Lori Fena

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lori Fena[1][2] is an American internet activist, entrepreneur, and author, best known as the former director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation from 1995 to 1998 and author of "The Hundredth Window". Fena is currently the co-founder and VP of Business Development for Personal Digital Spaces and Founder and executive director of the Sustainable Information Economy.[3]

Business[edit]

Fena has a BSc in business information systems from California State University, Los Angeles.[4] She worked in interactive video at a Pasadena engineering company, and managed the third-party software licensing business of Convergent Technologies (now Unisys).[5] She launched Fena & Bates, an intellectual property consulting firm, in 1990 with Amy Bates when they both left Convergent.[6] In 1993, she co-founded the Technology Board of Trade with Bates, which was an exchange for technology, including software, patents, and licenses.[7][5] Fena sold the company to Corporate Software, which later became Stream International. Fena was VP of business development at Corporate Software/Stream,[4][8] and continued as an investor with her husband Edward Zyszkowski, Joe Rizzi, and Thampy Thomas.[citation needed]

Electronic Frontier Foundation[edit]

In September 1995,[4] Fena was recruited to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) by Esther Dyson and John Gilmore to revitalize the activist organization and move its headquarters to Silicon Valley. Fena was executive director until January 1998, when she stepped down to return to private consultancy and was succeeded by Barry Steinhardt of the ACLU.[1][2][9][10][11] She was EFF chairman from January 1998 – 2000. Fena launched the Silver Anvil Award-winning online grassroots Blue Ribbon Campaign for free speech,[12] and founded and spun out TRUSTe.org, a non-profit web-seal organization that created and enforced the industry standard and EU safe harbor for online personal information.[13][14]

Fena served as founder and chairman of TRUSTe.org from 1997 to 2002. She remained as Chairman Emeritus until the organization's assets were converted by the staff and board to a for-profit corporation in 2008. Fena was featured on CBS 60 Minutes and testified to congressional committees on privacy and intellectual property.[14][15]

Later work[edit]

In 2000 she became a member of Doubleclick's consumer privacy advisory board. Tara Lemmey said that "Lori strongly believes that it's important in every way possible to encourage businesses to do the most right thing in terms of consumer privacy and socially responsible business."[10] [16] She was also a partner in Exprise Investments.[14] In 2003, Fena headed the Aspen Institute's Internet Policy Project on the Accountable Net.[17] Fena served on the Board of Trustees of Norfolk Library.[citation needed] Fena authored reports and provided expert testimony in the landmark Federal Court Lanham Act case regarding deceptive advertising and online notice and consent mechanisms used in the collection and resale of college-bound students' personal information which was provided for admissions and financial aid.[18]

Currently, Fena is the co-founder and Head of Business Development for Personal Digital Spaces,[19] a cloud-based, blockchain-provenanced application services platform that provides real-time data management and monetization services.[19][20]

Book[edit]

Fena, Lori & Jennings, Charles. The Hundredth Window: Protecting Your Privacy and Security in the Age of the Internet (2000) Simon & Schuster Free Press.[21]

Jason Catlett of Junkbusters.com argued that "It's really not a pro-privacy book."[10] Massive Attack's album 100th Window was named after the book.[22]

Personal life[edit]

Fena is from Anchorage, Alaska.[4][23] Her mother Nancy worked as a reservation agent with Wien Air Alaska, and her father James was in the USAF.[24] She is married to Edward Zyszkowski,[24] and has a daughter and son.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Arias, Ron (28 July 1997). "Keeping Secrets: Internet Ethicist Lori Fena Explains Why the Biggest Cost of Going Online May Be Your Privacy". People. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  2. ^ a b Goodin, Dan (16 December 1997). "EFF chief to step down". CNET News. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  3. ^ O'Connell, Justin. "How Blockchain Helps To Maintain Your Data Sovereignty". Forbes. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d "Balancing Freedom and Responsibility in the Electronic Frontier". Stanford Computer Industry Project. 30 October 1996. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Panel intro: Lori Fena, Tech Board intellectual property for sale". RELease 1.0. 20 March 1994. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  6. ^ Dyson, Esther (December 1993). "Who pays? Advertising or government...it's still you in the end" (PDF). Release 1.0. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  7. ^ Yumpu.com. "WAY OFF BROADWAY: THE 1994 PC FORUM by ... – cdn.oreilly.com". yumpu.com. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Tuesday – the rules of the net". RELease 1.0. 23 February 1995. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  9. ^ Kizilos, Peter (1 March 1998). "Lori Fena.(Interviews with Infopros)". Online. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  10. ^ a b c Burke, Lynn (23 May 2000). "A DoubleClick Smokescreen?". Wired. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  11. ^ Macavinta, Courtney (13 January 1998). "Short Take: ACLU executive appointed president of Electronic Frontier Foundation". CNET News. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  12. ^ The First Grassroots Campaign in Cyberspace – The Blue Ribbon Campaign, Public Relations Society of America
  13. ^ Parks, Bob (October 1996). "Who's Minding the Cookie Jar?". Wired. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  14. ^ a b c d "Wireless Privacy and the Mobile Internet". Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee. 19 June 2001. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  15. ^ "Whois Database: Privacy and Intellectual Property Issues".
  16. ^ "DoubleClick Appoints Consumer Privacy Advisory Board; To Include Leading Consumer Advocates and Online Privacy Experts". Business Wire. 17 May 2000. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  17. ^ "Truste year in review 2003" (PDF). Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  18. ^ "CollegeNet v. XAP" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  19. ^ a b "Our Team | Personal Digital Spaces". PDS. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  20. ^ O'Connell, Justin. "How Blockchain Helps To Maintain Your Data Sovereignty". Forbes. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  21. ^ “The Hundredth Window”[permanent dead link]
  22. ^ "All the best for the new year: choices 26-50". Observer. 5 January 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  23. ^ Jordan, Tim (1999). Cyberpower: the culture and politics of cyberspace and the Internet. Routledge. p. 174. ISBN 0-415-17078-8.
  24. ^ a b "Obituaries". Anchorage Daily News. 28 July 2005. Retrieved 16 July 2010.

External links[edit]