Prof. Joseph Cannataci appointed United Nations special rapporteur on the right to privacy

On July 3, 2015 Prof. Joseph Cannataci has been appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy, by the President of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The post was created by the Council in March 2015 to address the rising concerns about the enjoyment of right to privacy, particularly in the context of new communications technologies.

Prof. Cannataci's appointment marks a significant step in the strengthening of the protection of the right to privacy at international level. He is expected to lead new global initiatives on improving the level of privacy on-line and elsewhere in an increasingly digital world.

Prof. Cannataci (Malta, 1961) holds over thirty years of professional experience in the field of human rights and privacy. Between 1992 and 1998 he was first vice-chairman and then chairman of the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts on Data Protection. He has held or currently holds research grants from the British Academy, the Council of Europe, COST, UNESCO and the European Commission.

He has written many publications on data protection law, liability for expert systems, legal aspects of medical informatics, copyright in computer software and co-authored various papers and textbook chapters on self-regulation and the Internet, the EU Constitution and data protection, on-line dispute resolution, data retention and police data. The title of his latest book (March 2015) is "The Individual and Privacy".

Prof. Cannataci's current positions are: Professor of European Information Policy and Technology Law, University of Groningen, Netherlands; Head - Dept of Information Policy & Governance, University of Malta; (adjunct) Professor Security Research Institute and School of Computer & Security Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Australia, Associate, Cyber Security Centre, Longwood Univ., USA. He has been decorated by France as Officier de l'Ordre de Palmes Academiques.

At the Faculty of Law of the University of Groningen, Prof. Cannataci is a member of the Security, Technology and e-Privacy Research Group (STeP)

This article was published by the Faculty of Law.

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