Harvard: Obama Hires Google Exec
Although the White House personnel announcement has yet to emerge, Google executive Andrew McLaughlin's alma mater is reporting his appointment as deputy chief technology officer for the Obama administration. CTO Aneesh Chopra already has one deputy, Beth Noveck, who focuses on open government issues. Harvard Law School posted the news about the Internet giant's former head of global public policy on its Web site Thursday. "As Google's first public policy executive, McLaughlin built the company's presence in Washington, helping to promote its position on topics such as online privacy, net neutrality and copyright," the memo said.
McLaughlin is an emeritus fellow of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, joining in 1998 as an associate director and fellow. He taught "The Law of Cyberspace" with Internet visionary Jonathan Zittrain, "Digital Democracy" with Berkman founder Charles Nesson, and led the Center's initiatives in developing countries. During that time, he was also vice president and chief policy officer at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a nonprofit group that helps coordinate the Internet's address system. McLaughlin served on Obama's transition team as a member of the Technology, Innovation and Government Reform Policy Working Group.
Tech Daily Dose previously reported that a pair of high-tech watchdogs had urged the White House to halt the pending appointment. Consumer Watchdog's John Simpson and the Center for Digital Democracy's Jeff Chester claimed it would violate the intent of President Obama's ethics rules. Both are vocal Google critics and wrote that the company's Washington influence is not the primary reason for the objection. "We believe no special-interest connected person should assume a position of vital importance to the country's future," they said. Read more about their complaint here.
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