EFF’s Cindy Cohn Prepares to Pass the Torch as AI and ICE Battles Heat Up

Cindy Cohn, the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has been writing a memoir. It’s called Privacy’s Defender, and when she started it back in 2022, she worried people would write her off as an “old fuddy duddy” still shouting about government spying online.

She had a point. For years, the conversation around digital rights had drifted away from government surveillance toward Big Tech abuses. The EFF itself had pivoted some of its energy. But then Trump’s second term kicked off, and suddenly the old fears didn’t seem so dated.

ICE operations went into overdrive. Mass deportation became a stated goal, and technology became a key enabler. Flock cameras—those automated license plate readers—sprouted in neighborhoods. DHS started trying to unmask ICE critics on social media. Communities responded by tearing down the cameras, sometimes across political lines. The EFF filed lawsuits to protect people’s right to track ICE activity and share information anonymously.

Cohn has been with the EFF since the 1990s, first as one of its earliest litigators, then as its leader. She saw the government surveillance battles of the early internet era firsthand. Now she’s stepping down, and the organization is looking for someone to take over at a moment when the threats feel both familiar and new.

The new leader will inherit an organization that’s fighting on multiple fronts: AI regulation, encryption battles, the ongoing mess of Section 230, and now a federal government that’s using tech to enforce immigration policy in ways that would have been unimaginable a decade ago. The EFF has been here before, but the tools are different.

It’s not just ICE. AI is the other big front. The EFF has been pushing back on facial recognition, predictive policing, and the use of AI in criminal justice. These aren’t abstract issues anymore. They’re playing out in real time, with real consequences.

Cohn’s memoir isn’t out yet, but the timing of her departure feels deliberate. She’s handing over the reins at a moment when the EFF’s original mission—defending against government overreach—has come roaring back. The new executive director will need to balance that with the ongoing fight against corporate surveillance. It’s not an either/or, but it’s a lot of plates to keep spinning.

I’ve been watching the EFF for years. They’re one of the few organizations that has consistently gotten it right on digital rights, even when the narrative shifted. Cohn’s departure is a big deal. But the organization has survived leadership changes before. The question is whether the new person can keep up with the pace of the current moment.

The search is on. Whoever takes the job will have big shoes to fill and a long list of fights to pick. I’ll be watching closely.