Post- Quantum encryption and privacy regulation: can the law keep pace with technology?

Abstract

Using an interdisciplinary law and computer science approach, this article argues that quantum computing must push lawmakers to implement more dynamic privacy regulation to cushion quantum computing's impact on data protection and privacy. 

This article highlights the EU GDPR position as the global standard for data protection and privacy regulation. The GDPR has ignited a legal standardization phenomenon, whereby many jurisdictions are shaping their privacy regulation based on the GDPR. A move by EU lawmakers to amend the GDPR to embed post-quantum encryption requirements dynamically would ignite a global paradigm shift. This would result in forward-looking protection of data subjects' rights that extends beyond quantum computing perils. It would also signal that lawmakers' intention to making privacy regulation dynamic, thus enabling it to cope with future threats by being ahead of the technological disruption curve.