Carl is the academic assistant to prof. dr. Eva Lievens and a PhD researcher in the research group Law & Technology at Ghent University. He is affiliated with the department of Interdisciplinary Study of Law, Private Law and Business Law, the activities of the Ghent Rolin-Jaequemyns International Law Institute (GRILI) and the knowledge and research platform Privacy, Information Exchange, Law Enforcement and Surveillance (PIXLES). He is also a member of the organizing committee of the annual Ghent University Legal Techathon.

 His PhD is entitled ‘Regulating global actors through the use of alternative regulatory instruments: an analysis of the extent to which EU codes of conduct contribute to the fragmentation or harmonisation of data protection standards’ and entails 1) a theoretical analysis of the impact that alternative regulatory instruments can have outside their operation jurisdiction 2) a case study of changes corporate behaviour outside the EU on the basis of codes of conduct adopted under the GDPR and 3) recommendations for the micro / corporate level and the macro / policy level.

He was awarded the Young Scholar Award – 1st Prize during the 2018 Amsterdam Privacy Conference for his paper ‘Online Age Verification Mechanisms in the Personal Data Protection Framework: A Battle for the Ages?’. Additionally, he received the award for Best Postgraduate Article during the 2019 BILETA Conference for his paper ‘From Opt-In to Obligation? Regulating Globally Operating Tech Companies through Alternative Regulatory Instruments’. During his studies, he received the title ‘Valedictorian Pleader’ as a joint award from Ghent University and the Bar of Ghent.

Prior to his current position, he took part in the 2017 Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court and he completed internships at the Brussels data protection law firm Time.Lex and the Embassy of Belgium in Washington D.C. Carl obtained his Master’s degree in Law from Ghent University in 2017.