{"id":750086,"date":"2013-05-07T15:01:09","date_gmt":"2013-05-07T19:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=643011"},"modified":"2013-05-07T15:01:09","modified_gmt":"2013-05-07T19:01:09","slug":"white-house-picks-long-time-googler-as-first-chief-privacy-officer-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/750086","title":{"rendered":"White House picks long-time Googler as first chief privacy officer (report)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Obama Administration has reportedly selected Nicole Wong for the the new job of chief privacy officer. Wong, who has worked as a senior lawyer for both Google and Twitter, has a reputation in the tech and legal community for defending online freedom.<\/p>

The appointment, which was reported by CNET<\/a> and has yet to be confirmed, comes at a time of growing public concern over data collection tools that scour everything from smartphones to shopping records, and make it easy\u00a0for companies and governments to collect information about\u00a0individuals.<\/p>

The Obama\u00a0Administration’s\u00a0decision to appoint Wong may therefore represent an attempt by the government to find new ways to balance the power of data with preserving liberty and privacy.<\/p>

During her time at Google, Wong fought the governments of Turkey and Pakistan over YouTube censorship<\/a>, and she has also worked with The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a respected cyber-advocacy group.<\/p>

Wong’s appointment also comes at a time when Google chairman Eric Schmidt has been calling attention <\/a>to the growing threat of governments using Western technology to spy on and oppress their citizens.<\/p>

Wong, who joined Twitter<\/a> last November, is the second long-time Google lawyer to be hired by the White House in recent months. The Administration recently hired<\/a> former Googler Michelle Lee to head the troubled Patent Office.<\/p>
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