Electronic Frontier Foundation to swap leaders as AI, ICE fights escalate
Foto: Ars Technica AI
More than 26 years of fighting for online freedom under the leadership of Cindy Cohn is coming to an end at a moment when digital human rights face their most difficult test in history. On June 1, Nicole Ozer will take the helm at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), signaling a new era in the battle against Artificial Intelligence-driven surveillance and abuses by agencies such as ICE. Cohn, the outgoing leader and author of the memoir "Privacy’s Defender," emphasizes that the line between government spying and Big Tech data collection has finally blurred—it is private surveillance that now feeds state systems. For users worldwide, this change at the EFF signifies a shift in focus toward protection against emerging threats: from technology-supported mass deportations to attempts to unmask anonymous critics on social media. The new director, Nicole Ozer, plans to "level up" the organization by engaging a new generation of hackers and cypherpunks to combat the growing authority of agencies to issue subpoenas. In the age of AI, where algorithms can be used to track every citizen's movement, a strong EFF becomes a crucial safeguard. The success of this transformation will determine whether technology remains a tool for freedom or becomes the ultimate instrument of social control.
In the world of technology, where innovation cycles are measured in months, leadership stability is a rarity. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), one of the world's most important digital rights organizations, is currently undergoing a historic changing of the guard. After 26 years of work, including many years leading the foundation, Cindy Cohn is stepping down as executive director, passing the torch to Nicole Ozer. This change comes at a critical moment, as the privacy debate shifts from theoretical considerations of state surveillance toward a brutal reality fueled by artificial intelligence algorithms and border service operations.
The timing of Cohn's departure coincides with the release of her memoir, "Privacy’s Defender", which documents the evolution of digital resistance—from early battles over encryption to today's clashes with facial recognition systems. Cohn admits that while writing the book in 2022, she feared being seen as an "old crank," still warning about government spying at a time when public attention was focused almost exclusively on the harmful actions of Big Tech. However, the political reality of recent years, and specifically the actions of the Donald Trump administration, have made her warnings more relevant than ever.
A New Front of Struggle: Technology in the Service of ICE
Modern surveillance has ceased to be "sneaky and hidden." As Cohn notes, current actions by law enforcement agencies, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), are conducted with unprecedented openness. The use of technology to support mass deportations has become a catalyst for a new wave of activism. Communities, often across political divides, are mobilizing to destroy Flock cameras (used for automated license plate recognition) that can facilitate arrests.
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The EFF actively supports these efforts, engaging in lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This department increasingly attempts to unmask critics of ICE actions on social media. According to Cohn, it is crucial to make the public realize that government and private surveillance are interconnected. It is the data collected by platforms like Facebook or Apple that serves as fuel for state operations. "It was never an 'either-or' choice," emphasizes the outgoing leader, pointing to the need to fight on both fronts simultaneously.
Nicole Ozer and the Social Movement Strategy
Cohn's successor, Nicole Ozer, who officially takes the reins on June 1, brings a different background to the EFF. While Cohn saw herself primarily as a litigator, Ozer defines herself as a leader and strategist who earned her stripes in AmeriCorps, learning from the greatest strategists of civil rights movements. For the past two decades, Ozer led the technology and civil liberties program at the ACLU of Northern California, collaborating with the EFF on key court cases and legislative matters.
Ozer's plan involves moving beyond the traditional framework of a legal organization and transforming the EFF into the center of a broad social movement. In her view, the time for isolated technological problems is over. "People are literally being killed by ICE, and massive surveillance infrastructure is being used against communities," says Ozer. Her goal is to bring "unconventional voices" into the fight, including the TikTok generation, to show courts and politicians that battles over privacy and AI realistically impact citizens' daily lives.
Challenges of the Artificial Intelligence Era
The biggest challenge for the new leadership will be harnessing the effects of the "exponential growth" of artificial intelligence. Nicole Ozer already published a technical document last year analyzing paths that would allow citizens to regain control over American privacy law in the age of AI. The key to success is to be the creation of a new narrative around artificial intelligence—one that clearly shows courts and legislators how algorithms can violate civil rights and deepen inequalities.
- Expanding Resources: Ozer plans to increase the EFF's reach by engaging people from across the United States, not just Silicon Valley.
- Bipartisanship: Utilizing the political moment to push through a federal data protection law, which has remained an elusive goal for the organization for years.
- Judicial Education: Continuing the "cypherpunk" tradition in the courts—translating complex technical concepts into language understandable to judges.
- Combating AI Abuse: Counteracting the use of AI tools for border surveillance and predictive policing.
The transfer of power at the EFF is more than a personnel change; it is an adaptation to a world where dystopian scenarios from the 90s have become a daily reality. Cohn leaves the foundation in good financial and operational health, allowing Ozer to take an aggressive approach to new threats. Nicole Ozer's success will depend on whether she can forge growing social anxiety into a concrete political force capable of imposing new rules of the game on Big Tech and governments.
"We are at a moment of another exponential growth in technology with the development of AI. We need everyone in this fight to build the digital future we deserve" – Nicole Ozer.
In the coming years, the EFF under new leadership will likely focus on demystifying artificial intelligence algorithms, aiming to ensure that AI ethics issues stop being the domain of laboratories and become the foundation of the human rights debate. If Ozer succeeds in implementing the "level up" plan, the EFF could become the most important check on the uncontrolled expansion of digital authoritarianism, regardless of whether its source is the state or a corporation.
