The Electronic Frontier Foundation announced that Nicole Ozer will succeed Cindy Cohn as executive director starting June 1, after Cohn's 26-year tenure. The leadership change comes amid heightened fights against government surveillance tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and emerging AI risks. Both leaders emphasized building broader coalitions to protect digital rights.
Cindy Cohn, who has led the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for 26 years, is stepping down to pass leadership to the next generation. She described herself as a 'reluctant' leader who stepped in during a time of financial struggles for the nonprofit but leaves it in strong shape despite economic challenges. Cohn told Ars Technica that it feels 'unhealthy' for the organization to have no one remembering a time without her at the helm, especially as new battle lines form around artificial intelligence and government tech abuses during Donald Trump's second term. Her recently published memoir, Privacy’s Defender, highlights EFF's early lawsuits that established online privacy baselines and warns of government reliance on Big Tech for surveillance, such as demanding user identities from platforms like Facebook or app removals from Apple. 'What’s feeding government surveillance is private surveillance. There’s never been an either/or,' Cohn said. Nicole Ozer, EFF's incoming executive director, brings experience from AmeriCorps, law school focused on technology and civil rights, and as founding director of the ACLU of Northern California's Technology and Civil Liberties Program. She has partnered with EFF for 20 years, winning court cases, passing landmark laws, and developing protective tech tools. Ozer plans to expand EFF's reach by involving more Americans, particularly unconventional voices, to counter ICE's use of surveillance in mass deportations and to build a social movement against AI-driven abuses like facial recognition. 'People are literally getting gunned down by ICE, and there’s massive surveillance infrastructure that’s being weaponized against communities,' Ozer said. 'We’re in a moment of another exponential increase in technology with the growth of AI, and we need everyone in this fight.' Cohn expects Ozer to 'level up' EFF's strategies amid protests against tools like Flock cameras and DHS efforts to unmask online critics.
