Maria Paz Canales

Head of Policy and Advocacy

Maria Paz oversees the development of insight and expertise to support GPD’s team and projects. Her particular focus areas are data protection, artificial intelligence, freedom of expression, competition and intellectual property. 

Previously, she co-founded and served as Executive Director at Derechos Digitales. She holds a Master’s Degree with specialisation in Law and Technology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Explore their work

18 Feb 2026
Blog post

Reflections from MAP-AI: From Principles to Action in Global AI Governance

Over the past two days, Global Partners Digital (GPD) had the opportunity to participate in two multistakeholder dialogues convened under the Multistakeholder Approaches to Participation in AI Governance (MAP-AI) initiative, led by the Global Network Initiative (GNI) and the Centre for Communication…
19 Jun 2025
Report

Stakeholder Positions on IGF in WSIS+20: Comparative Analysis

As the global Internet governance community prepares to meet in Lillestrøm in June 2025, the future of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) hangs in the balance. With its mandate up for review as part of the WSIS+20 process, proposals on the table range from evolutionary tweaks to more radical overhauls.
17 Jun 2025
Blog post

Final Stretch, High Stakes: Getting UN AI Governance Back on Track

Negotiations are advancing rapidly on the terms of reference (ToR) and modalities for two key initiatives established under the Global Digital Compact—the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence and the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance. However, serious concerns have emerged about whether these mechanisms will live up to…