CMM Ambassador
Professor David Watts
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Dimension 4
Legal and Regulatory Frameworks CV
Professor David Watts is an internationally recognised expert in data protection law, policy and regulation and a Professor of Practice (Law), School of Law at La Trobe University and Adjunct Professor of Law at the Deakin University Law School.
David’s key research and teaching interests include:
Data protection law;
Artificial Intelligence; and
Cybersecurity
He leads the task force on Big Data and Open Data for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy and is a member of the Privacy Advisory Group for UN Global Pulse and he continues to provide legal and consulting advice to public and private sector clients in these and related areas.
Experience in Practice
David’s experience in this area extends over twenty years and has been gained in a variety of capacities:
As a Lawyer;
As a consultant;
As a senior public sector executive; and
As a regulator.
As Victoria’s Commissioner for Law Enforcement Data Security, David led an independent statutory office that regulated the security of Victoria Police’s law enforcement data.
As Commissioner for Privacy and Data Protection, he developed Australia’s only explicit statute-based data security legislation, the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and was responsible for creating the Victorian Protective Data Security Framework and Standards.
Dimension 4 Journal Publications
Casanovas Romeu Pde Koker L Mendelson D Watts D. Regulation of big data: perspectives on strategy, policy, law, and privacy. Health and Technology. Springer Direct.
Abstract: “This article encapsulates selected themes from the Australian Data to Decisions Cooperative Research Centre’s Law and Policy program. It is the result of a discussion on the regulation of Big Data, especially focusing on privacy and data protection strategies. It presents four complementary perspectives stemming from governance, law, ethics, and computer science. Big, Linked, and Open Data constitute complex phenomena whose economic and political dimensions require a plurality of instruments to enhance and protect citizens’ rights. Some conclusions are offered in the end to foster a more general discussion.”
Stumptner M Mayer W Grossman G Liu J Li W et al. An Architecture for Establishing Legal Semantic Workflows in the Context of Integrated Law Enforcement. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 124-139. 2018
Watts D Casanovas Romeu P. Privacy and Data Protection in Australia: a Critical overview (extended abstract). Data Privacy Controls and Vocabularies. Position statements and expressions of interest. 2018
Teodoro E Casanovas Romeu P González-Conejero J Morris C N Pagallo U et al. SPIRIT Deliverable No 9.3 Ethics Advisory Board (WP9). 1-61. 2019
Teodoro E Casanovas Romeu P González-Conejero J Morris C N Varela Figueroa R et al. SPIRIT Deliverable No 9.4. Notifications to National Data Protection Authorities (WP9). 1-29. 2019
Casanovas Romeu Pde Koker L Keyzer P Mendelson D Watts D et al. Summary Legal and Technical Report on Spent Convictions. 1-35. 2019
Watts D Teague V. Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on the right to privacy. 1-26. 2017