Stanford Law School today announced the appointment of Albert Gidari as director of privacy at the Center for Internet and Society (CIS). Gidari will lead the center’s work on consumer privacy and data protection.

Gidari is a renowned privacy and data protection expert. He was a partner for 20 years at Perkins Coie LLP and a top-ranked privacy lawyer by Chambers USA. He has represented a broad range of companies, ranging from startups to giants of the Internet, on privacy, security, Internet, electronic surveillance and communications law matters. Gidari will lead the center’s research to inform policy related to consumer privacy and manage and develop its innovative and influential consumer privacy work. His breadth of experience will also inform and enhance the center’s ongoing civil liberties and intermediary liability work, which is led by Jennifer Granick and Daphne Keller, respectively.

“Privacy issues are pervasive, and rapidly changing technology and business models directly impact consumer privacy in novel ways,” said CIS Faculty Director and Professor of Law Barbara van Schewick. “New thinking is required to protect consumers’ personal information online, while ensuring a robust, transparent and free Internet. I’m delighted that Al Gidari has agreed to employ his vast experience and deep knowledge to lead our strategic thinking in this area.”

“For the last 20 years, I have worked with industry to identify privacy concerns and to find solutions that meet the needs of Internet users, regulators and businesses,” said Gidari. “New challenges require new and forward-looking solutions that are realistic and protect important individual rights, which is exactly the focus of the center. I am excited to have the opportunity to work in this new capacity.”

At Perkins Coie, Gidari was on the cutting edge of many of the Internet and privacy issues facing businesses and their users. He negotiated the first-ever “privacy by design” consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission. He is also a recognized authority on the Wiretap Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.  Long an advocate for greater transparency in government demands for user data, he brought the first public lawsuit before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. It sought the right of providers to disclose the volume of national security demands received and the number of affected user accounts, ultimately resulting in greater public disclosure of such requests.

Gidari earned an LLM from University of Washington School of Law, his law degree from George Mason University School of Law, and his undergraduate degree from Tulane University.

About the Center for Internet and Society

Led by Faculty Director Barbara van Schewick, the Center for Internet and Society (CIS) is a public interest technology law and policy program at Stanford Law School that supports the study of the interaction of new technologies and the law and is a part of the Law, Science and Technology Program at Stanford Law School. CIS strives to improve both technology and law, encouraging decision makers to design both as a means to further democratic values. Along with conducting research and policy analysis, the center sponsors legal fellowships, organizes events to foster discussion of critical policy issues, and provides educational opportunities for law students to conduct applicable research and policy analysis in this field.

About Stanford Law School

Stanford Law School is one of the nation’s leading institutions for legal scholarship and education. Its alumni are among the most influential decision makers in law, politics, business and high technology. Faculty members argue before the Supreme Court, testify before Congress, produce outstanding legal scholarship and empirical analysis, and contribute regularly to the nation’s press as legal and policy experts. Stanford Law School has established a new model for legal education that provides rigorous interdisciplinary training, hands-on experience, global perspective and focus on public service, spearheading a movement for change.