Libby Liu

Last updated

Libby Liu 2021 - Opening night EN1 1689 (51648575920).jpg
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.

Contents

Early life and education

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

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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voice of America</span> International US-owned broadcaster

Voice of America is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest of the U.S.-funded international broadcasters. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content in 49 languages, which it distributes to affiliate stations around the world. Its targeted and primary audience is non-American. As of November 2022, its reporting reached 326 million adults per week across all platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Agency for Global Media</span> Agency of the United States government

The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), known until 2018 as the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), is an independent agency of the United States government that broadcasts news and information. It is considered an arm of U.S. diplomacy.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government-funded private non-profit corporation operating a news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editorially independent reporting, has the stated mission of providing accurate and uncensored reporting to countries in Asia that have poor media environments and limited protections for speech and press freedom.

Omidyar Network is a self-styled "philanthropic investment firm," composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, Omidyar Network has committed over US$1.5 billion to nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies across multiple investment areas. According to the OECD, Omidyar Network's financing for 2019 development increased by 10% to US$58.9 million.

Blackbaud, Inc. is a cloud computing provider that serves the social good community—nonprofits, foundations, corporations, education institutions, healthcare organizations, religious organizations, and individual change agents. Its products focus on fundraising, website management, CRM, analytics, financial management, ticketing, and education administration.

The International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) is the technical support outlet within the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which is a U.S. independent agency. The IBB supports the day-to-day operations of Voice of America (VOA) and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. It also provides transmission and technical support for all of the independent non-military broadcasting services funded by the USAGM. The IBB is located in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department of State Office of Inspector General</span> U.S. government body

The Office of Inspector General for the Department of State (OIG) is an independent office within the U.S. Department of State with a primary responsibility to prevent and detect waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. OIG inspects more than 270 embassies, diplomatic posts, and international broadcasting installations throughout the world to determine whether policy goals are being achieved and whether the interests of the United States are being represented and advanced effectively.

McGuireWoods LLP is a US-based international law firm. Their largest offices are in Richmond, Virginia, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Chicago, Illinois.

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund was a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded on January 16, 2010, by former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, to aid the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The organization was formed in response to the request of President Barack Obama for the former Presidents to assist in the Haitian rescue effort. The fund concluded formal operations on December 31, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NPR</span> American nonprofit media organization

National Public Radio is an American non-profit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national syndicator to a network of over 1,000 public radio stations in the United States. It differs from other non-profit membership media organizations, such as the Associated Press, in that it was established by an act of Congress.

James Melvin Miles is an American politician and attorney, who served as Secretary of State of South Carolina from 1991 to 2003, and subsequently as chief of staff to Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina Andre Bauer.

Wickr is an American software company based in New York City, known for its instant messenger application of the same name. The Wickr instant messaging apps allow users to exchange end-to-end encrypted and content-expiring messages, and are designed for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. Wickr was acquired by Amazon Web Services (AWS) mid-2021 and shut down the free version of the app in December 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert R. Reilly</span>

Robert R. Reilly is a writer, think tank executive and former diplomat. He has published on topics of US foreign policy and the "war of ideas." Reilly is also known as a classical music critic who has written for periodicals including High Fidelity,Musical America,Schwann/Opus, and American Record Guide. In December 2020 Reilly was named director of the Voice of America and he was removed from that post in January 2021 shortly after President Biden's inauguration.

The Open Technology Fund (OTF) is an American nonprofit corporation that aims to support global Internet freedom technologies. Its mission is to "support open technologies and communities that increase free expression, circumvent censorship, and obstruct repressive surveillance as a way to promote human rights and open societies." As of November 2019, the Open Technology Fund became an independent nonprofit corporation and a grantee of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Until its formation as an independent entity, it had operated as a program of Radio Free Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Maher</span> American media executive

Katherine Roberts Maher is an American businesswoman. She is the incoming chief executive and president of NPR. She will begin her tenure in March 2024, succeeding John Lansing. Before accepting the position at NPR, she served as chief executive officer of Web Summit and chair of the board of directors at the Signal Foundation. She will continue as Web Summit's CEO until March, then will remain with the group as their non-executive chairperson. She is a former chief executive officer and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Pack</span> American filmmaker and official (born 1954)

Michael L. Pack is an American documentary filmmaker who was CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) from June 2020 to January 2021. Pack was nominated by President Donald Trump and took office at USAGM in June 2020 after Senate confirmation. He resigned on January 20, 2021 at the request of President Joe Biden, effective at 2:00 p.m., two hours after Biden took office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen J. Yates</span> President of Radio Free Asia, former Idaho Republican Party chairman

Stephen J. Yates is an American political advisor and government official who last served as the president of Radio Free Asia. He previously served as the deputy national security adviser to the Vice President to Dick Cheney from 2001 to 2005 and chairman of the Idaho Republican Party from 2014 to 2017. He is the CEO of consulting firm, DC International Advisory and has been in that position since 2006.

Current Time TV is a Russian-language television channel with editorial office in Prague, created by the US organisations Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America. The channel – via RFE/RL – is funded through grants from the US Congress through the US Agency for Global Media. The media sees its task in "promoting democratic values and institutions". RFE/RL launched Current Time, in October 2014. The official round-the-clock broadcasting began on February 7, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelu Chao</span> Taiwanese American journalist

Kelu Chao is a Taiwanese American journalist. She was the acting interim CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), from January 20, 2021, to December 29, 2022.

Whistleblower Aid is a nonprofit legal assistance organization co-founded by John Tye and Mark Zaid to help whistleblowers in government and the private sector. It provides free legal services as well as support and security services for eligible clients.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Libby Liu, President". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 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.