"Democracy, Freedom and the Internet," Brussels, July 10, 2002 -- Marc Rotenberg, Electronic Privacy Information Center; Marco Cappato, MEP, Co-President of the Transnational Radical Party; Ottavio Marzocchi, member of the TRP Board; Ilka Schržder, MEP [Rotenberg speech]


"Privacy will be to the information economy of the next century what consumer protection and environmental concerns have been to the industrial society of the 20th century."

 "The Next Hundred Years," The New York Times (1996)

"Privacy is the most comprehensive of all rights and the one most cherished by a free people." - Justice Louis Brandeis


UPDATED (October 11, 2015) - Marc Rotenberg is President and Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in Washington, DC. He teaches information privacy and open government at Georgetown Law and frequently testifies before Congress on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues. He testified before the 9-11 Commission on "Security and Liberty: Protecting Privacy, Preventing Terrorism." He has served on several national and international advisory panels, and currently serves on expert panels for the National Academies of Science and the OECD. He has authored many amicus briefs for federal and state courts. He is a founding board member and former Chair of the Public Interest Registry, which manages the .ORG domain. He is co-editor of "Privacy in the Modern Age: The Search for Solutions" (The New Press 2015) and (with Anita Allen) "Privacy Law and Society" (West 2016). He is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School, and received an LLM in International and Comparative Law. He served as Counsel to Senator Patrick J. Leahy on the Senate Judiciary Committee after graduation from law school. He is the recipient of several awards, including the World Technology Award in Law, the American Lawyer Award for Top Lawyers Under 45, the Norbert Weiner Award for Social and Professional Responsibility, and the Vicennial medal from Georgetown University for distinguished service. He was named one of the top lawyers in America in 2014 by Lawdragon. Georgetown Law bio - Marc Rotenberg. Wikipedia bio - Marc Rotenberg


> Recent Interviews

Computerworld "Q&A: New technologies pose online privacy uncertainties, Rotenberg claims" (January 2008)

Computerworld "Q&A: Rotenberg fears Internet 'privacy meltdown' from Google-DoubleClick combo" (December 2007)

Miller Center Privacy Debate (YouTube) "Opening Remarks: Marc Rotenberg" (November 2007)

Good Morning America, ABC "Backseat Big Brother, Black Boxes Track Drivers" (November 2007)

The Situation Room with Wolf Blizter - CNN, "Cell Phone Tracking" (November 2007)

Marketplace Report, NPR "Facebook and Privacy" (November 2007)

The Situation Room with Wolf Blizter - CNN, "Secure Flight and Privacy" (August 2007)

Warren Olney - To The Point, "The Democrats and National Security" (August 2007)

BBC World News, "Privacy and the Internet" (July 2007)

Diane Rehm Show, "Surveillance Cameras" (July 2007)

The Wall Street Journal, "Privacy: Recommended Reading" (June 2007)

> Recent Testimony

Senate Judiciary Committee, "An Examination of the Google-DoubleClick Merger and the Online Advertising Industry: What Are the Risks for Competition and Privacy?" (September 2007)

House Commerce Committee, "Protecting the Privacy of the Social Security Number from Identity Theft" (June 2007)

House Ways and Means Committee, "Employment Eligibility Verification Systems" (June 2007)

House Commerce Committee, "Combating Pretexting: H.R. 936, Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act" (March 2007)

> Recent Speeches and Presentations

The Center for Internet and Society, Stanford Law School "The Case Against the Google- Doubleclick Merger" (Palo Alto, November 2007)

Vrije Universiteit, "Reinventing Data Protection?" (Brussels, October 2007)

OECD, "Shaping Policies for Creativity, Confidence and Convergence in the Digital World" (Ottawa, October 2007)

Harvard Law School, "The Privacy Summer Symposium" (Cambridge, August 2007)

> Recent Columns, Articles

Marc Rotenberg "Privacy vs. Security? Privacy" (Huffington Post, Nov 2007)

Marc Rotenberg "Google's proposals on internet privacy do not go far enough" (Financial Times, Sept, 21, 2007)

Marc Rotenberg "Who Will Keep an Eye on the Spies?" (The New York Times, Aug. 26, 2007)

> Major Publications

Harry A. Hammitt, Marc Rotenberg, Melissa Ngo, Mark A. Zaid, "Litigation Under the Federal Open Government Laws 2006" (EPIC 2007)

Marc Rotenberg, Allison Knight, Katitza Rodriguez, "Privacy and Human Rights: An International Survey of Privacy Laws and Developments" (EPIC 2007)

Daniel J. Solove, Marc Rotenberg, Paul M. Schwartz, "Privacy, Information, and Technology" (Aspen Publishers 2006)

Daniel J. Solove, Marc Rotenberg, Paul M. Schwartz, "Information Privacy Law" (Aspen Publishers 2005)

Marc Rotenberg, "The Privacy Law Sourcebook: United States Law, International Law, and Recent Developments" (EPIC 2004)

Phil E. Agre and Marc Rotenberg, "Technology and Privacy: The New Landscape" (MIT Press 1998)

 > Current Activities, Committees, Journals

Fellow, American Bar Foundation (2007)

Panel Member, Institute of Medicine Study, "Health Research and the Privacy of Health Information: The HIPAA Privacy Rule"

Chair, Privacy International

Former Chair, Public Interest Registry - "Serving the Public Interest"

Chair, American Bar Association, Committee on Privacy and Information Security"

Advisory Council, Law, Science and Technology Program at Stanford Law School

Editorial board, Computer Law and Security Report

Editorial board, BNA's Electronic Commerce and Law Report

Board of Directors, Student Pugwash USA

Steering Committee Chair, Computers, Freedom and Privacy [The 2007 conference was in Montreal. More details.]

Advisory Board, Model State Health Privacy Project

Advisory Board, Privaterra - Securing Human Rights


 > Bar Admissions

Massachusetts (1987)

District of Columbia (1990)

U.S. Supreme Court (1991)

U.S. Court of Appeals - 1st Circuit (2005)

U.S. Court of Appeals - 3rd Circuit (1991)

U.S. Court of Appeals - 4th Circuit (1992)

U.S. Court of Appeals - 5th Circuit (2005)

U.S. Court of Appeals - D.C. Circuit (1991)






Interests, Aspirations, Various Places to Surf

"Chess, like music like love, has the ability to make one happy."

- Siegbert Tarrasch

Update - Chess now has a hero. Support Kasparov's effort to defeat Putin.

Washington DC Chess Champion -- "2007 Marc Rotenberg"

FIDE 34th Chess Olympiad 2000 -- Live from Isatanbul (XI 2000)

Internet Chess Club -- play chess online (I'm DoctorR)

The 1996 US Open was in Washington, DC!

Deep Blues for Human Chessplayers (was "Man beats machine -- for now")

Internet Chess for the MacIntosh -- No more second-class chess software for Mac users!

DC Chess Center -- Great program for kids in Washington.


Big Village -- DC's #1 World Beat Band (that's Henry on the right) -- site includes RealAudio and MP3 clips. Big Village Mailbox

Update -- Big Village became Rachel and Jacqui

Internet Underground Music Archive -- hundreds of independent groups

Pete Seeger Appreciation Page


The German Expressionists lived at a time when democratic society gave way to fascist rule. George Grosz was fined for "offenses against public morality" after "Ecce Home" was published in 1924. Some of my favorite Expressionists (courtesy of dc.smu.edu) -

Franz Marc, "Blue Horses" (121k jpeg)

George Grosz, "The City" (131k jpeg)

Kathe Kollwitz, "After the Battle" (163k jpeg)

Why the First Amendment?

"Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of sXXXch, or the right of the people peaceably to XXXemble, and to peXXXion the government for a redress of grievances."


Final Word

"Wonderfully subversive."
The Daily Telegraph on EPIC, June 19, 2000


Fine Print

Credits: Senate hearing photo, Shabbir J. Safdar; Louis Brandeis photo; University of Kentucky at Louiville; NewsHour photo. MacNeil-Lehrer Productions; FIDE logo, International Chess Federation; Mazawati Tea Party, Big Village; Ecce Home, Dover Publications.