Episode 78: Privacy’s Defender Cindy Cohn on Encryption, Surveillance, Privacy Rights, and the Future of Digital Freedom

Alan Chapell sits down with Cindy Cohn, former Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and author of Privacy’s Defender. They discuss the landmark Bernstein encryption case, the Snowden revelations, surveillance, behavioral advertising, privacy regulation, competition law, some lessons for companies in the ads space, and the future of digital rights in an increasingly monitored world.

Privacy’s Defender is available at: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262051248/privacys-defender/

Can Privacy Technologies Replace Cookies? Ad Revenue in a Field Experiment is available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5284526

The Chapell Regulatory Insider is available at: https://chapellreport.substack.com/

Takeaways

Cindy Cohn reflects on her role in the landmark Bernstein case that helped establish encryption as protected speech.

The conversation explores how the Snowden disclosures exposed mass government surveillance and reshaped privacy debates.

Privacy, competition, copyright, and technology policy are deeply interconnected and require a multi-pronged approach.

Both guests agree that many privacy regulations unintentionally burden smaller companies while reinforcing Big Tech dominance.

Behavioral advertising, surveillance pricing, and data-driven discrimination pose growing risks to consumers.

Cohn argues that privacy rights must be continuously defended and that the next generation has a critical role to play.

Chapters