Jennifer Stisa Granick returned to 
Stanford Law School in June to take up the new position at the Center
 for Internet and Society (CIS), director of civil liberties. Granick will lead the center’s work at the intersection of online technologies and civil liberties, focusing on cybersecurity, national security, government surveillance, and free speech.

A renowned expert in computer crime and security, electronic surveillance, privacy,data protection, copyright and technology regulation under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Granick served as founding executive director of Stanford Law’s Center for Internet and Society and taught Cyberlaw and Computer Crime Law from 2001 to 2007. She also directed the cyberlaw clinic from 2001 to 2007, which, among other things, represented clients challenged for exercising free expression online, for modifying their mobile phones and game consoles, and for demonstrating computer and airport security flaws. Before teaching at Stanford, Granick practiced criminal defense law in California. She left the law school in 2007 to become the civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and was then an attorney with the Internet boutique firm of ZwillGen PLLC. In 2003, she was selected by Information Security magazine as one of 20 “Women of Vision” in the computer security field.

“Civil liberties online are increasingly coming under pressure,” says Barbara van Schewick, CIS faculty director, associate professor of law, Helen L. Crocker Faculty Scholar, and associate professor of electrical engineering (by courtesy). “Whether it’s copyright enforcement, cybersecurity, or government surveillance—governments’ efforts to tackle these issues often threaten privacy, security, or free speech. We believe these problems can be solved in ways that preserve civil liberties. I’m excited that Jennifer Granick has agreed to lead our efforts in this area. There is no better person to help us figure out what the role of technology in an open and free society should be.”

Led by Stanford Law’s van Schewick, CIS focuses on the interaction of new technologies and the law and is a part of the Law, Science and Technology Program. Along with conducting research and policy analysis, the center sponsors legal fellowships, organizes events for discussion of critical policy issues, and provides opportunities for law students to conduct applicable research and policy analysis in this field.

To learn more about CIS projects, go to http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/.