Katharina Kopp is a privacy and data justice advocate. She is the Deputy Director of the Center for Digital Democracy and Director for Policy, and has extensive experience as an advocate, scholar, policy analyst, privacy expert, coalition builder, communicator, convener, strategist, and corporate leader. At CDD she leads on various initiatives to explore how commercial data practices and technologies, particularly with regard to privacy, adversely affect individuals, groups, and society. The impact of classifying and predictive analytics on equity, autonomy, and the erosion of fairness and racial justice are of main concern to her. Central to her work is the goal to shape the public’s understanding of these impacts and to frame the remedies in terms of shared responsibilities and the need to address systemic causes. Dr. Kopp (CIPP/US, CIPP/G) worked with the Center for Media Education during the 1990’s and served as a key policy advocate during the passage and implementation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). In addition to her work with the Aspen Institute, the Benton Foundation, the Health Privacy Project, and the Center for Democracy and Technology, Dr. Kopp served as vice president at American Express, leading its global privacy risk management program. 

Dr. Kopp completed her Ph.D. and M.A. in communications and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania, Annenberg School for Communication, and graduated from the University of London, Queen Mary College. She lives in Washington, DC.  

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