Dr Maria Tzanou

School of Law

Senior Lecturer in Law

Postgraduate Research (PGR) Director

Staff photo of Maria Tzanou
Profile picture of Staff photo of Maria Tzanou
m.tzanou@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 6811

Full contact details

Dr Maria Tzanou
School of Law
CLG04
Bartolomé House
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
Profile

Dr Maria Tzanou’s  research focuses on European constitutional and human rights law, privacy, data protection, surveillance, the regulation of new and emerging technologies and the inequalities of data privacy law and how these affect vulnerable groups. She is the author of The Fundamental Right to Data Protection. Normative Value in the Context of Counter-Terrorism Surveillance (Hart, 2017) and the editor of Personal Data Protection and Legal Developments in the European Union (IGI Global, 2020) and Health Data Privacy under the GDPR. Big Data Challenges and Regulatory Responses (Routledge, 2021). 

She is currently leading an inter-disciplinary research project funded by the Leverhulme Trust on ‘FemTech surveillance: Gendered digital harms and regulatory approaches’. The project explores FemTech’s techno-management of women’s intimate lives by combining both doctrinal research and empirical analysis and aims to develop an egalitarian data privacy law theory. 

She acts as permanent scientific advisor to the Greek Ministry of Justice on data protection issues. She co-convenes the UK Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) Cyberlaw Section and is an Associate Editor of European Data Protection Law Review.

Before joining Sheffield, she held positions at the University of Keele and Edge Hill University. In 2018, Maria was awarded the Routledge/ Association of Law Teachers (ALT) ‘Teaching Law with Technology Prize’ for successfully devising and implementing a research-led approach for teaching students the interaction between law and new technologies.

Qualifications

• PCLTHE- Keele University

• PhD- European University Institute

• LLM (Comparative, European and International Laws)- European University Institute

• MA (Advanced Public Law) - Université de Bordeaux IV and University of Athens

• LLM (European Union Law) – University of Cambridge

• LLB- University of Athens

Research interests
  • Data Protection Law
  • Privacy Law
  • European Human Rights Law
  • AI and Emerging Technologies Regulation
  • Surveillance

Maria is happy to supervise PhD research in the following areas: privacy and data protection, big data, AI and human rights, surveillance, regulation of emerging technologies.

Publications

Books

  • Tzanou M (2019) The Fundamental Right to Data Protection Normative Value in the Context of Counter-Terrorism Surveillance. Hart Publishing. RIS download Bibtex download

Edited books

Journal articles

Chapters

  • Tzanou M (2021) Schrems I and Schrems II: Assessing the Case for the Extraterritoriality of the EU Fundamental Rights In Fabbrini F, Celeste E & Quinn J (Ed.), Data Protection Beyond Borders Transatlantic Perspectives on Extraterritoriality and Sovereignty Bloomsbury Publishing RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2021) The Unexpected Consequences of the EU Right to Be Forgotten, Research Anthology on Privatizing and Securing Data (pp. 1746-1768). IGI Global RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2020) The GDPR and (Big) Health Data: Assessing the EU Legislator’s Choices In Tzanou M (Ed.), Health Data Privacy under the GDPR Big Data Challenges and Regulatory Responses Routledge RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2020) Addressing Big Data and AI Challenges A Taxonomy and Why the GDPR Cannot Provide a One-size-fits-all Solution In Tzanou M (Ed.), Health Data Privacy under the GDPR: Big Data Challenges and Regulatory Responses RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2020) The Unexpected Consequences of the EU Right to Be Forgotten, Personal Data Protection and Legal Developments in the European Union (pp. 279-301). IGI Global RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2019) Data Protection in EU Law After Lisbon, Cyber Law, Privacy, and Security (pp. 73-99). IGI Global RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2018) The EU-US data privacy and counter-terrorism agreements: What lessons for transatlantic institutionalisation? In Fahey E (Ed.), Institutionalisation beyond the Nation State Transatlantic Relations: Data, Privacy and Trade Law Springer RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2015) Data Protection in EU Law after Lisbon, Handbook of Research on Emerging Developments in Data Privacy (pp. 24-50). IGI Global RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2012) The EU Data Protection Directive as a Model for Global Regimes In Cassese S, Carotti B, Casini L, Cavalieri E & MacDonald E (Ed.), Global Administrative Law: The Casebook RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2012) Human Rights and Terrorism: The Use of Passenger Name Record (PNR) In Cassese S, Carotti B, Casini L, Cavalieri E & MacDonald E (Ed.), Global Administrative Law: The Casebook RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2012) The Use of Financial Data to Fight Terrorism: The SWIFT Case In Cassese S, Carotti B, Casini L, Cavalieri E & MacDonald E (Ed.), Global Administrative Law: The Casebook RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2012) The Second Generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) and human rights In Cassesse S, Carotti B, Casini L, Cavalieri E & MacDonald E (Ed.), Global Administrative Law: The Casebook RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2010) Data protection in EU law: An Analysis of the EU Legal Framework and the ECJ Jurisprudence In Akrivopoulou C & Psygkas A (Ed.), Personal Data Privacy and Protection in a Surveillance Era: Technologies and Practices Technologies and Practices IGI Global RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M () Who occupies the transatlantic data privacy space? Assessing the evolving dynamics, underlying reasons and the way forward In Fahey E (Ed.), Routledge Handbook on Transatlantic Relations Routledge RIS download Bibtex download
  • Santatzoglou S & Tzanou M () An (In)Adequate Data Protection Regime after Brexit? Bulk Surveillance Powers, National Security and the Future of EU-UK Data Transfers In Celeste E, Harbinja E, Costello R & Xanthoulis N (Ed.), Data Protection and Digital Sovereignty Post-Brexit Hart Publishing RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M () Article 7. Distinction between personal data and verification of quality of personal data In Kosta E, Boehm F & Kamara I (Ed.), The Law Enforcement Directive: A Commentary Oxford University Press RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M () Article 8. Lawfulness of processing In Kosta E, Boehm F & Kamara I (Ed.), The Law Enforcement Directive: A Commentary Oxford University Press RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M () Article 9. Specific processing conditions In Kosta E, Boehm F & Kamara I (Ed.), The Law Enforcement Directive: A Commentary Oxford University Press RIS download Bibtex download

Conference proceedings papers

  • Tzanou M (2011) Law and Ethics in the Modern EU “Surveillance Society”: Are Data Protection Principles “Dead” in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice? The Case of VIS and EURODAC Information Systems. Values and Freedoms in Modern Information Law & Ethics RIS download Bibtex download

Working papers

  • Shleina V, Fahey E, Klonick K, Menéndez González N, Murray A & Tzanou M (2021) The Law of Facebook: Borders, Regulation and Global Social Media. RIS download Bibtex download

Dictionary/encyclopaedia entries

  • Tzanou M & Savirimuthu J (2022) The United Kingdom. In International Encyclopaedia of Laws. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tzanou M (2022) Data Protection/Data Privacy. In Elgar Encyclopedia of Human Rights Edward Elgar Publishing. RIS download Bibtex download

Other

Research group

Director of Sheffield Centre for International and European Law (SCIEL)

Grants
Title/Description Awarding Body People Involved Dates Amounts
'FemTech surveillance: Gendered digital harms and regulatory approaches' Leverhulme Trust Dr Maria Tzanou (P-I), Prof Tsachi Keren-Paz and Dr Marco Ortolani (Co-Is) 2022-2024 £160,090
‘The ethical and legal challenges of the sharing of health data in social media’ Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) Dr Maria Tzanou 2017- 2018  
‘Brexit and the Law School’ Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) Dr Maria Tzanou 2017  
Teaching activities

UG Modules:

  • Advanced EU Law
Professional activities and memberships

• Associate Editor- European Data Protection Law
• Associate Editor- IEEE Technology and Society Magazine (2021- 2022)
• UK Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) Cyberlaw Section Co-convenor
• Member of the European Research Network within The South EU Google Data Governance Chair
• Member of the Society of Legal Scholars
• Member of the Athens Bar Association (GR)- resigned