Christian Wiese Svanberg
Christian Wiese Svanberg is an internationally recognised expert in data protection law and has more than 20 years’ experience in this area.
His extensive experience in the intelligence and law-enforcement areas makes him uniquely qualified to assist clients in high-risk matters, regulatory matters and cyber-incident management.
He is a frequent speaker at Danish and international conferences and has twice been called upon by the European Parliament's LIBE Committee as a data-protection expert and has also been a visiting lecturer at the United States Military Academy (West Point).
When providing legal advice, Christian draws on his broad experience gained through his employment in the public sector, such as in the Danish Data Protection Agency, the Danish Ministry of Justice as well as the Centre for Data Protection at the Danish National Police.
For three years, Christian was General Counsel at the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS).
In that role, he was responsible for all legal issues related to signals intelligence (SIGINT), offensive cyber operations (CNE/CNO) as well as international issues.
In addition, Christian was in charge of the legal advice provided to the Danish Centre for Cyber Security (CFCS) and thereby has hands-on experience of handling the most difficult cyber incidents, data breaches and cyber threats.
At the Danish National Police, he was Data Protection Officer (DPO) for the Danish police and its PNR Unit.
In that connection, he gained experience in finding business-friendly solutions in difficult and comprehensive compliance projects.
During Denmark's EU Presidency in 2012, Christian chaired the Council's expert group (DAPIX), which negotiated the GDPR and the Law Enforcement Directive.
In addition to advising on data protection and cyber security, Christian assists Danish and international clients that are suppliers to defence authorities in Denmark and abroad or, in another context, require assistance in navigating in sensitive matters related to national security.
Since 2010, Christian has been a part-time lecturer in EU Law and European Data Protection Law at the University of Copenhagen.
The Danish Association for Data Protection Law
- Responsible for legal compliance in connection with the Danish police's implementation of Palantir's "Gotham" platform (POL-INTEL)
- Advising a major consultancy firm on the implementation of a multinational cloud solution
- Member of the Danish delegation to the European Court of Justice in the cases La Quadrature du Net (C-511/18) and Privacy International (C-623/17)
Attorney, Director, DLA Piper Denmark, since 2025
Attorney and Partner, CO:PLAY Law Firm, 2024-2025
General Counsel, Danish Defence Intelligenve Service & Danish Centre for Cyber Security, 2021-2024
Head of Centre, Danish National Police, 2016-2021
Attorney, Plesner, 2014-2016
Senior Consultant, the Agency for Modernisation (Danish Ministry of Finance), 2012-2014
Head of Section, Danish Ministry of Justice, 2005-2012
Assistant Prosecutor, Copenhagen Public Prosecutor, 2009-2011 (part time)
Head of Section, the Danish Data Protection Agency, 2003-2005
Vice-chair, the Danish Association for Data Protection Law
Member of the Board of Directors, 2Operate A/S
"Liability for fines under Article 83 of the General Data Protection Regulation and section 41 of the Danish Data Protection Act based on the case law of the European Court of Justice" (published in Danish only), co-authored with Professor, Doctor of Law, Henrik Udsen, Juristen (a Danish legal journal), no. 3-4, October 2024, page 112
Contributing author of the commentary on Articles 32-34 in "The EU Law Enforcement Directive (LED), A Commentary", Eleni Kosta and Franziska Boehm (eds), Oxford University Press, 2024
Contributing author of the commentary on Articles 89-91 in "The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), A Commentary", Christopher Kuner, Lee A. Bygrave, Christopher Docksey (eds) and Laura Drechsler (ass. ed.), Oxford University Press, 2020
"The Proposed Data Protection Regulation: The Illusion of Harmonisation, the Private/Public Sector Divide and the Bureaucratic Apparatus", Professor Peter Blume and Christian Wiese Svanberg, Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies, Volume 15, 2013, pp. 27-46, Cambridge University Press