What are the 'HELT Talks' ?
HELT stands for Health, Ethics, Law, and Technology – four broad subject areas that intersect each other in discourses around improving quality and access to health care, or advancing medical research beyond the state-of-the-art. Following on the success of the HELT Symposium, our annual flagship event which brings together representatives from the academia, industry, research organisations, healthcare professionals and policymakers, the HELT Talks was conceived as a year-round (monthly) event, providing a dynamic platform for thought-provoking discussions and stimulating debates on the future of digital health and care, through the prism of regulatory responses and relevant policy initiatives.
What is the typical format of a session at HELT Talks?
HELT Talks sessions are typically divided into two parts. In the first part, each speaker gives a presentation on a specific topic, touching upon particular challenges and open issues around the integration of technology in the realm of health care that require delving into legal and regulatory frameworks. The second part of the session aims at encouraging a deeper level of reflection on the topic under discussion, through organic conversations between the speakers and the audience.
What kind of topics are covered at HELT Talks?
HELT Talks cover a breadth of topics on law, ethics, health and technology, ranging from legal challenges for the use of health data and regulatory issues concerning advanced medical technology, to the use of artificial intelligence in clinical settings and the application of ethical principles in health care.
TALK of the Month
4 December 2025 | 13:00-15:00
Between health law and consumer protection: Can the EU Digital Fairness Act bridge the regulatory gap for AI health apps?
Across Europe, wellness and wellbeing apps, from AI-driven mental health chatbots to fitness and nutrition platforms, increasingly shape how individuals monitor and manage their health. Yet many of these tools operate in a legal gray zone: they fall outside EU health law because they are not classified as medical devices, and thus are subject only to the lighter rules of consumer protection. This creates blind spots in safeguarding users from incorrect medical advice, psychological harms, and health risks of addictive algorithms. The proposed EU Digital Fairness Act may address these shortcomings by updating EU consumer law for the algorithmic age. By targeting addictive design practices, it reframes consumer protection as a form of public health regulation. But will this be enough to protect the health of individuals against the increasing power of health-related AI online?
Speakers
Dr. Hannah van Kolfschooten
Lecturer-Researcher, University of Amsterdam
Dr. Hannah van Kolfschooten is a lecturer-researcher at the University of Amsterdam. She studies the intersection of law, health, and technology. She obtained a Ph.D. in Law on the topic of EU regulation of artificial intelligence in healthcare and the consequences for patients’ rights protection. She was a visiting researcher in-residence at Harvard Law School, University of Verona, and Fondation Brocher. She is an independent legal consultant on AI policy and regulation for the nonprofit organization Health Action International. She is a member of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health (TAG-AI).
Location
VUB Main Campus | Learning & Innovation Center
Address: Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Etterbeek, Brussels
Registration
This is an in-person event, free of charge for all participants.
Registration to the event is mandatory. You can register here: HELT Talks 2025-26 Session 2
Contact
Interested to learn more about HELT Talks and what’s up next? Contact Ashwinee Kumar at ashwinee.kumar@vub.be