Ronald James Deibert (born 1964) is a Canadian

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, philosopher, founder and director of the

Citizen Lab The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, Canada. It was founded by Ronald Deibert in 2001. The laboratory studies information controls that impact the openness ...

at the

Munk School of Global Affairs The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto is an interdisciplinary academic centre with various research and educational programs committed to the field of globalization. Located in Toronto, Ontario, it offers ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. He is a co-founder and a principal investigator of the

OpenNet Initiative The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) was a joint project whose goal was to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employed a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigato ...

and

Information Warfare Monitor The Information Warfare Monitor (IWM) was an advanced research activity tracking the emergence of cyberspace as a strategic domain. Created in 2003, it closed in January 2012. It was a public-private venture between two Canadian institutions: The ...

projects. Deibert was one of the founders and former VP of global policy and outreach for

Psiphon Psiphon is a free and open-source Internet censorship circumvention tool that uses a combination of secure communication and obfuscation technologies, such as a VPN, SSH, and a Web proxy. Psiphon is a centrally managed and geographically dive ...

Citizen Lab

As founder and director of the

, Deibert has overseen and been a contributing author to more than 120 reports covering research on cyber espionage, commercial spyware, Internet censorship, and human rights.

Massey Lectures

In 2020, he gave the annual

Massey Lectures The Massey Lectures is an annual five-part series of lectures given in Canada by distinguished writers, thinkers and scholars who explore important ideas and issues of contemporary interest. Created in 1961 in honour of Vincent Massey, the former ...

for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, and they were published in book form under the title ''Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society''. The book won the 2021

Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best nonfiction book on Canadian political and social issues. It has been presented annually in Ottawa at the Writer ...

."Citizen Lab's Ronald Deibert wins $25K Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing"
''

Pique Newsmagazine ''Pique Newsmagazine'' is the only newspaper serving the resort community of Whistler, British Columbia. It was founded in 1994 and operated as an independent, locally owned weekly newspaper until July 2013, when it was purchased by Glacier Media ...

'', September 22, 2021.

Other Work

Deibert presently serves on the editorial boards of the journals International Political Sociology, Explorations in Media Ecology,

Review of Policy Research ''Review of Policy Research'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Policy Studies Organization. The journal was established in 1981. The current editors-in-chief are Nita Farahany, Ken Rogerso ...

Journal of Global Security Studies The ''Journal of Global Security Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal which aims to publish first-rate work addressing the variety of methodological, epistemological, theoretical, normative, and empirical concerns reflected in the field of ...

, and Astropolitics. He has served on the advisory boards of

Access Now Access Now is a non-profit organization founded in 2009 with a mission to defend and extend the digital civil rights of people around the world. Access Now supports programs including an annual conference on Human Rights (RightsCon), an index ...

Privacy International Privacy International (PI) is a UK-based registered charity that defends and promotes the right to privacy across the world. First formed in 1990, registered as a non-profit company in 2002 and as a charity in 2012, PI is based in London. Its c ...

, the technical advisory groups of Amnesty International and

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

, and is currently on the advisory boards of

PEN Canada PEN Canada is one of the 148 centres of PEN International. Founded in 1926, it has a membership of over 1,000 writers and supporters who campaign on behalf of writers around the world who are persecuted, imprisoned and exiled for exercising their ...

and the Design 4 Democracy Coalition, the steering committee of the

World Movement for Democracy World Movement for Democracy is an international network of individuals and organizations who share the common goal of promoting democracy. The World Movement was launched in February 1999 when the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and two n ...

, the advisory board for the Citizen Clinic at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and co-chair of the

's Information Security Council.

Awards

In recognition of his own work or that of the Citizen Lab, Deibert has been awarded the University of Toronto's President's Impact Award (2017), '' Foreign Policys Global Thinker Award (2017), the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer award (2015), the

Neil Postman Neil Postman (March 8, 1931 – October 5, 2003) was an American author, educator, media theorist and cultural critic, who eschewed digital technology, including personal computers, mobile devices, and cruise control in cars, and was critical o ...

Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity (2014), the Advancement of Intellectual Freedom in Canada Award from the Canadian Library Association (2014), the

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian non-governmental organization supported by Canadian journalists and advocates of freedom of expression. The purpose of the organization is to defend the rights of journalists and co ...

Vox Libera Award (2010), the Carolyn Tuohy Award for Public Policy (2010), the

Northrop Frye Herman Northrop Frye (July 14, 1912 – January 23, 1991) was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century. Frye gained international fame with his first book, '' Fearful Symm ...

Distinguished Teaching and Research Award (2003), and the University of Toronto Outstanding Teaching Award (2002). He was a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

research scholar of information and communication technologies (2002–2004). In 2019, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Guelph. He was named a Global Thinker by Foreign Policy (2017), one of '' Motherboard'' website's "Humans of the Year" (2017), listed among ''SC Magazines top "IT Security Luminaries" (2010), and '' Esquire'' magazine's Best and Brightest List of 2007. In 2013, he was made a Member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official Award, honour in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the A ...

and awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

, for being "among the first to recognize and take measures to mitigate growing threats to communications rights, openness and security worldwide.” He was appointed to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 2022, with the rank of Officer. ''Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society'' won the 2021

Publications

Co-edited by Deibert

*''Access Denied: The practice and policy of Internet Filtering'' (MIT Press, 2008) *''Access Controlled: The shaping of power, rights, and rule in cyberspace'' (MIT Press, 2010) *''Access Contested: Security, Identity, and Resistance in Asian Cyberspace'' (MIT Press, 2011)

Authored by Deibert

*''Parchment, Printing, and Hypermedia: Communications in World Order Transformation'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997) *''Black Code: Surveillance, Privacy, and the Dark Side of the Internet'' (

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...

, 2013). Turned into a feature-length documentary '' Black Code'' by

Nicholas de Pencier Nicholas de Pencier is a Canadian cinematographer and filmmaker. The spouse and professional partner of filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal in Mercury Films, he is the cinematographer and producer on most of her films as well as codirector of the films ' ...

in 2016. *''Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society'' (September, 2020) –

References

External links

Academic website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deibert, Ronald 1964 births Living people Members of the Order of Ontario Writers from Toronto University of Toronto faculty University of British Columbia alumni Canadian political scientists Canadian male non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Officers of the Order of Canada