On 11 June 2025, Digital Futures at The University of Manchester and the Centre for Digital Trust and Society (CDTS) proudly hosted the Digital Technology, Crime, and the Law Conference at No.1 Circle Square, Manchester. This full-day, interdisciplinary event welcomed a diverse audience of academics, legal experts, industry practitioners, and policymakers to explore how digital innovation intersects with crime prevention, legal governance, and trust-building in a fast-evolving technological world.
The day opened with a welcome address from Dr Joseph Lee Nazzini, followed by an introduction from His Honour Judge Mark Halliwell. This set the stage for a compelling keynote by Professor Oreste Pollicino of Bocconi University, who offered a critical examination of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act through a constitutional lens. His presentation raised vital questions about accountability, transparency, and human rights protections as AI systems become increasingly autonomous and embedded in society.
Panel Highlights
🔹 Special Panel: Quantum Computing – Risk & Regulation
This panel explored the fundamentals of quantum computing and quantum technologies, highlighting how they differ from traditional digital computing and the concept of quantum supremacy. Featuring insights from computer scientists, engineers, and policymakers, the discussion offered frameworks for social scientists to examine the commercialisation, risks, and governance of quantum technologies, with particular attention to their impact on critical infrastructure and business operations.
Panel Members:
- Dr Joseph Lee Nazzini, Reader in Corporate and Financial Law, The University of Manchester (Chair)
- Dr Louis Chen, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Imperial College London
- Dr Christopher Anderson, Research Fellow, The University of Manchester
- Dr Richard Banach, Senior Lecturer, The University of Manchester
🔹 Panel 1: FinTech and Financial Crime
This panel investigated the intersection of FinTech and financial crime, examining how digital technologies are reshaping both risks and responses. Discussions highlighted the evolving nature of fraud, scams, and money laundering in a globalised digital economy, and explored the growing role of blockchain, crypto-asset analytics, and AI in anti-financial crime strategies. Panelists compared global regulatory approaches while addressing ongoing challenges such as crypto complexity, false positives, and limited regulatory capacity. A central theme was the balance between transparency and privacy, with attention to privacy-enhancing technologies, synthetic datasets, and new governance models for CeFi/DeFi ecosystems. The session emphasised the need for future-proof regulation and interdisciplinary collaboration among financial institutions, technologists, and regulators to build resilient and trustworthy systems.
Panel Members
- His Honour Judge Mark Cawson KC, Specialist Circuit Judge, Judiciary (Business and Property Courts) (Chair)
- Banu Gün, Research Assistant (MLaw), University of Zurich
- Dr Nadia Pocher, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Luxembourg
- Professor Georgios Samakovitis, Professor of Financial Technology (FinTech), University of Greenwich
- Paul Gilmour, Senior Lecturer in Economic Crime, Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime, University of Portsmouth
🔹 Panel 2: Theory and Practice of Cybersecurity
The second panel examined the theoretical and practical aspects of cybersecurity, focusing on how normative frameworks support the development of digital trust through system security and user safety. Speakers discussed governance models, standards, and enforcement regimes that enable cohesive, cross-border cybersecurity strategies, while also exploring the challenges of designing technological tools to mitigate cyber risks. A central theme was the role of legal mechanisms, including contracts and regulatory frameworks, in building effective cybersecurity architectures and addressing current gaps in practice.
Panel Members
- Professor Christy, Yachi Chiang, Director of Ocean Sustainable Technologies Governance Center, National Taiwan Ocean University (Chair)
- Professor Scott Shackelford, Professor of Law, Indiana University
- Dr Jochen Dürr, Senior Executive Board Member, SIX Swiss Exchange
- Professor Jakub Harašta, Professor of Law, Masaryk University
- Dr Rachael Ntongho, Lecturer and LLB Programme Director, The University of Manchester
🔹 Panel 3: Cybersecurity in Critical Infrastructure
The third panel explored how critical infrastructure sectors, including defence, energy, and finance, respond to cybercrime and develop their cybersecurity capabilities. Discussions focused on shared challenges across sectors, the role of legal and regulatory frameworks such as the EU DORA and the Digital Resilience Act in building capabilities, and the identification of transferable skills that can inform the training of security professionals.
Panel Members:
- Dr Christopher Anderson, Research Fellow, The University of Manchester (Chair)
- Dr Thomas Le Goff, Assistant Professor of Law & Technology at Télécom Paris – Institut Polytechnique de Paris
- Dr Øyvind Toftegaard, Researcher, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Valerie Höß, Head of European Affairs, Commerzbank AG
🔹 Panel 4: Supply Chain Management and Liability Regimes for Digital Technology
This panel focused on supply chain management for digital technology, exploring critical aspects such as chip governance, data governance under GDPR, and algorithm governance under the EU AI Act and China’s AI Law. Discussions examined how liability regimes, including contract law, tort law, and consumer protection law, can enhance the resilience and accountability of technology supply chains, and considered potential regulatory tools and guidance to further strengthen supply chain resilience.
Panel Members
- Dr Joseph Lee Nazzini, Reader in Corporate and Financial Law, The University of Manchester (Chair)
- Mark Farrell, Data Protection Professional, The University of Manchester
- Professor Christy, Yachi Chiang, Director of Ocean Sustainable Technologies Governance Center, National Taiwan Ocean University
- Adrian Neal, CEO, QuStream
🔹 Panel 5: Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Digital Trust
The fifth panel explored the intersection of ESG frameworks, covering anti-slavery initiatives, poverty alleviation, and online safety, and the development of digital trust frameworks. Discussions examined how digital technologies can enhance ESG outcomes, identified potential limitations, and considered measures to achieve ESG goals while maintaining system security and user safety. The panel focused on three key sectors. In the construction industry, it emphasised ethical labour practices and supply chain transparency under the UK Modern Slavery Act. In the agriculture and environmental sector, it addressed sustainability and equitable resource access. For digital platforms, it analysed their liability for harmful content under the UK Online Safety Act.
Panel Members
- Dr Paul Gilmour, Senior Lecturer in Economic Crime, Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime, University of Portsmouth (Chair)
- Dr Aarti Krishnan, Lecturer in Innovation, The University of Manchester
- Dr Beatriz Kira, Assistant Professor in Law, University of Sussex
- Vere Marie Khan, Chief Legal Officer, Zed Labs Limited
🔹 Panel 6: International Governance Frameworks
The sixth panel examined the role of international law in addressing cross-jurisdictional challenges in the digital age. Discussions focused on how international governance frameworks, including UN treaties such as the Treaty of Cybercrime and conventions such as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, can facilitate cooperation, resolve conflicts, and build trust across borders. Key topics included the potential for harmonising laws and regulations, practical pathways to achieve alignment, and the policy objectives that should guide these developments. The panel also considered the challenge of balancing national sovereignty with the need for global digital governance and explored the role of emerging technologies in shaping future cyber risk management.
Panel Members
- Professor Scott Shackelford, Professor of Law, Indiana University (Chair)
- Dr Jack Kenny, Lecturer in Public International Law, The University of Manchester, and Research Leader in International Law, British Institute of International and Comparative Law
- Dr Abubakri Yekini, Lecturer in Law, The University of Manchester
- Dr Clara Martins Pereira, Associate Professor of Financial Law and Director for International Development, Durham Law School - Durham University
Following six insightful panel discussions, the event culminated in an engaging book launch led by Dr Joseph Lee Nazzini, Reader in Corporate and Financial Law at the University of Manchester. The featured publication, A Research Agenda for Financial Law and Regulation, co-edited by Dr Lee and Aline Darbellay of the University of Zurich, delves into the transformative impact of technological advancements on legal and regulatory frameworks in the financial sector. The book offers a comprehensive analysis of the opportunities and challenges presented by the shift towards decentralisation and disintermediation, providing valuable insights for scholars and practitioners in the field.
For more information and to access the book, please visit the publisher's website.
Key Takeaways:
- ✅ Digital trust must be integrated into every stage of technological design, development, and deployment.
- ✅ Legal frameworks must evolve rapidly to address quantum computing, AI ethics, and global digital trade.
- ✅ ESG principles are no longer optional—they are essential in shaping responsible digital ecosystems.
- ✅ Cross-sector and international collaboration remain critical in building secure, trustworthy digital infrastructures.
The forum sparked a wealth of discussion and reflection, and we were delighted to receive feedback from participants highlighting their experiences. Attendees shared insights on the panels, keynotes, and networking opportunities, offering valuable perspectives on the themes and ideas presented throughout the day.
I thought the conference was a great place for multi-disciplinary professionals and academia to integrate learnings and share knowledge. The balance between compliance and risk is a large and ever-growing factor affecting many industries and is key to developing robust strategies. Digital Futures is a brilliant initiative in growing the bridges between theory and knowledge and I am very keen to continue supporting their very important work and knowledge sharing. —— Rhiannon Allsopp l Security Improvement Coordinator l Directorate of IT Services
A sincere thank you to our speakers, panellists, chairs, and attendees for making the Digital Technology, Crime, and the Law Conference 2025 a success. We look forward to continuing these crucial conversations in future initiatives.