Ashkan Soltani Keynote Speaker

Ashkan Soltani is an award-winning journalist, researcher, and technologist who has spent over a decade working at the intersection of technology, policy, and society. As a technology policy expert and entrepreneur, Ashkan is a sought-after speaker who has presented at global conferences on consumer privacy, big data, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

As one of the pioneers in security and privacy research, Ashkan has spent the past several years helping expose the inner workings of some of the world’s most powerful institutions, including Google, Twitter, Facebook, HTC, and PulsePoint, where he led investigations. In 2021, he was appointed as Executive Director of the California Privacy Protection Agency, where he helped design the California Consumer Privacy Act, which was approved in 2018. Before this appointment, Ashkan spent more than a decade as an independent technology expert providing forensics and analysis services on cybersecurity and internet architecture.

He previously worked as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He also served as the Federal Trade Commission’s Chief Technologist, advising the commission on technology policy and helping establish its new Office of Technology Research and Investigation. While serving as the Federal Trade Commission’s Chief Technologist, he helped create the institution’s Office of Technology Research and Investigation.

A long-time advocate for user privacy and security, Ashkan has been featured in major media outlets, including Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Washington Post, and Wired magazine. He was also part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2014 for their work on NSA surveillance.

Ashkan holds Distinguished Fellowship at Georgetown University Law School and the Institute for Technology Law & Policy. He formerly served on the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s Technical Advisory Board.

Ashkan is a renowned speaker and thought leader who has engaged global audiences, delivering insightful speeches on data privacy, security, and accountability.