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Libby Liu

Libby Liu is an American nonprofit executive, lawyer, and privacy advocate who is the chief executive officer of Whistleblower Aid. She was the president of Radio Free Asia for 14 years, where she led the founding of the Open Technology Fund. After the OTF became an independent organization in 2019, she was the chief executive officer until June 2020.

Early life and education

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Liu was born in California[1] to parents who had emigrated from China.[2] She completed a bachelor's degree at University of California-Berkeley, an MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a JD at University of Pennsylvania Law School.[1]

Career

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At Radio Free Asia, Liu began as the Vice-President for Administration and Finance, and in September 2005, she was appointed president of the organization.[1][3] She had previously worked as the Director of Administration and Strategic Planning for the NAACP in Baltimore[1] and had been a director of human resources and employment counsel at a technology company.[4]

As president of Radio Free Asia, Liu worked to support efforts to circumvent Chinese government censorship,[5] including the development of digital technology to evade Chinese government internet firewalls.[6][7] In 2012, Liu began the Open Technology Fund (OTF) with a team within Radio Free Asia, which was supported by funding from the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).[1][2][8] In 2019, the OTF became an independent non-profit organization and grantee of the USAGM, and Liu became the chief executive officer.[9][10] The OTF funds digital privacy and security technology, including The Tor Project, Signal,[11] and other encryption projects.[2]

In June 2020, Liu offered her resignation from OTF after Michael Pack was appointed to lead the USAGM.[10][12][13] The OTF board accepted with a month delay in her leaving the organization, and then Pack fired her and several heads of USAGM-funded news outlets.[11][14][15] OTF filed a lawsuit against Pack in federal court[11][16] and the federal court ruled Pack was within his legal authority to fire Liu and other heads of news outlets overseen by the USAGM.[17] Liu also filed a whistleblower complaint in September 2020.[13] The District of Columbia attorney general also sued Pack for alleged violations of nonprofit law in D.C. Superior Court based on firings that included Liu, the OTF president, and the OTF board, and the D.C. Superior Court ruled the firings by Pack were unlawful.[16]

Liu became the chief executive officer of Whistleblower Aid in April 2021.[18] During her tenure, the organization has represented Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen[19][20] and other former Facebook employees.[21]

Honors and awards

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  • 2020/2021 Luxembourg Peace Prize for Outstanding Peace Technology[22]
  • "Washington DC's 500 Most Influential People of 2023", Washingtonian[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Libby Liu, President". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Paletta, Damian (February 22, 2016). "How the U.S. Fights Encryption--and Also Helps Develop It; Agencies are developing encryption tools for secure communications, even as the FBI battles for access to an encrypted iPhone". The Wall Street Journal. ProQuest 1766924876
  3. ^ Kopytoff, Verne (February 19, 2006). "China's stifling of Web detailed / U.S. firms often cooperate, experts reveal to Congress". SFGate. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  4. ^ "NAACP Announces New Appointments at National Headquarters". The Crisis. January–February 2002. p. 62. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  5. ^ Glanz, James; Markoff, John (June 12, 2011). "U.S. Underwrites Internet Detour Around Censors". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  6. ^ Landler, Mark (June 8, 2011). "A New Voice of America for the Age of Twitter". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Martin, Kirsten E. (December 2008). "Internet Technologies in China: Insights on the Morally Important Influence of Managers". Journal of Business Ethics. 83 (3): 497–498. doi:10.1007/s10551-007-9633-8. SSRN 1410848. ProQuest 198105790
  8. ^ Applebaum, Anne (June 22, 2020). "The Voice of America Will Sound Like Trump". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  9. ^ "OTF Announces Libby Liu as Inaugural CEO".
  10. ^ a b Wong, Edward (June 15, 2020). "V.O.A. Directors Resign After Bannon Ally Takes Charge of U.S. Media Agency". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Verma, Pranshu (June 24, 2020). "Lawsuit Argues Dismissal of Government-Funded Media Employees Was Unlawful". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  12. ^ Cox, Joseph (June 17, 2020). "CEO of Open Technology Fund Resigns After Closed-Source Lobbying Effort". Vice. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Folkenflik, David (April 14, 2021). "Falun Gong, Steve Bannon And The Trump-Era Battle Over Internet Freedom". NPR. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  14. ^ Folkenflik, David (March 10, 2021). "'I Was Speechless': Law Firm Investigated Its Own Ex-Client For Trump VOA Chief".
  15. ^ Fischer, Sara (September 1, 2020). "Scoop: Open Technology Fund asks Inspector General to investigate". Axios.
  16. ^ a b Folkenflik, David (October 17, 2020). "Judge Finds U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Broke Law In Seizing Control Of Fund". NPR. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  17. ^ "US Judge Rules in Favor of CEO of US Agency for Global Media". Voice of America. July 6, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  18. ^ "Libby Liu". Whistleblower Aid. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  19. ^ Albergotti, Reed (October 22, 2021). "The Facebook whistleblower's case was a big gamble for the nonprofit supporting her". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  20. ^ Ghaffary, Shirin (December 29, 2021). "Big Tech's employees are one of the biggest checks on its power". Vox. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  21. ^ Taylor, Josh (May 6, 2022). "Facebook whistleblowers allege government and emergency services hit by Australia news ban was a deliberate tactic". The Guardian. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  22. ^ "9th Luxembourg Peace Prize Laureates Unveiled". Chronicle.lu. May 3, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  23. ^ "Washington DC's 500 Most Influential People of 2023". Washingtonian. April 27, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
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