Hello, I'm Beatriz!
Can we make law and technology speak the same language?
As a Postdoctoral Researcher, my research seeks to bridge the longstanding gap between law and technology, transforming legal requirements into interoperable standards, machine-readable knowledge, and practical tools that enable responsible innovation.
This vision extends beyond academia. I actively contribute to the standardisation of Web technologies as Co-Chair of the W3C Data Privacy Vocabularies and Controls Community Group (W3C DPVCG), and as Editor of the W3C Open Digital Rights Language (W3C ODRL CG). I am also proud to be a member of the EDPB's Support Pool of Experts.
Whether through research, standardisation, or collaboration with European institutions, my goal is the same: to help build a Web where trust is an integral part of the infrastructure, one where people, organisations, and intelligent systems can exchange insights transparently and in ways that support both fundamental rights and economic incentives.
Warning
Problem: The current name of your GitHub Pages repository ("Solution: Please consider renaming the repository to "
https://".
However, if the current repository name is intended, you can ignore this message by removing "{% include widgets/debug_repo_name.html %}" in index.html.
Action required
Problem: The current root path of this site is "baseurl ("_config.yml.
Solution: Please set the
baseurl in _config.yml to "Read my work on LegalTech (view all )
Bridging DPV and ODRL for Legally-Oriented Usage Control in Data Spaces
Beatriz Esteves, Harshvardhan J. Pandit
The Fourth International Workshop on Semantics in Dataspaces (SDS) co-located with the 23rd Extended Semantic Web Conference (ESWC) 2026 Workshop
This paper presents a machine-readable mapping between DPV and the ODRL Information Model to bridge the gap between data protection concepts and enforceable usage control policies. By combining DPV's semantically rich vocabulary with ODRL's policy framework and providing implementation guidance, it enables interoperable, legally grounded, and machine-processable usage policies that support trustworthy and compliant data sharing.
[Preprint] [DPV-ODRL profile] [Implementation guide] [Examples] [Slides]
Bridging DPV and ODRL for Legally-Oriented Usage Control in Data Spaces
Beatriz Esteves, Harshvardhan J. Pandit
The Fourth International Workshop on Semantics in Dataspaces (SDS) co-located with the 23rd Extended Semantic Web Conference (ESWC) 2026 Workshop
This paper presents a machine-readable mapping between DPV and the ODRL Information Model to bridge the gap between data protection concepts and enforceable usage control policies. By combining DPV's semantically rich vocabulary with ODRL's policy framework and providing implementation guidance, it enables interoperable, legally grounded, and machine-processable usage policies that support trustworthy and compliant data sharing.
[Preprint] [DPV-ODRL profile] [Implementation guide] [Examples] [Slides]
Lifting the Cage of Consent: A Techno-Legal Perspective on Evolvable Trust Relationships
Beatriz Esteves, Ruben Verborgh
Submitted to Data in Brief (Under review) 2025 Preprint
This article argues that the core privacy challenge is not excessive data sharing but inefficient data flows that incentivize unlawful shortcuts, exacerbated by punitive interpretations of regulations like the GDPR. It proposes evolvable, technology-assisted trust systems as a scalable alternative to ill-informed consent, aligning economic incentives with ethical and societal goals to enable sustainable and trustworthy data exchange.
Lifting the Cage of Consent: A Techno-Legal Perspective on Evolvable Trust Relationships
Beatriz Esteves, Ruben Verborgh
Submitted to Data in Brief (Under review) 2025 Preprint
This article argues that the core privacy challenge is not excessive data sharing but inefficient data flows that incentivize unlawful shortcuts, exacerbated by punitive interpretations of regulations like the GDPR. It proposes evolvable, technology-assisted trust systems as a scalable alternative to ill-informed consent, aligning economic incentives with ethical and societal goals to enable sustainable and trustworthy data exchange.
Interoperable Interpretation and Evaluation of ODRL Policies Best Paper Nominee 🌟
Wout Slabbinck, Julián Andrés Rojas, Beatriz Esteves, Pieter Colpaert, Ruben Verborgh
Extended Semantic Web Conference (ESWC) 2025 Conference
This paper proposes a systematic approach to evaluating ODRL policies to enable meaningful negotiation over privacy preferences on the Web, introducing a Compliance Report Model, a test suite, and an ODRL Evaluator to support accurate, interoperable, and enforceable policy interpretations in line with regulatory requirements.
[Proceedings] [Open-Access] [Compliance Report Model] [Test Suite] [ODRL Evaluator] [Demo] [Slides]
Interoperable Interpretation and Evaluation of ODRL Policies Best Paper Nominee 🌟
Wout Slabbinck, Julián Andrés Rojas, Beatriz Esteves, Pieter Colpaert, Ruben Verborgh
Extended Semantic Web Conference (ESWC) 2025 Conference
This paper proposes a systematic approach to evaluating ODRL policies to enable meaningful negotiation over privacy preferences on the Web, introducing a Compliance Report Model, a test suite, and an ODRL Evaluator to support accurate, interoperable, and enforceable policy interpretations in line with regulatory requirements.
[Proceedings] [Open-Access] [Compliance Report Model] [Test Suite] [ODRL Evaluator] [Demo] [Slides]
Data Privacy Vocabulary (DPV) – Version 2.0
Harshvardhan J. Pandit, Beatriz Esteves, Georg P. Krog, Paul Ryan, Delaram Golpayegani, Julian Flake
International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC) 2024 Conference
This article presents version 2.0 of the Data Privacy Vocabulary (DPV), highlighting its role in enabling interoperable, standards-based descriptions of personal data processing and its adaptability for supporting global regulatory and community initiatives.
Data Privacy Vocabulary (DPV) – Version 2.0
Harshvardhan J. Pandit, Beatriz Esteves, Georg P. Krog, Paul Ryan, Delaram Golpayegani, Julian Flake
International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC) 2024 Conference
This article presents version 2.0 of the Data Privacy Vocabulary (DPV), highlighting its role in enabling interoperable, standards-based descriptions of personal data processing and its adaptability for supporting global regulatory and community initiatives.