10/09/2026
Can writing code make you a criminal?
The stakes are hard to overstate. Supporters of the convictions argue that whoever builds and runs a laundering machine shares responsibility for it. Critics counter that code is a form of expression, that privacy is a fundamental right, and that if builders are liable for what others do with their software, nobody in Europe can safely build privacy technology again. That last question is exactly where the second half of the panel's title comes in: Europe's digital future.
One of the most talked-about sessions of DBW26: Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev in conversation with host Jan Scheele, and a panel with Balázs Bodó (UvA), André Omietanski (Aztec Labs), Bota Jardemalie and Judith de Boer (Hertoghs advocaten) on privacy, developer liability and Europe's digital future.
