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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 early 1990s. 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 original landmark adequacy decisions regarding the standard contractual clauses for controller-to-controller and controller-to-processor transfers, and drafted a binding corporate rules (BCRs) application checklist approved by the former Article 29 Working Party (the predecessor of the current European Data Protection Board).

The recipient of numerous honors, Christopher served for 10 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, while in 2026 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Future of Privacy Forum. He is a member of the European Commission Expert Group supporting the application of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 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, and is one of the main editors of the commentary on the GDPR published by Oxford University Press, which is now in its second edition. He founded and served for 14 years as the editor-in-chief of International Data Privacy Law, a peer-reviewed 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, as well as by numerous data protection authorities. In 2008, a Chinese translation of the second edition of his book European Data Protection Law: Corporate Compliance and Regulation was published by Law Press China, the first book ever published in Chinese on EU data protection law.

In addition, Christopher is an affiliated professor of law at the University of Copenhagen, a Senior Fellow at the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity of Maastricht University, and an associate of the Centre for European Legal Studies of the University of Cambridge. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Future of Privacy Forum. He 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 also taught 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 early 1990s. 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 original landmark adequacy decisions regarding the standard contractual clauses for controller-to-controller and controller-to-processor transfers, and drafted a binding corporate rules (BCRs) application checklist approved by the former Article 29 Working Party (the predecessor of the current European Data Protection Board).

The recipient of numerous honors, Christopher served for 10 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, while in 2026 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Future of Privacy Forum. He is a member of the European Commission Expert Group supporting the application of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 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, and is one of the main editors of the commentary on the GDPR published by Oxford University Press, which is now in its second edition. He founded and served for 14 years as the editor-in-chief of International Data Privacy Law, a peer-reviewed 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, as well as by numerous data protection authorities. In 2008, a Chinese translation of the second edition of his book European Data Protection Law: Corporate Compliance and Regulation was published by Law Press China, the first book ever published in Chinese on EU data protection law.

In addition, Christopher is an affiliated professor of law at the University of Copenhagen, a Senior Fellow at the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity of Maastricht University, and an associate of the Centre for European Legal Studies of the University of Cambridge. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Future of Privacy Forum. He 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 also taught 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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Future of Privacy Forum Recognizes Christopher Kuner with Lifetime Achievement Award
The Future of Privacy Forum, a global nonprofit focused on data protection, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies, has honored Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Senior Privacy Counsel Christopher Kuner with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Presented at the Brussels Privacy Symposium, the annual awards event recognizes outstanding contributions to data protection and privacy in Europe.
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Alerts
EU Court Awards Damages for Breach of EU Data Transfer Rules
On January 8, 2025, the second highest court of the European Union (EU), the General Court of the Court of Justice of the EU (the Court), ordered (in Bindl v European Commission, Case T-354/22) the European Commission (EC) to pay EUR 400 in damages to an individual for transferring their personal data to the U.S. without having implemented a data transfer mechanism under EU law.
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Latest Developments on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework
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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Speaking Engagements
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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