Julie Owono

Julie Owono is the Executive Director of the Content Policy & Society Lab (CPSL) and a fellow of the Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) at Stanford University.

Julie Owono is the Executive Director of the Content Policy & Society Lab (CPSL) and a fellow of the Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) at Stanford University. She is also the Executive Director of digital rights organization Internet Sans Frontières, one of the inaugural members of the Facebook Oversight Board, and an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University.

Julie Owono holds a Master’s degree in International Law from la Sorbonne University in Paris, and practiced as a lawyer at the Paris Bar. With a fluency in five languages, a childhood spent in various countries, and an educational background at the Lyçée Français Alexandre Dumas in Moscow, Julie has a unique perspective to understand the challenges and opportunities of a global Internet. This background has shaped her belief that global and multi stakeholder collaborations can be instrumental in the emergence of rights-based content policies and regulations.

Julie Owono is a member of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) created by France and Canada, as well as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on AI for Humanity, and of the WEF Council on the Connected World. She was also a member of UNESCO’s Ad Hoc Expert Group (AHEG), which drafted the first international text on Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. Julie Owono is also a Member of the World Benchmarking Alliance’s Expert Committee on Digital Inclusion.

Speaking events

Listen to Julie Owono speak at the conference

18 Nov2:08 pm - 2:40 pm

Session 1: Making tech work for, not against, democracy and human rights

Moderated by Denmark’s Tech Ambassador Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen, key stakeholders from civil society, the tech industry and the EU will discuss and outline the key challenges and opportunities for democracy and human rights in the digital era. The session will discuss questions such as:

How can technology enhance democratic values and practices such as inclusion, transparency and accountability to restore trust in democracy? What are the tools at hand for paving a way forward, and what is the emancipatory potential for tech in present day democracies around the world? How can democratic governments, parliaments, and the people they represent get back in the driver’s seat of technological development?
18 Nov2:08 pm - 2:40 pm

Session 1: Making tech work for, not against, democracy and human rights

Moderated by Denmark’s Tech Ambassador Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen, key stakeholders from civil society, the tech industry and the EU will discuss and outline the key challenges and opportunities for democracy and human rights in the digital era. The session will discuss questions such as:

How can technology enhance democratic values and practices such as inclusion, transparency and accountability to restore trust in democracy? What are the tools at hand for paving a way forward, and what is the emancipatory potential for tech in present day democracies around the world? How can democratic governments, parliaments, and the people they represent get back in the driver’s seat of technological development?
Speakers
  • Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen is Denmark’s Tech Ambassador.
    Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen
  • Andrew Sushko is a lawyer, an expert in the fields of human rights, public administration and digital transformation.
    Andrew Sushko
  • Journalist Ikenna Azuike is a lawyer, journalist and the host of the Tech for Democracy conference 2021.
    Ikenna Azuike
  • Yvette Alberdingk-Thijm is Executive Director of the organisation WITNESS.
    Yvette Alberdingk-Thijm
  • Eileen Donahoe is working with digital and cyber policies at Stanford University.
    Eileen Donahoe
  • Maria Ressa is co-founder of the Philippine news network Rappler and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2021.
    Maria Ressa
  • Sinéad McSweeney is Vice President of Public Policy and Philanthropy at Twitter Ireland.
    Sinéad McSweeney
  • Julie Owono is the Executive Director of the Content Policy & Society Lab (CPSL) and a fellow of the Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) at Stanford University.
    Julie Owono
  • Věra Jourová is the Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency.
    Věra Jourová