Join us for the Workshop on Privacy, Gatekeepers, and Digital Sovereignty at TUM Campus Heilbronn of the Technical University of Munich.
Bringing together world-class researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, the workshop serves as an international platform to discuss the latest research on privacy preferences, privacy risks, and the value of privacy protection, with the goal of understanding when and why privacy matters. The workshop enables the combination of different data sources and the exchange of interdisciplinary perspectives on key challenges. These include centralized cookie-consent systems, which could simplify consent decisions but challenge the ad-supported digital economy; the regulation of pay-or-consent models, which compel users to consent to tracking on publisher websites and social media platforms but may threaten news media; and the design of privacy-centric alternatives to gatekeeper platforms, which can strengthen informational self-determination and digital sovereignty but require significant investment.
The goal of the workshop is to derive recommendations for policymakers on how restrictive future privacy legislation should be and to provide entrepreneurs with robust scientific evidence on how privacy can foster independent digital services in Europe, support digital sovereignty, and serve as a competitive advantage in industry’s digital transformation.
The workshop is open exclusively to invited participants.
VENUE:
The workshop will take place at the Campus Heilbronn of the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
TUM Campus Heilbronn is a cornerstone of Heilbronn’s rapidly evolving innovation ecosystem. It focuses on translating cutting‑edge research into applied artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and digital innovation.
Heilbronn is located in the culture‑rich state of Baden‑Württemberg in southern Germany.
Venue address:
Bildungscampus 2
74076 Heilbronn
SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, July 15, 2026:
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.: Welcome Dinner in a Heilbronn restaurant
Thursday, July 16, 2026:
9 a.m. - 6 p.m.: Research Presentations + Keynote Speech
7 p.m. - 10 p.m.: Conference Dinner
(A detailed schedule will be sent to participants in June 2026.)
We have reserved single rooms at the Insel-Hotel (Willy-Mayer-Brücke, 74072 Heilbronn). The hotel is within walking distance from the train station and the venue.
Please let us know in the registration form (see below) for which dates you would like us to make a binding hotel booking. The bill for the hotel stay will be paid directly by us.
There is no workshop fee.
All meals and refreshments, including lunch, dinner, and coffee breaks, are provided as part of the workshop.
