Marc Rotenberg

Digital Library
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Award Recipient
Marc Rotenberg

ACM Policy Award

USA - 2020

citation

For long-standing, high-impact leadership on privacy and technology policy

Early in his career, Marc launched the Public Interest Computer Association, the first organization in the U.S. to help nonprofits use microcomputers. Marc then helped draft key US privacy and computer security laws as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was director of the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) DC office. In 1994 he founded the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a public interest research center. Marc Rotenberg was the first ACM Director of Public Policy, and a former chair of the ACM committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights. In 2020 he joined the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation to launch the Center on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy. In late 2020, and in collaboration with others, he edited and published "Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Values: The AI Social Index 2020".

A leading advocate for privacy and data protection, Marc has testified before the U.S. Congress and European Parliament more than 60 times and has filed over 150 Freedom of Information lawsuits and amicus briefs in pursuit of greater government transparency and corporate accountability. He also edited and published such landmark reports as "Privacy and Human Rights: An International Survey of Privacy Laws and Developments" and "Cryptography and Liberty."

Marc Rotenberg has mentored two generations of public interest attorneys through internships at EPIC, as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law, and his many textbooks and articles. He is also a leading voice for civil society at the OECD, UNESCO, and elsewhere. He helped draft and gather support for several global declarations, including The Civil Society Seoul Declaration (2008), The Madrid Privacy Declaration (2009) and The Universal Guidelines for AI (2018).