Jonas Breuer

Jonas Breuer is a postdoctoral researcher at the LSTS research centre (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), where he combines academic research with editorial and organisational responsibilities. He serves as co-director of the CPDP conference, focusing on the calls for panels, papers, and workshops, and is main editor of the CPDP 2025 conference book. He is also affiliated with the ERC-funded DATAGOV project, led by Prof. Stefania Milan at the University of Amsterdam’s Department of Media Studies.

Jonas obtained a joint PhD in Media and Communication Studies and Social Sciences from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Hasselt University (2025). His dissertation, Rights to the (Smart) City – A Materialist Inquiry into Empowerment through Personal Data Protection, examined how data infrastructures, smart city technologies, and GDPR instruments shape rights, participation, and democracy. His broader research interests include data governance, citizen participation, infrastructural power, and digital rights, with a particular emphasis on participatory methodologies such as walkshops. 

Over the past decade, he has worked across academia, public engagement, and EU research projects on smart cities, open data, and digital innovation, combining critical theory with applied, interdisciplinary approaches. Previously, Jonas worked as a researcher at imec-SMIT (VUB) on EU and national projects related to smart city innovation and digital governance.