Established in 2003, the interdisciplinary Research Group on Law, Science, Technology and Society (LSTS) is an independent entity of the Faculty of Law and Criminology, at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).
LSTS has earned international recognition as a centre of excellence in the area of technology regulation, bringing together an interdisciplinary group of distinguished scholars, established researchers, and senior practitioners. Main areas of research at LSTS include privacy and data protection issues relating to new and emerging technologies, the impact of advanced technologies and methods of surveillance on fundamental rights, the changing nature of law (digital legal theory), and the role of law in relation to science, technology and politics.
Over the years, LSTS has witnessed the emergence of various collaborative research groups and networks, including the Health and Ageing Law Lab (HALL), the Cyber and Data Security Lab (CDSL), the Brussels Privacy Hub (BPH), and the Brussels Laboratory for Data Protection & Privacy Impact Assessments (d.pia.lab). LSTS is also the main organizer of the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) International Conference, and is part of the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies (BCUS) and the AI for Common Good Institute Brussels (FARI).