{
  "id": 14824791,
  "title": "In Memoriam: Barry Steinhardt",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/in-memoriam-barry-steinhardt",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-16T00:07:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "EFF Deeplinks",
    "slug": "eff-deeplinks",
    "url": "https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/10/memoriam-barry-steinhardt"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Barry Steinhardt, a prominent privacy advocate and a key figure in the digital civil liberties movement, passed away last week at the age of 73. Steinhardt, a Connecticut native, began his career as a leader in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), serving as president in 1998-99 and later founding the ACLU’s Program on Technology and Liberty. He played a pivotal role in the fight to overturn the Communications Decency Act, leading to the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Reno v. ACLU in 1997. Steinhardt's expertise in the intersection of technology and privacy made him one of the first attorneys to specialize in this area, and he continued to contribute to the field after leaving the ACLU, working as a senior advisor to Privacy International. His influence on technology and civil liberties was recognized by EFF Executive Director Nicole Ozer, who praised his role as a mentor and his impact on the law and policy of the digital world.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}