Tech Policy Grind

Today on the Tech Policy Grind: Our editor, Evan, bids the show farewell for his new role in corporate privacy compliance. He chats with Pedro Pavon, a privacy attorney at Meta, about what it means to be an advocate on the corporate side, how birding can help us maintain a beginners mindset, and how Pedro launched the Data Protection Breakfast Club.

Pedro is a lawyer and policy advocate focused on digital privacy, data strategy, and algorithmic fairness. He hosts the Data Protection Breakfast Club podcast and teaches privacy law at Georgia State University College of Law.

This week, we’re sharing two conversations from State of the Net that discuss the importance of responsible product design and ethical red teaming for AI. First, we chatted with Aishwarya Vardhana. As a full stack product designer, she designs innovative interfaces and experiences with safety, privacy, and other human rights considerations baked into the product. At State of the Net, when this conversation was recorded, she shared how she thinks about building ethical, inclusive and responsible technology, and how she prioritizes user needs to help keep people safe online.

Then, we sat down with Harley Geiger, Counsel on Cybersecurity Services at Venable, about ethical AI redteaming. What is ethical AI redteaming? And how are redteamers protected under the law when they test out vulnerabilities of AI models? We get into that and much more the conversation with Harley, Foundry fellow Sasa Jovanovic and me during State of the Net.

DISCLAIMER: Daniela, Evan, Sasa, Harley and Aishwarya engaged with this episode by the Internet Law & Policy Foundry voluntarily and in their personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed on this show do not reflect the organizations and institutions they are affiliated with.

This week on the Tech Policy Grind, we’re sharing two conversations from State of the Net 2024, the premier internet policy conference that took place in February in Washington, D.C, to discuss the impact of AI on cybersecurity policy and the future of work. 

Foundry Fellow Sasa Jovanovic and I spoke with Heather West and Charley Snyder on the impact of AI on cybersecurity policy. We discussed the nexus between Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity, revealing how AI’s advancements carry both protective potential and novel vulnerabilities. 

We also chatted with Dr. Athina Kanioura, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at PepsiCo, about navigating the policy challenges around the deployment of AI in the workplace, while making sure that AI promotes societal values and labor equity. 

DISCLAIMER: Daniela, Evan, Sasa, Athina, Heather and Charley engaged with this episode by the Internet Law & Policy Foundry voluntarily and in their personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed on this show do not reflect the organizations and institutions they are affiliated with.

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Athina Kanioura is Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at PepsiCo. An accomplished innovator and transformation leader, Kanioura oversees PepsiCo’s end-to-end strategy to win both as a total company and in key markets, including our digitalization strategy. She also leads company-wide transformation—ensuring that our scale is leveraged as we focus on accelerating profitable growth and identifying areas of cost efficiency and optimization—in addition to overseeing Data Products, Platforms, and Talent. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Kanioura was the Chief Analytics Officer and Global Head of Applied Intelligence at Accenture, where she specialized in applying AI and analytics to drive business value. During her 15 years at Accenture, Kanioura grew the Applied Intelligence function from a subspecialty to a global group at the forefront of scale business transformation. Kanioura is a member of the Royal Statistical and Economics Society, where she contributes to shaping government policy around how data is used by bodies like the IMF. She also sits on the board of the Institute of Marketing Sciences and is a keen educator who has held lectureships at UMIST (UK), Imperial College London (UK), and the University of Sheffield (UK), where she also earned her PhD in Econometrics and Quantitative Economics. 

Charley Snyder serves as Head of Security Policy at Google. In this role, Charley leads efforts to organize Google’s security expertise and technology to help solve the world’s pressing challenges related to safety and security online. Charley has security technology and policy experience in the public and private sectors. Before joining Google, he was a senior vice president at Goldman Sachs Group, where he was Global Head of Vulnerability Management and later led the Engineering Division’s zero-trust security strategy. Previously, Charley served in the United States government, including multiple roles in the Department of Defense. He served as Deputy Director of Strategic Cyber Defense and Capabilities in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and as a Senior Cyber Policy Advisor. Earlier in his career, Charley was a professional staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, where he led the committee’s oversight of Federal cybersecurity and intelligence issues. 

Heather West is a policy and tech translator, product consultant, and long-term digital strategist guiding the intersection of emerging technologies, culture, governments, and policy. Equipped with degrees in both computer and cognitive science, Heather focuses on data governance, data security, artificial intelligence (AI), and privacy in the digital age. She is a subject matter authority who has written extensively about AI and other data driven topics for over a decade. She is also a member of the Washington Post’s The Network, “a group of high-level digital security experts” selected to weigh in on pressing cybersecurity issues.

This week on the Tech Policy Grind, an expert panel unpacked the  two First Amendment cases heard by the Supreme Court last week.

In 2021, Florida and Texas introduced laws to prevent social media companies from banning political candidates or censoring content based on viewpoints, sparking a debate about the balance between free speech and platform regulation. 

The Supreme Court hearing on February 26, 2024 on the Florida and Texas laws set the stage for a broader conversation on the First Amendment rights of social media companies. 

To comment on the recent hearings, we brought in Internet Law and Policy Foundry alumna Jess Miers, Senior Counsel at Chamber of Progress to moderate a conversation with two other experts: Vidushi Dyall, Director Legal Analysis at Chamber of Progress who was reporting from the courtroom last week and Eric Goldman, the Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Law, Co-Director of the High Tech Law Institute, and Co-Supervisor of the Privacy Law Certificate, at Santa Clara University School of Law. 

DISCLAIMER: Daniela, Evan, Jess, Vidushi, and Eric engaged with this episode by the Internet Law & Policy Foundry voluntarily and in their personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed on this show do not reflect the organizations and institutions they are affiliated with.

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Jess Miers is Senior Counsel at Chamber of Progress. As a lawyer and technologist, Jess primarily focuses on the intersection of law and the Internet. She is widely considered an expert on U.S. intermediary liability law and has written, spoken, and taught extensively about topics such as speech and Section 230, content moderation, intellectual property, and cyber crime. Jess is also currently an advisor to the Trust & Safety Professional Association, and an industry mentor for Santa Clara Law’s Tech Edge J.D. certificate program.

Vidushi Dyall is the Director of Legal Analysis at the Chamber of Progress. She is a Fordham Law graduate and has gained meaningful professional experience across tech policy, privacy, and cybersecurity. In her current role she provides rapid analysis and response to breaking developments in cases that involve critical tech policy issues.

Eric Goldman is Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Law, Co-Director of the High Tech Law Institute, and Co-Supervisor of the Privacy Law Certificate, at Santa Clara University School of Law. His research and teaching focuses on Internet law, and he blogs on that topic at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

Resources:

Moody v. NetChoice, LLC

NetChoice, LLC v. Paxton

Communications Decency Act

Reno v. ACLU

Section 230

Welcome to the “Tech Policy Grind” podcast by the Internet Law & Policy Foundry! 

In this episode, Foundry Fellow Katelyn Ringrose sat down with Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst, at the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, to discuss Jay’s work on aerial surveillance law and policy, with a spotlight on the work that the ACLU is doing to keep you safe from eyes in the sky. While these two drone on about aerial surveillance (no pun intended), check out some of the resources listed below. This episode will be part of a mini-series on surveillance law and policy with some amazing future guests, so thank you for listening, and stay tuned for our next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Katelyn engaged with this episode by the Internet Law & Policy Foundry voluntarily and in their personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed on this show do not reflect the organizations and institutions they are affiliated with.

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Jay Stanley started working on privacy and technology issues at the ACLU five weeks before 9/11. His role at the ACLU is to help the organization think through, monitor, and explain the impact of new technologies on our privacy, free speech and other civil liberties. He has worked on a wide variety of cutting-edge science and technology issues and authored and co-authored a variety of influential ACLU reports, policy papers, and blog posts. Among his current areas of focus are aerial surveillance, digital identity, digital currency, and license plate scanners. Before joining the ACLU, he worked as an analyst at the technology research company Forrester Research, and did graduate studies in 20th century American history at UVA (ABD).

As Google’s Global Policy Lead for Law Enforcement and Government Access, Katelyn Ringrose works on any and all issues tied to data governance. Prior to her current position, Katelyn served as the Future of Privacy Forum’s Christopher Wolf Diversity Fellow — working on data privacy and security. Through the International Association of Privacy Professionals, Katelyn holds CIPM, CIPP-EU, and CIPP-U certifications & is a 2021 Fellow of Information Privacy. Katelyn was chosen as a 2022 Out in National Security Leader, and is a former board member for Women in Security and Privacy (WISP) in Washington, DC. She writes about issues tied to state/federal privacy legislation; sensitive personal data; and appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers. Find Katelyn’s law reviews and articles in Berkeley Tech Law Journal, Berkeley Law Review, Denver Law Review, Notre Dame Journal of Emerging Technology, Notre Dame Law Review, on IAPP and FPF’s websites, and more.

Resources:

Eye-in-the-Sky Policing Needs Strict Limits

Press on surveillance in the sky

‘Drones as first responders’ programs need guardrails, says ACLU

Key drones-related court cases

ACLU v. CBP – FOIA Case for Records Relating to Government’s Aerial Surveillance of Protesters

Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle v. Baltimore Police Department

On February 12, 2024 officials from the executive and legislative branches joined internet and tech advocates in Washington, D.C. to discuss topics such as child online safety, AI regulation and governance, internet access and affordability, the legal and regulatory landscape on online expression, and more.

In this episode, we put together three conversations from our live recording at the conference. Foundry alum Lama Mohammed chatted with Jameson Spivack, Senior Policy Analyst, Immersive Technologies at Future of Privacy Forum on the challenges of balancing progress and privacy when it comes to neurotechnologies. Then Senior Foundry fellows Sasa Jovanovic and Daniela Guzman Peña sat down with Colin Crowell, the Senior Advisor & Managing Director of The Blue Owl Group to discuss how internet geopolitics and diplomacy will evolve in the next era of the web. Finally, we had the chance to speak with Nicole Saad Bembridge, Counsel at NetChoice, about the legal landscape for Supreme Court cases this year, which might reframe the boundaries of online expression and platform liability. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a wide-ranging episode that showcases some of the key issues that were discussed at this agenda-setting conference. 

Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for our next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Daniela, Lama, and Sasa engaged with this episode by the Internet Law & Policy Foundry voluntarily and in their personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed on this show do not reflect the organizations and institutions they are affiliated with.

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Jameson Spivack: Jameson Spivack leads the Future of Privacy Forum’s work on immersive technologies like extended reality, neurotechnologies, and virtual worlds. He works with a range of stakeholders from industry, civil society, and academia to understand the impact of emerging privacy laws on immersive technologies, and to develop best practices for organizations developing or deploying them. Previously, Jameson was an Associate with the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law, where he worked on research and policy advocacy related to algorithmic technologies like face recognition in the criminal legal system.

Colin Crowell: Colin Crowell is the Managing Director of The Blue Owl Group.  Colin is an international tech policy consultant and the former Vice President of Global Public Policy, Government, & Philanthropy at Twitter. During his 8+ years at Twitter, Colin built an award-winning philanthropy program and engaged with global policymakers and civil society on a range of Internet policy issues. Prior to joining Twitter, Colin worked as Senior Counselor to the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and previously spent more than two decades on Capitol Hill drafting telecommunications and Internet laws on the committee staff of then-U.S. Representative (now Senator) Ed Markey (D-MA). Colin was the 2020 Commencement Speaker at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas – Austin.  He is a graduate of Boston College with a BA in Political Science and a minor concentration in Computer Science. After college, Colin was a Jesuit International Volunteer in Arequipa, Peru.

Nicole Saad Bembridge: As Associate Director of NetChoice’s Litigation Center, Saad Bembridge focuses on NetChoice’s litigation and amicus efforts. She specializes in reviewing federal and state legislation that affect the First Amendment, freedom of speech, Section 230 and AI.

Before joining NetChoice, Saad Bembridge worked as a legal associate at the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies, where she co-authored twelve appellate amicus briefs, a policy analysis on content moderation paradigms, and provided analysis on a broad range of constitutional and statutory issues of first impression. During law school, she worked at the United Nations and at Georgetown University’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy. 

Saad Bembridge earned her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Technology Law and Policy Scholar. She holds B.A.s in Economics and Piano Performance from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Resources:

A New Era of Internet Geopolitics

Legal Landscape for Online Expression

Moody v. NetChoice, LLC

This final episode of the Tech Policy Grind season 4 stars Class Four Internet Law & Policy Foundry Fellows Meri Baghdasaryan, Lama Mohammed, and Reema Moussa one last time before their fellowship with The Foundry ends in January.

In this episode, the fellows reflect on the highlights of 2023, including the growth of the podcast, the Foundry’s participation in the State of the Net, and our renowned Trivia Night. Meri, Lama, and Reema share their 2024 plans, and some of the Class Four Fellow’s favorite memories at The Foundry, including a star feature from Joseph Catapano.

Listeners will also get a sneak peek into Season 5 from the show’s new co-executive producers, Class Five Fellows Evan Enzer and Daniela Guzmán Peña.

Finally, thank you to our Class Four Fellows for all of your valuable contributions to the Tech Policy Grind and to the Foundry!

Resources in this episode:

Check out the Foundry on Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter! If you’d like to support the show, donate to the Foundry here or reach out to us at [email protected].

Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for our next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Reema Moussa, Lama Mohammed, Meri Baghdasaryan, Joseph Catapano, Rebeeca Kilberg, Evan Enzer, and Daniela Guzman Peña engage with the Foundry voluntarily and in their personal capacities. The views and opinions expressed on air do not reflect on the organizations Reema, Lama, Meri, Joseph, Rebecca, Evan and Daniela are affiliated with.

This week, Meri Baghdasaryan sits down with Reema Moussa, the host and producer of this podcast. Reema is currently a third-year J.D. Candidate at the USC Gould School of Law focused on cybersecurity, privacy, internet governance, trust & safety, and other tech law and policy issues.

In this episode, Meri takes Reema through an introspective conversation about Reema’s journey as a law student and an ILPF Fellow, as the fellowship (and her time in law school) comes to an end. In addition, Reema reflects on her path to internet law and policy, starting with a formative college internship at the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva, which sparked her interest in international law, AI policy, and cyberwarfare. She then explains how she has found a niche at the nexus of cybersecurity & privacy, trust & safety, business, and the law over the last several years. Then, Meri and Reema get into her experience as a Foundry fellow and executive board member. She also highlights some of her other internships and organizations she’s been involved in.

Reema discusses her passion for being a bridge between professional communities and her goal of harnessing communication as a lawyer to drive innovation. As a tech optimist at heart, she discusses how she balances her motivation to use the law to protect people from the potential harms or abuses of technology, with her belief that technology can ultimately make the world better.

Check out the Foundry on Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter! If you’d like to support the show, donate to the Foundry here or reach out to us at [email protected].

Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for our next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Reema Moussa and Meri Baghdasaryan engage with the Foundry voluntarily and in their personal capacities. The views and opinions expressed on air do not reflect on the organizations Reema and Meri are affiliated with.

Welcome back to the Tech Policy Grind podcast! This week, Reema chats with Keir Lamont (Future of Privacy Forum) and Divya Sridhar (BBB National Programs) on the core 2023 privacy law updates you need to know. They cover updates since Keir was on the show last year discussing his 5 key predictions for 2023 – including how those predictions panned out, what actually happened, and what’s coming up in 2024.

As the Director of Privacy Initiatives at BBB National Programs, Divya’s portfolio encompasses the design, development and launch of multiple industry self-regulation privacy programs. She is a seasoned leader who previously served in numerous capacities at think tanks, private companies, and nonprofits leading government affairs and policy work.

Keir Lamont (CIPP/US) is the Director of the Future of Privacy Forum’s U.S. Legislation team. In this role he supports research and independent analysis concerning federal, state, and local consumer privacy laws and regulations. Keir previously held positions at CCIA and the Program on Data and Governance at Ohio State University. He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from the University of Florida.

You can check out Keir’s blog post on questions for 2024, last year’s episode, Divya’s articles mentioned, and other useful resources below.

Check out the Foundry on Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter! If you’d like to support the show, donate to the Foundry here or reach out to us at [email protected].

Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for our next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Reema engaged with this episode by the Internet Law & Policy Foundry voluntarily and in her personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed on this show do not reflect the organizations and institutions she is affiliated with.

Angelique Carson is a longtime privacy journalist. After working in Maine’s local media, she spent 11 years reporting on privacy at the IAPP. There, she served as the editor of The Privacy Advisor, a monthly publication. In 2016, she launched the first-ever privacy podcast by the same name. Now Director of Content Strategy at TerraTrue, a privacy-by-design software startup, she publishes The Privacy Beat Newsletter and The Privacy Beat Podcast. She frequently speaks at events, as well as on panels, webinars, and other podcasts, and she’s based in Washington, D.C.

Nicole Dove is an award-winning cybersecurity leader, university lecturer, LinkedIn Learning Instructor & host of the Urban Girl Corporate World podcast with over 18 years of experience driving results across cybersecurity, audit, global operations and relationship management functions. At Riot Games, she serves as Head of Security, Games Division. There, she’s building the company’s first global BISO team, furthering the alignment of business and information security initiatives.

Noah Katz (CIPP/US) recently graduated from Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. During his time in law school, Noah held internships at Zscaler, Ohio State University, and the Future of Privacy Forum. In addition, Noah was the Founder & President of the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Club. He was also the Managing Editor at the Ohio State Technology Law Journal.

Check out the Foundry on Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter! If you’d like to support the show, donate to the Foundry here or reach out to us at [email protected].

Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for our next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Reema engaged with this episode by the Internet Law & Policy Foundry voluntarily and in her personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed on this show do not reflect the organizations and institutions she is affiliated with.