Riana Pfefferkorn - Stanford CIS (original) (raw)
The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School is a leader in the study of the law and policy around the Internet and other emerging technologies.
Riana Pfefferkorn is a Policy Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI). Her work focuses on investigating and analyzing the U.S. and other governments' policies and practices for forcing decryption and/or influencing crypto-related design of online platforms and services, devices, and products, both via technical means and through the courts and legislatures. Riana also researches the benefits and detriments of strong encryption on free expression, political engagement, economic development, and other public interests.
Riana was a Research Scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory. She was also the Associate Director of Surveillance and Cybersecurity at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. Prior to joining Stanford, Riana was an associate in the Internet Strategy & Litigation group at the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she worked on litigation and counseling matters involving online privacy, Internet intermediary liability, consumer protection, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets and was actively involved in the firm's pro bono program. Before that, Riana clerked for the Honorable Bruce J. McGiverin of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. She also interned during law school for the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Riana earned her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Whitman College.
High Res Photo of Riana Pfefferkorn
- Title:Non-Residential Fellow
- Links:Twitter
- Contact:riana at stanford dot edu
- Focus Areas:Cybersecurity Electronic Surveillance Fourth Amendment Privacy
- Areas of Expertise:Cryptography surveillance Cybersecurity online privacy Open Courts Crypto Policy Project
- Projects:Crypto Policy Project Government Hacking
Recent articles
Blog • Jul 16, 2024
New Role at Stanford
I’m thrilled to announce that after more than three great years with the Stanford Internet Observatory, as of this month I’ve joined the Stanford Institute for…
Blog • Feb 5, 2024
New Paper on AI-Generated CSAM
Today, Lawfare published my paper on the law and policy implications of AI-generated child sex abuse material (CSAM), and there’s a podcast episode accompanying…
Blog • Jun 8, 2023
EU Member States Still Cannot Agree About End-to-End Encryption
Recently, Wired reported on documents leaked in May from the Council of the European Union’s ongoing deliberations over the draft Child Sex Abuse Regulation. Th…
Blog • May 3, 2023
Academics’ Letter to Congressional Leaders Highlights the EARN IT Act’s Fourth Amendment Problem
This is the latest entry in my lengthy archive of writing, talks, and interviews about the EARN IT Act: * Blog posts here at the CIS blog: part 1, part 2, par…
Blog • Apr 29, 2023
The STOP CSAM Act: An Anti-Encryption Stalking Horse
Recently, I wrote for Lawfare about Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)’s new STOP CSAM Act bill, S.1199. The bill text is available here. There are a lot of moving parts i…
Blog • Mar 29, 2023
Prepared Remarks on U.S. Legal Considerations for Children's Online Safety Policy
I was recently invited to a private workshop on children's online safety policy, where I gave a short presentation about the U.S. legal context. Here are my…
Blog • Feb 23, 2023
My Comment to the UK Government on Its Proposal to Ban “Bespoke,” “Sophisticated” Encrypted Phones
The UK Government is proposing to change the law to make it easier for them to prosecute those who sell or possess “sophisticated encrypted communications devic…
Blog • Dec 14, 2022
Some Thoughts About Apple’s New Advanced Data Protection Feature
Last week, Apple announced several new security features: the ability to authenticate contacts in iMessage (reminiscent of Signal’s verification feature), suppo…
Blog • Nov 30, 2022
New law journal article on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
I'm pleased to announce that my latest law journal article has just been published in the new issue of the Richmond Journal of Law and Technology: Shooting…
Publication • May 18, 2022
Letter to European Commission re proposed regulation on child sex abuse
Comments provided to the European Commission in response to its proposal for a regulation on fighting child sexual abuse online, which is available here. *…
Blog • May 10, 2022
The End of Roe Will Bring About a Sea Change in the Encryption Debate
With the Supreme Court poised to rip away a constitutional right that’s been the law of the land for nearly half a century by overturning Roe v. Wade, it’s time…
Blog • Mar 9, 2022
Ignoring EARN IT’s Fourth Amendment Problem Won’t Make It Go Away
This is the latest entry in my lengthy archive of writing, talks, and interviews about the EARN IT Act: * Blog posts here at the CIS blog: part 1, part 2, par…