Danny O'Brien (born 1969) is a British
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and civil liberties activist. He is the International Director of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ci ...
.
Career
He wrote weekly columns for ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' and ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
''; and before that for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', and acted as a consultant in helping ''The Guardian'' formulate its online strategy. He worked for the UK edition of ''
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'', as well as for
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
and the British
ISP
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
Virgin.net
Virgin.net was an Internet service provider (ISP) operating in the United Kingdom. It launched in November 1996. Once a joint venture between NTL and the Virgin Group, the ISP became wholly owned by NTL in September 2004.
The company sold a range ...
. Together with
Dave Green, he founded and wrote the now-defunct email newsletter ''
Need to Know
The term "need to know", when used by government and other organizations (particularly those related to the military or espionage), describes the restriction of data which is considered very sensitive. Under need-to-know restrictions, even if one ...
'' and with whom he also co-wrote and -presented the
television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
''
404 Not Found''.
In May 2005, he succeeded Ren Bucholz as Activist Coordinator for the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ci ...
, and then became EFF's International Outreach Coordinator. In April 2010, he moved to a new position as Internet Advocacy Coordinator for the
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...
. In February 2013, he became the Director of the International Department at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
He was Director of Strategy at the EFF from Jul 2019 – Jun 2021.
He become a Senior Fellow at the
Filecoin
Filecoin (⨎) is an open-source, public cryptocurrency and digital payment system intended to be a blockchain-based cooperative digital storage and data retrieval method. It is made by Protocol Labs and shares some ideas from InterPlanetary ...
Foundation, and Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web in July 2021
O'Brien also set up a pledge on
PledgeBank to help coordinate the establishment of "an organisation that will campaign for digital rights in the UK", which led to the creation of the
Open Rights Group
The Open Rights Group (ORG) is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues and by fostering a community of grassroots activists. It campaigns on numerous issues including ma ...
.
Family
O'Brien is married to
Liz Henry. He was previously married to
Quinn Norton
Quinn Norton (born May 1973) is an American journalist and essayist. Her work covers hacker culture, Anonymous, Occupy movement, intellectual property and copyright issues, and the Internet.
Early life and education
Quinn Norton was born in M ...
,
with whom he has a daughter.
See also
*
Life hack
A life hack (or life hacking) is any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life. The term was primarily used by computer experts who suffer from information overload or those with a p ...
References
External links
Oblomovka — O'Brien's weblogO'Brien's homepage
1969 births
Living people
British bloggers
British male journalists
Place of birth missing (living people)
20th-century British journalists
21st-century British journalists
Male bloggers
{{UK-journalist-stub