for an interdisciplinary research project to examine the relationship between vulnerability and the management of personal data.

The concept of vulnerability is used for the first time in the new EU General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into force in the UK on 28 May 2018, to regulate how the personal data of children and employees are collected and processed. With their grant from the University of Kent’s Social Sciences Faculty Research Fund, Dr Zokaityte (Primary Investigator) and Dr Mbioh (Co-Investigator) seek to engage academics in a broader discussion of the concept of “digital vulnerability” and to further investigate the relationships and intersections between vulnerability and the governance of personal data in the UK.

The project team will write a co-authored article, for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, that will describe digital vulnerability. It will also conduct academic and policy scoping exercises with researchers, NGO and representatives of public bodies. As the project evolves, the team plan to apply for external funding that will enable them to run workshops and establish a digital vulnerability research network.

Dr Zokaityte is a Lecturer in Law. Her research explores the ways in which novel edu-regulatory techniques are deployed by financial regulators to govern consumer behaviour in financial markets. Her book Financial Literacy Education: Edu-Regulating our Saving and Spending Habits (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) offers an innovative way of thinking about financial literacy education and has been shortlisted for the Hart-SLSA Prize for Early Career Academics.

Associate Lecturer in Law Dr Mbioh has research expertise in the field of data protection. He has recently published in leading, international peer-reviewed journals including European Data Protection Law Review and the Journal of Internet Law.