Vice President of Policy
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Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT)
Samir has 25 years of experience in senior roles in government, private practice, and civil society working at the forefront of technology law and policy. At CDT, he leads their teams advocating for the use and regulation of technology to promote human rights, equality, free expression, and democracy.
He previously served in the Obama Administration as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice and as Senior Director for Cybersecurity Policy for the National Security Council at the White House. In those roles, he helped lead the development of national cybersecurity strategy and coordinated development of policy in areas such as cyber incident response, defense of critical infrastructure, encryption, electronic surveillance, and international cyber norms.
As a partner at two international law firms, his practice focused on privacy and cybersecurity, regulation of telecommunications and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and litigation and investigations at the intersection of technology, law enforcement, and national security. He played a lead role litigating landmark cases such as Zeran v. America Online, establishing that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act generally immunizes social media and other online services from liability for third-party content.
He is on the advisory boards for the Tech Law & Security program at American University Washington College of Law and the Future of Privacy Forum, and an Affiliate with the Technology Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He also served on the Education Advisory Board for the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and taught for three years as an adjunct professor at George Washington University School of Law.