Daphne Keller to Direct Intermediary Liability Project at Stanford Center for Internet and Society

Stanford Law School today announced the appointment of Daphne Keller as Director of Intermediary Liability at The Center for Internet and Society (CIS). Starting in September 2015, Keller will lead the Center’s work at the intersection of online technologies, liability and corporate responsibility, and civil liberties, with a particular focus on global liability regimes that impact free expression and innovation. 
 
CIS’ two-year-old initiative on intermediary liability explores the impact of global intermediary liability regimes on freedom of expression and innovation. Intermediary liability law can create incentives for platforms like Facebook or YouTube to police the online expression and conduct of their users – including artists, journalists and political activists. Without careful consideration, the rules can stifle legitimate expression and political activities, and can constrain providers’ ability to provide innovative new services.  
 
The Director of Intermediary Liability is responsible for conducting and supervising policy analysis and advocacy efforts regarding intermediary liability regimes and their effect on free expression and innovation worldwide, and for managing and developing the Center’s innovative and influential work in this focus area. 
 
Keller is a renowned expert in intermediary liability, privacy and copyright law. As Associate General Counsel for Intermediary Liability and Free Speech issues at Google, Keller has been on the front lines of the intermediary liability issue – including resolving legal content removal requests – for 10 years. Keller’s experience is global, working primarily on legal and policy issues outside the U.S., including the European Union’s evolving “Right to Be Forgotten.” Daphne has also taught Internet law as a Lecturer at U.C. Berkeley School of Law and has taught courses at U.C. Berkeley School of Information and at Duke University School of Law. 
 
“International Intermediary liability regimes are developing quickly and impacting user rights online,” said CIS Faculty Director and Professor of Law Barbara van Schewick. “We believe that governments can address unwanted behavior on the Internet in ways that preserve civil liberties. I’m delighted that Daphne Keller has agreed to lead our efforts in this area. With her expertise and her enthusiasm for user rights, I can’t think of a better person to help us figure out what the role of intermediaries in an open and free society should be.” 
 
“I am excited to shift into a more public interest-oriented advocacy and research role, addressing the same fascinating topics I navigated at Google through a new lens and with new tools,” said Daphne Keller. “I am also eager to use my expertise to help educate students and to find new, civil liberties-enhancing solutions to thorny problems.” 
 
“We are thrilled to have Daphne Keller at The Center for Internet and Society,” said Dean M. Elizabeth Magill, the Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of Stanford Law School. “The Center for Internet and Society has led the way in navigating unchartered waters where new technology meets the law, and Daphne expands the Center’s capacity to work with students, lawyers and policy makers.”
 
As Associate General Counsel for Intermediary Liability and Free Expression at Google, Keller focused primarily on legal and policy issues outside the U.S. Prior to that role, her roles at Google included leading the core legal teams for web search, copyright and open source software. Throughout her career, Keller has maintained strong ties to academia, teaching courses on Internet intermediaries, cyber law and intellectual property, the First Amendment and emerging technologies. Before joining Google in 2004, Keller practiced in the Litigation group at Munger, Tolles & Olson. 
 
Keller earned her law degree from Yale Law School and her undergraduate degree from Brown University. She has been a panelist, speaker and educator at numerous policy and professional events, including the U.K. Parliament Joint Committee on Privacy and Injunctions and Leveson Inquiry regarding intermediary liability issues for web search and other Google services in 2012, where she served as a witness; the Fordham IP Law and Policy Conference; the Stanford E-Commerce Best Practices Conference; and the USC School of Law Intellectual Property Institute. 
 
About The Center for Internet and Society
Led by faculty director Barbara van Schewick, The Center for Internet and Society (CIS) is a public interest technology law and policy program at Stanford Law School that supports the study of the interaction of new technologies and the law and is a part of the Law, Science and Technology Program at Stanford Law School. CIS strives to improve both technology and law, encouraging decision makers to design both as a means to further democratic values. Along with conducting research and policy analysis, the Center sponsors legal fellowships, organizes events to foster discussion of critical policy issues, and provides educational opportunities for law students to conduct applicable research and policy analysis in this field. 
 
Stanford Law School is one of the nation’s leading institutions for legal scholarship and education. Its alumni are among the most influential decision makers in law, politics, business and high technology. Faculty members argue before the Supreme Court, testify before Congress, produce outstanding legal scholarship and empirical analysis, and contribute regularly to the nation's press as legal and policy experts. Stanford Law School has established a new model for legal education that provides rigorous interdisciplinary training, hands-on experience, global perspective and focus on public service, spearheading a movement for change.

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