About the IAPP

Dr. Christopher Parsons’ interests involve how privacy is affected by digitally mediated surveillance, and the normative implications that such surveillance has in (and on) contemporary Western political systems. He is currently a Senior Technology and Policy Advisor at the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Formerly, he worked as a Senior Research Associate at the Munk School’s Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, where his research focused on third-party access to telecommunications data, data privacy, data security, and national security.

Christopher holds a Ph.D in Political Science from the Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria, where he completed a dissertation that examined the political drivers of Internet service providers’ network surveillance practices. He has previously been involved in projects examining lawful access legislation, national security and intelligence legislation and practices, government management of computer security vulnerabilities, identity management systems, license plate recognition technologies, technical and policy issues linked to encryption, privacy issues linked to social media services, policy and privacy challenges associated with IMSI Catchers, the privacy implications of unmanned aerial vehicles, threats associated with stalkerware, and geo-strategic policies that are needed to manage critical infrastructure.

Christopher has published in academic presses such as the Canadian Journal of Law and Society, European Journal of Law and Technology, Canadian Journal of Law and Technology, Business & Society, Canadian Privacy Law Review, and CTheory, amongst others. He has published book chapters in a series of academic and popular presses, as well as numerous reports with the Citizen Lab.