Natalija Bitiukova is a Global Data Privacy Lead working for IKEA Retail (Ingka Group). She also serves on the board of the Lithuania-based non-profit organization Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI) and is a co-chair of PrivacyConnect Copenhagen Chapter. Natalija has researched the implications of online manipulation and data misuse for democratic processes and has contributed to the study commissioned by the European Parliament (LIBE) on the impact of propaganda on the functioning of the rule of law in the EU. S

he has also authored a policy paper “Journalistic exemption under the European data protection law” and has provided input into discussions on the intersection of freedom of expression, information and data protection in her native Lithuania. Before that, Natalija completed a traineeship with the European Data Protection Supervisor and held a position of a Deputy Director of the Human Rights Monitoring Institute where she led legal work in the areas of digital rights, rule of law and criminal justice.