Amy Lynn Peikoff (;

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Rambach; born June 7, 1968) is an American writer, blogger, and a professor of philosophy and law. Peikoff was the Chief Policy Officer of social media platform

Parler Parler (pronounced "parlor") is an American alt-tech social networking service associated with conservatives. Launched in August 2018, Parler marketed itself as a free speech-focused and unbiased alternative to mainstream social networks s ...

and previously also of

BitChute BitChute is an alt-tech video hosting service launched by Ray Vahey in January 2017. It describes itself as offering freedom of speech, while the service is known for hosting far-right individuals, conspiracy theorists, and hate speech. Some ...

Early life and education

Amy Peikoff studied at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Applied Science in 1992 and her Juris Doctor in 1998, having attended her first year of

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

at Pepperdine University. She was an editor of the ''

UCLA Law Review The ''UCLA Law Review'' is a bimonthly law review established in 1953 and published by students of the UCLA School of Law, where it also sponsors an annual symposium. Originally, UCLA Law proposed in 1950 that either Berkeley and UCLA should p ...

''. She then earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy at the University of Southern California in 2003."Amy Peikoff: Adjunct Associate Professor of Law"
.

Southwestern Law School Southwestern Law School is a Private university, private Law school in the United States, law school in Los Angeles, California. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks ...

. Retrieved 20 May 2014.

Career

Amy Peikoff is a member of the

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is an administrative division of the Supreme Court of California which licenses attorneys and regulates the practice of law in California. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law ...

, having been admitted in May 2002. She has worked with The Association for Objective Law, an organization that promotes

Objectivism Objectivism is a philosophical system named and developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive a ...

in the legal sector; further, her legal work has included the submission of an ''

amicus curiae An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Wheth ...

'' brief in support of Elián González's right of residence in the United States. Peikoff has taught law and philosophy at

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its foundi ...

, the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

, the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, and the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

."Southwestern Welcomes New Adjunct Faculty"
. Southwestern Law School. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2014. She has also spoken to audiences at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

and

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. Her specialisms include privacy, intellectual property, and Objectivism. She has contributed articles to the ''

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

Journal of Law & Liberty'', ''The

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Journal of Social Policy and the Law'', the '' Brandeis Law Journal'',''

Philosophical Explorations Philosophical Explorations is a peer reviewed philosophy journal published triannually, specializing in the philosophy of mind and philosophy of action, action. The editors of this journal intend to "publish outstanding articles in the philosophy ...

'', ''Ethics'', ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

'', and to books such as ''Essays on

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...

's ''

Anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

and ''Essays on Ayn Rand's''

The Fountainhead ''The Fountainhead'' is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an intransigent young architect who battles against conventional standards and refuses to com ...

. She was interviewed for the 2011 documentary film, ''Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of ''

Atlas Shrugged ''Atlas Shrugged'' is a 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. It is her longest novel, the fourth and final one published during her lifetime, and the one she considered her ''magnum opus'' in the realm of fiction writing. She described the theme of ''Atlas ...

, and she is an occasional guest host of '' The Tammy Bruce Show''. In a 2015 article for

St. John's Law Review St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925 ...

, Peikoff argues for overturning the

third-party doctrine The third-party doctrine is a United States legal doctrine that holds that people who voluntarily give information to third parties—such as banks, phone companies, internet service providers (ISPs), and e-mail servers—have "no reasonable expect ...

, which holds that people who voluntarily give information to third parties have "no reasonable expectation of privacy" in that information. She advocates for a legal model for privacy, based on property rights and contract, which would protect personal privacy but still allow government to use secret agents. Peikoff runs an Objectivist

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

and

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

called ''Don't Let It Go'', named after an essay in Ayn Rand's '' Philosophy: Who Needs It''. She previously also co-hosted the ''Yaron & Amy Show'' podcast with

Yaron Brook Yaron Brook (; born May 23, 1961) is an Israeli- American Objectivist writer who is the current chairman of the board at the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI), where he was executive director from 2000 to 2017. Prior to joining ARI, he was a finance p ...

. As of May 2025, Amy Peikoff is a Litigation Fellow at

Pacific Legal Foundation The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is an American nonprofit public interest law firm established for the purpose of defending and promoting individual freedom.Zumbrun, Ronald A. (2004). "Life, Liberty, and Property Rights," in ''Bringing Justice ...

Personal life

She is the ex-wife of fellow Objectivist scholar

Leonard Peikoff Leonard Sylvan Peikoff (; born October 15, 1933) is a Canadian American philosopher. He is an Objectivist and was a close associate of Ayn Rand, who designated him heir to her estate. Peikoff is a former professor of philosophy and host of a na ...

and the ex-stepmother of novelist

Kira Peikoff Kira Lily Peikoff (; born May 21, 1985) is a journalist and novelist, based in New York City."About the Author"< ...

.Heller, Anne C. (2009), ''

Ayn Rand and the World She Made ''Ayn Rand and the World She Made'' is a 2009 biography of Russian-American philosopher Ayn Rand by Anne C. Heller. Background Heller was a journalist who first heard of Rand while working as a magazine editor. Writer Suze Orman gave Heller a co ...

'', New York:

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

, p. 413, , 229027437

References

External links