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Christopher Kuner
Senior Privacy Counsel
Data, Privacy, and Cybersecurity
Brussels

D32-2-2745720

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Dr. Christopher Kuner is Senior Privacy Counsel in the Brussels office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where his practice focuses on European and international data protection and privacy compliance.

Christopher has practiced EU data protection law in Brussels and in Germany since the dawn of the internet in the early1990s. In 2018, Chambers Belgium described him as follows: "Senior privacy counsel Christopher Kuner is vastly experienced in the field of European data privacy and is considered an authority on international data transfers. One impressed commentator calls Kuner 'by far the best thought leader in Europe and a reference for privacy and data protection.'"

Christopher has been involved in major data protection developments at the EU level over the last 20 years. He successfully negotiated the European Commission's landmark adequacy decisions regarding the standard contractual clauses for controller-to-controller and controller- to-processor transfers, and has drafted a binding corporate rules (BCRs) application checklist approved by the Article 29 Working Party.

The recipient of numerous honors, Christopher served for ten years as vice chairman of the Commission on the Digital Economy of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. In 2015, he was awarded the "Best Consumer Supporter" award and medal by the Consumer Affairs Agency of the government of Japan and the Japanese ambassador to the European Union. He is a member of the European Commission Expert Group supporting the application of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Advisory Group of Experts Supporting the Review of the OECD Privacy Guidelines. He has also participated in the work of other international organizations such as the Council of Europe and UNCITRAL.

Christopher is the author of numerous books and articles on EU data protection law. He also serves as the editor-in-chief of International Data Privacy Law, a law journal published by Oxford University Press. His writings have been cited by leading international courts, including the Court of Justice of the European Union, the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof), and a leading U.S. federal district court.

In addition, Christopher is an affiliated professor of law at the University of Copenhagen and an associate of the Centre for European Legal Studies of the University of Cambridge. He was formerly co-chair of the Brussels Privacy Hub at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and visiting professor at Maastricht University. He also has served as a visiting fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute; the Centre for European Legal Studies of the University of Cambridge; the London School of Economics; and Chuo University in Tokyo. He has taught at numerous leading universities, as well as at the summer courses of the Hague Academy of International Law and the European University Institute.

Prior to joining the firm, Christopher was a partner in the Brussels office of Hunton & Williams. Earlier in his career, he worked in the Brussels office of Morrison & Foerster and in the Frankfurt and Stuttgart offices of German law firm Gleiss Lutz. He is fluent in German and English, and speaks Russian at an intermediate level.

Experience

Dr. Christopher Kuner is Senior Privacy Counsel in the Brussels office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where his practice focuses on European and international data protection and privacy compliance.

Christopher has practiced EU data protection law in Brussels and in Germany since the dawn of the internet in the early1990s. In 2018, Chambers Belgium described him as follows: "Senior privacy counsel Christopher Kuner is vastly experienced in the field of European data privacy and is considered an authority on international data transfers. One impressed commentator calls Kuner 'by far the best thought leader in Europe and a reference for privacy and data protection.'"

Christopher has been involved in major data protection developments at the EU level over the last 20 years. He successfully negotiated the European Commission's landmark adequacy decisions regarding the standard contractual clauses for controller-to-controller and controller- to-processor transfers, and has drafted a binding corporate rules (BCRs) application checklist approved by the Article 29 Working Party.

The recipient of numerous honors, Christopher served for ten years as vice chairman of the Commission on the Digital Economy of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. In 2015, he was awarded the "Best Consumer Supporter" award and medal by the Consumer Affairs Agency of the government of Japan and the Japanese ambassador to the European Union. He is a member of the European Commission Expert Group supporting the application of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Advisory Group of Experts Supporting the Review of the OECD Privacy Guidelines. He has also participated in the work of other international organizations such as the Council of Europe and UNCITRAL.

Christopher is the author of numerous books and articles on EU data protection law. He also serves as the editor-in-chief of International Data Privacy Law, a law journal published by Oxford University Press. His writings have been cited by leading international courts, including the Court of Justice of the European Union, the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof), and a leading U.S. federal district court.

In addition, Christopher is an affiliated professor of law at the University of Copenhagen and an associate of the Centre for European Legal Studies of the University of Cambridge. He was formerly co-chair of the Brussels Privacy Hub at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and visiting professor at Maastricht University. He also has served as a visiting fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute; the Centre for European Legal Studies of the University of Cambridge; the London School of Economics; and Chuo University in Tokyo. He has taught at numerous leading universities, as well as at the summer courses of the Hague Academy of International Law and the European University Institute.

Prior to joining the firm, Christopher was a partner in the Brussels office of Hunton & Williams. Earlier in his career, he worked in the Brussels office of Morrison & Foerster and in the Frankfurt and Stuttgart offices of German law firm Gleiss Lutz. He is fluent in German and English, and speaks Russian at an intermediate level.

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On July 10, 2023, the European Commission (EC) adopted an adequacy decision in relation to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF). This paves the way for organizations to certify to the DPF, reducing friction for transfers of personal data from the EU to the U.S., and allowing companies to simplify their compliance with EU data flow restrictions. It thus represents a major development in the regulation of data flows from the EU to the U.S.
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Join the Wilson Sonsini Global Privacy and Cybersecurity team for a practical update on transatlantic data transfers, and the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
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44th Global Privacy Assembly Conference
Wilson Sonsini Senior Privacy Counsel Christopher Kuner will make a keynote address on October 26th regarding "Privacy Risks for Vulnerable Groups."
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