Cindy Cohn
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Doctor of Jurisprudence, University of Michigan
London School of Economics
Cindy Cohn | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cindy Cohn photographed in Berkeley, California, in 2014 | |
| Born | 1963 or 1964 (age 61–62) United States |
| Education | Bachelor of Arts/Science, The University of Iowa Doctor of Jurisprudence, University of Michigan London School of Economics |
Cindy Cohn (born 1964 or 1965[1]) is an American civil liberties attorney specializing in Internet law. She has served as executive director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) since 2015. Cohn represented Daniel J. Bernstein and the EFF in Bernstein v. United States.
Cohn received her undergraduate degree at the University of Iowa and the London School of Economics and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Michigan.[2]
Law career
In 1997, Cohn was recognized by California Lawyer Magazine as one of the "Lawyers of the Year" for her work. After serving for 15 years as legal director and general counsel[3] for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, she became its executive director in 2015.[4][5]
In addition to Bernstein, some of Cohn's significant cases include Hepting v. AT&T (class action against AT&T for collaborating with the National Security Agency program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications), In re Sony BMG Tech. litigation (class action against Sony BMG for placing dangerous digital rights management (DRM) on customers' computers), OPG v. Diebold (Diebold was held liable for sending out unfounded cease and desist notices to internet service providers (ISPs) in an effort to stop public discussion of the flaws in its electronic voting machines), and DVD CCA v. Bunner[6] (representing Andrew Bunner against the DVD Copy Control Association defending his right to republish a computer program that he found republished elsewhere on the Internet).[7]
In September 2025, Cohn announced she would be stepping down as EFF executive director by mid-2026.[1][8] In March 2026, Nicole Ozer was announced as her successor, effective June 1.[9][10]
