Introduction to special section: Governing privacy and data protection issues of emerging technologies

In this special section of this issue of Science and Public Policy, authors are reflecting the fundamental challenges that the rapid progress in science and technology poses for human rights and privacy in particular. They aim to find new answers to the question how a (global) governance of science and technology could address these challenges. Earlier versions of the papers were presented at the International Conference on Privacy and Emerging Sciences and Technologies, held 27-28 November 2012 in Berlin and at the First European Conference on Technology Assessment that took place in Prague on 13-15 March 2013.