Cindy Cohn joined the Electronic Frontier Foundation to argue cases like Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the U.S. export restrictions on cryptography. But she says that she actually spends more time on breastfeeding than any other topic.
“ We’ve spent years trying to help women who have breastfeeding forums continue to have their forums when they get flagged for nudity because somebody’s taking a picture and saying she’s not latching—how does this work?“
It’s that wide experience, from cryptography and surveillance technologies to breastfeeding and stalking, that makes Cindy an unusual advocate for freedom of speech and privacy on the Internet. And it makes her a particularly interesting person to talk to about women’s freedom of speech and privacy on the Internet, which forms the core of our conversation here.
Advocates for women are not universally convinced that continuing to insure privacy and free speech on the Internet is wholly good for women, who are often the targets of specific threats of bodily violence. But Cindy Cohn has an expansive view of what we can do with an open Internet, while also respecting women’s rights. Tune in for a fascinating conversation!
Mentioned in this episode:
- Privacy’s Defender by Cindy Cohn
- EFF’s podcast, How to Fix the Internet
- Eva Galperin
- The secret ballot in the United States
- United States Supreme Court recognition of gay marriage
- Privacy protective tools from EFF
- ”Free speech doctrine in the United States has always protected the right to anonymous speech.”
- Supreme Court case “ NAACP versus Alabama”
- Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution
- Roe v. Wade based on privacy
- “ There’s a woman in Nebraska who is serving two years in prison for having a conversation over Facebook Messages with her daughter to help her daughter get an abortion.” CNN
- HIPAA
- Period trackers and privacy
- California’s Internet Privacy protections
- EFF report on censorship of reproductive information
- Use of license plate readers
- Online harassment statistics
- Mastadon and Bluesky
- Surveillance business model
- Virtual Private Network (VPN)
- New York Times home insurance pricing: “A Price Just for You, Specifically”
- “ Women who were doing job searches on Facebook would not see ads for CEOs or higher paid jobs.” Pew Research
- AI Research: Alignment
- Administrative Procedures Act
- ”Online Pornography Age Verification Laws by U.S. State”
- “Teens and Pornography” (2022) from Common Sense Media
- Conservatives believe LGBTQ content harms kids
- Breastfeeding forums
- EFF founder Mitch Kapor
- Cindy Cohn on the Daily Show
Cindy Cohn is the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. From 2000-2015 she served as EFF’s Legal Director as well as its General Counsel. Ms. Cohn first became involved with EFF in 1993, when EFF asked her to serve as the outside lead attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the U.S. export restrictions on cryptography.
Ms. Cohn has been named to TheNonProfitTimes 2020 Power & Influence TOP 50 list, honoring 2020’s movers and shakers. In 2018, Forbes included Ms. Cohn as one of America’s Top 50 Women in Tech. The National Law Journal named Ms. Cohn one of 100 most influential lawyers in America in 2013, noting: “[I]f Big Brother is watching, he better look out for Cindy Cohn.” She was also named in 2006 for “rushing to the barricades wherever freedom and civil liberties are at stake online.” In 2007 the National Law Journal named her one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in America. In 2010 the Intellectual Property Section of the State Bar of California awarded her its Intellectual Property Vanguard Award and in 2012 the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded her the James Madison Freedom of Information Award.
Ms. Cohn is the author of the professional memoir, called Privacy’s Defender published by MIT Press in March, 2026. As part of promoting the book, she appeared on The Daily Show in April, 2026. She is also the co-host of EFF’s award-winning podcast, How to Fix the Internet.