The VIII St Petersburg International Legal Forum that will be taking place on May 15–19 2018 is going to hold a round-table discussion called «Identification of Participants in Legal Relations of the Digital Environment and New Digital Services: Trend Towards Digital Economy».

information and communications industry at its nowaday level has complex structure and can be by active involvement of technology in legal relations. Current legal regulation does not always reflect these characteristics and cannot catch up with demands of the industry. Existing laws on communication, information, personal data and media have a number of systemic restrictions that do not reflect the actual economic situation on the market. It is obvious that the legislation demands systematic revision and harmonization with modern technical conditions. It also requires a major transformation and update of legal norms in order to adequately meet the goals of digital economy. It is especially true for such areas as telecom infrastructure, personal data, identification-related issues, electronic document management, e-signatures, communication services, TV and radio broadcasting, new services and technologies.

Public officials, practising lawyers and scholars are invited to participate in the round-table discussion. Experts will address the following issues: What international experience should be considered to guarantee the protection of interests of citizens, business and authorities during modernization of information, communication and media? What regulatory changes will Digital Economy programme require?

Discussion topics:

spheres and methods of remote identity identification in the digital environment, the use of biometric identification in existing and emerging industries; personal identifiers as personal data: possibilities and limits of processing and use of results of such processing; principles of regulation: protection of personal interests in the era of digitalization, the balance of private and public interests, limits of permissible interference in private life; data: the future of regulation and self-regulation, allocation of rights of the data owners; traditional services and OTT services: convergence or differentiation of regulation, protection of citizens ' rights, limits of anonymity in OTT services.