Deirdre Mulligan
Deirdre Mulligan | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Smith College (B.A., 1988) Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., 1994) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Technology policy Privacy law |
| Workplaces | University of California, Berkeley |
Deirdre K. Mulligan is a professor of law specializing in privacy and technology at the University of California, Berkeley in the School of Information.[1] She served as Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States in the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from 2023 to 2024.[2] In 2016, Mulligan and co-author Kenneth Bamberger received the International Association of Privacy Professionals Leadership Award for their book Privacy on the Ground.[3]
Academic career and advocacy
Mulligan's research focuses on the legal and technical means to protect privacy and public interest in the design of technology.[4] She was the founding Director of the Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic at the Berkeley Law School,[5] and as of February 2026, she is one of the faculty co-directors of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology.[6]
After obtaining her JD, Mulligan worked with the Electronic Frontier Foundation before being one of the founding staff at the Center for Democracy and Technology in 1994. She became a professor at UC Berkeley in 2001.[6]
Her 2015 co-authored book Privacy on the Ground was the first book to investigate the development of corporate management of privacy at a large scale, comparing cases across companies and countries. The book examines how privacy laws are embedded in practice, and the kind of factors that promote corporate cultures emphasizing privacy.[7] They argued that Chief Privacy Officers (CPOs) with boundary-spanning roles are key to accomplish these goals. According to the study, CPOs should mediate "between external privacy demands and internal corporate privacy practices – translating the uncertain and dynamic requirements of privacy as shaped by regulators, advocates, consumers, and peers into corporate strategy and practice"[4] and have access to corporate management and boards.
Mulligan has held several policy counsel positions and has regularly testified to government bodies on issues related to privacy.[8][9][10][11] As of December 2025, she is sitting on the California Innovation Council.[12]
Selected publications
- Mulligan, Deirdre K. (2004). "Reasonable Expectations in Electronic Communications: A Critical Perspective on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act". George Washington Law Review.
- Mulligan, Deirdre K.; King, Jennifer (2011). "Bridging the Gap between Privacy and Design". University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law.
- Mulligan, Deirdre K.; Schneider, Fred B. (Fall 2011). "Doctrine for Cybersecurity." , Dædalus, the Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences : 140 (4)
- Bamberger, Kenneth A.; Mulligan,Deirdre K. (2011). "Privacy on the Books and on the Ground." Stanford Law Review : 247-315.
- Mulligan, Deirdre K.; Kroll, Joshua A.; Kohli, Nitin; Wong, Richmond Y. (2019-11-07). "This Thing Called Fairness: Disciplinary Confusion Realizing a Value in Technology". Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 3 (CSCW): 119:1–119:36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3359221
- Mulligan, Deirdre K.; Bamberger, Kenneth A. (2021). "Allocating Responsibility in Content Moderation: A Functional Framework". Berkeley Technology Law Journal. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15779/Z383B5W872
References
- ↑ Swaak, Taylor (2024-11-13). "AI Assistants Keep Joining Meetings. Administrators Say It's Out of Control". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ↑ Jones, John Hewitt (2023-02-28). "Deirdre Mulligan appointed White House deputy chief technology officer for policy". FedScoop. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ↑ Gabrielson, Courtney. "Mulligan reflects on 2016 IAPP Leadership Award | IAPP". IAPP.org. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- 1 2 Solove, Daniel (2016-03-24). "The Triumph of the Privacy Profession: An Interview with Bamberger and Mulligan". TeachPrivacy. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ↑ "Advocate for Internet privacy to head UC Berkeley law school's high-tech, public policy law clinic". Berkeley News Archive. 22 Jan 2001. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- 1 2 "Faculty". UC Berkeley Law. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ↑ Bamberger, K. A., & Mulligan, D. K. (2015). Privacy on the ground: driving corporate behavior in the United States and Europe. MIT Press.
- ↑ "Testimony of Deirdre Mulligan before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Communications". Center for Democracy and Technology. 1998-09-23. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ↑ "FinTech Forum: Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain - Deirdre K. Mulligan". Federal Trade Commission. 2026-01-20. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ↑ "PrivacyCon 2017". Federal Trade Commission. 2016-03-30. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ↑ "Notes from the FTC Public Workshop on consumer Information Privacy". lorrie.cranor.org. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ↑ Staff, Liam Dew | (2025-12-19). "UC Berkeley professor invited to California Innovation Council on AI". www.dailycal.org. Retrieved 2026-02-12.