What role does data and tech play in the future of news? In this episode, we talk to Robin Berjon of The New York Times about why it's important for news and media companies to have a strong data privacy system in place to gain the trust of their users. Listen to Robin discuss how the EU's GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has pushed the notice and consent model to the limit, why technologists and policymakers have to work together to preserve data privacy and fight misinformation, and why news organizations need to work together to create a more financially sustainable content aggregation platform that benefits both the journalists writing the news and the online platforms sharing the news. Finally, listen to Robin discuss how he's spent his career working on "dumpster fire" hard problems to solve and why that's his advice for young professionals looking for problems to work on today.

Guest bio:

Robin Berjon is Vice President of Data Governance at The New York Times, where he works on improving privacy and on making sure that the Web can support a thriving media ecosystem. He has worked extensively on technology and Internet governance.

Related links:

[Proposal] Content Aggregation Technology. Robin Berjon. October 12, 2020. https://discourse.wicg.io/t/proposal-content-aggregation-technology/4941

About the podcast:

How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward.

We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.