Overview
Christina Gagnier is an experienced technology lawyer whose practice focuses on cybersecurity and privacy, blockchain technology, international regulatory affairs, technology transactions, and intellectual property. Her privacy practice includes counseling clients on compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Brazil’s Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (General Data Protection Law - LGPD), Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), as well as data breach prevention and response. Christina is a nationally recognized thought leader on laws governing online harassment, including nonconsensual pornography and cyberbullying. She has served on notable committees studying technological issues, including the Federal Communication Commission’s Consumer Advisory Committee.
Christina advises clients on digital strategy to help them navigate uncharted legal territory. She guides a variety of technology companies and consumer brands through emerging legal and policy issues such as digital currency, the sharing economy, network neutrality, and the ever-changing area of consumer privacy law. Her work includes crafting company compliance strategies and employee training to support compliance. As part of her compliance practice, Christina advises brands and influencers on regulatory compliance with Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices). She also represents 3D-printing businesses in regulatory compliance and transactions. Additionally, Christina handles matters involving consumer protection law compliance, including consumer scams arising during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as phishing attempts and work-from-home scams. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Christina worked in crisis communications, a background that informs her approach to assisting clients with their responses to data breaches and other events.
Christina served as a member of the California attorney general’s Cyber Exploitation Task Force. In addition, she was designated as a subject matter expert on cyber exploitation for California's Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
Outside her practice, Christina is an adjunct professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, where she serves as clinical faculty for the Intellectual Property, Arts, and Technology Clinic. She teaches the only privacy law class offered at UCI Law. Christina’s primary research involves cyber rights and the intersection of online and offline action. Her academic publication “On Privacy: Liberty in the Digital Revolution” examines the right to privacy in the internet age. Christina is a certified California mediator experienced in alternative dispute resolution, and she is accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans with claims.
Christina is a frequent speaker and author on issues involving internet law. She has authored articles in HuffPost’s technology section and columns on legal ethics on the web and internet law topics for California Lawyer, and she served as the host for “Techwire” on the California Channel. She is frequently invited to join panels discussing issues such as information privacy and data, blockchain and cryptocurrency, law in the digital age, and international data regulation.
She has appeared on NBC’s “Press:Here” and CBS’ “The Doctors” and on radio stations including KCBS in San Francisco and WCCO in Minneapolis, and she has been quoted by AlterNet, Ars Technica, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, Buzzfeed, Inc., MIT Technology Review, MSNBC, NBC News, The New York Times, Politico, The Recorder, The Mercury News, TechCrunch, and The Verge. She is featured in the documentary about the startup world “Ctrl+Alt+Compete” and enjoyed briefly flashing across the screen in b-roll in BBC’s Steve Jobs documentary.
Passionate about technological education, Christina serves as the CEO of the Link Americas Foundation, which aims to improve digital literacy across the United States, Canada, and Central and South America. She is also the CEO of Know Before You Go, an organization that grants scholarships for college visits.
In her local community, Christina serves as the chair of the board of directors of the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce. She previously served as president and vice president of the governing board for the Chino Valley Unified School District and was one of the first candidates for public office in the United States to accept bitcoin.