Jennifer Stisa Granick

Founding Editor

Jennifer Granick (@granick) fights for civil liberties in an age of massive surveillance and powerful digital technology. As the surveillance and cybersecurity counsel with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, she litigates, speaks, and writes about privacy, security, technology, and constitutional rights. Granick is the author of the book American Spies: Modern Surveillance, Why You Should Care, and What To Do About It, published by Cambridge Press and winner of the 2016 Palmer Civil Liberties Prize.

Granick spent much of her career helping create Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society. From 2001 to 2007, she was Executive Director of CIS and founded the Cyberlaw Clinic, where she supervised students in working on some of the most important cyberlaw cases that took place during her tenure. For example, she was the primary crafter of a 2006 exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which allows mobile telephone owners to legally circumvent the firmware locking their device to a single carrier. From 2012 to 2017, Granick was Civil Liberties Director specializing in and teaching surveillance law, cybersecurity, encryption policy, and the Fourth Amendment. In that capacity, she has published widely on U.S. government surveillance practices, and helped educate judges and congressional staffers on these issues. Granick also served as the Civil Liberties Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation from 2007-2010. Earlier in her career, Granick spent almost a decade practicing criminal defense law in California.

Granick’s work is well-known in privacy and security circles. Her keynote, “Lifecycle of a Revolution” for the 2015 Black Hat USA security conference electrified and depressed the audience in equal measure. In March of 2016, she received Duo Security’s Women in Security Academic Award for her expertise in the field as well as her direction and guidance for young women in the security industry. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore) has called Granick an “NBA all-star of surveillance law.”

Granick earned her law degree from University of California, Hastings College of the Law and her undergraduate degree from the New College of the University of South Florida.

Areas of Expertise: Computer Crime and Security, Electronic Surveillance, Consumer Privacy, Data Protection, Copyright, Trademark

Selected Media Appearances
Radio
NSA Phone Records Revive Debate Over Supreme Court Case – NPR (Morning Edition)
Calls Grow For Overhaul Of Government Surveillance Programs – NPR (Morning Edition)

Online
Google, Apple, Facebook and Yahoo join call to rein in government surveillance programs – Mercury News
Appellate court: Nope, feds can’t just GPS track your car without a warrant – Ars Technica
My Dinner With NSA Director Keith Alexander – Forbes
Secret surveillance court overhaul is urged – Los Angeles Times
Web’s Reach Binds N.S.A. and Silicon Valley Leaders – The New York Times

Articles by this author:

How to Address Newly Revealed Abuses of Section 702 Surveillance

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Oct 18th, 2019

New Bill That Would Give Foreign Governments a Fast Track to Access Data

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Mar 13th, 2018

Today’s ODNI and Section 702 News

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Apr 28th, 2017

Reforming Surveillance In the Age of Donald Trump

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Mar 25th, 2017

Correcting the Record on Section 702: A Prerequisite for Meaningful Surveillance Reform, Part III

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Sep 29th, 2016

Correcting the Record on Section 702: A Prerequisite for Meaningful Surveillance Reform, Part II

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Sep 22nd, 2016

Correcting the Record on Section 702: A Prerequisite for Meaningful Surveillance Reform

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Sep 15th, 2016

The Microsoft Ireland Case and the Future of Digital Privacy

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Jul 18th, 2016

Surveillance Oversight Should Be President-Proof, But We’re Still a Long Way Off

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Mar 24th, 2016

Who Sets the Rules of the Privacy and Security Game?

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Feb 22nd, 2016

OmniCISA Pits DHS Against the FCC and FTC on User Privacy

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Dec 16th, 2015

A Quick Update: Apple, Privacy, and the All Writs Act of 1789

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Oct 30th, 2015

The All Writs Act, Software Licenses, and Why Judges Should Ask More Questions

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Oct 26th, 2015

Update on Apple’s Compelled-Decryption Case

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Oct 20th, 2015

The Dream of Internet Freedom Doesn’t Have to Die

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Aug 5th, 2015

Sloppy Cyber Threat Sharing Is Surveillance by Another Name

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Jun 29th, 2015

Sen. Paul’s Great Surveillance ‘Filibuster’ and What to Expect Next

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May 21st, 2015

ACLU v. Clapper Will End the Telephone Dragnet

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May 15th, 2015

The Right Way to Share Information and Improve Cybersecurity

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Mar 26th, 2015

The Surveillance State’s Legalism Isn’t About Morals, It’s About Manipulating the Rules

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Nov 13th, 2014

Shhh! Last Week Was All About Secrets

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Oct 13th, 2014

FBI is Hurting Apple and Google’s Competitiveness with Crypto Backdoor Demands

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Sep 29th, 2014

FISC OKs Section 215 Investigations of Americans, Despite First Amendment

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Aug 28th, 2014

Intercept Reporting Raises Broader Metadata Minimization Question

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Aug 25th, 2014

Sen. Leahy’s Latest NSA Bill: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

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Jul 29th, 2014

Did PCLOB Answer My Eight Questions About Section 702?

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Jul 2nd, 2014

SCOTUS & Cell Phone Searches: Digital is Different

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Jun 25th, 2014

Eleventh Circuit Says No to Warrantless Cell Tracking, Calls Other Metadata Programs Into Question

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Jun 11th, 2014

USA Freedom Act: Oh, Well. Whatever. Nevermind.

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May 21st, 2014

Lavabit’s Owner Goes Public: His Legal Ordeal Makes For Bad Law

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May 21st, 2014

Manager’s Amendment Puts Back Door Searches Back In USA Freedom Act

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May 6th, 2014

White House Makes Reassuring Noises On 0-Day Policy

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Apr 29th, 2014