Ellen P. Goodman
Distinguished Professor of Law
Ellen P. Goodman specializes in information policy law: AI governance, free speech, media policy, data ethics, and algorithmic cities. She is co-director and co-founder of the Rutgers Institute for Information Policy & Law and collaborates regularly with think tanks, government officials at all levels, and interdisciplinary researchers on tech policy. This work has led to grants from the Ford Foundation, Knight Foundation, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and others to advance transparency and accountability in the development and deployment of information technology.
Biography
Professor Goodman specializes in information policy law. Her research interests include AI and algorithmic governance, freedom of expression and transparency, journalism, smart cities, platform policies, media and advertising law. She is Co-Director and co-founder of the Rutgers Institute for Information Policy & Law (RIIPL). She blogs at riipl.rutgers.edu and at medium.com, and has written for many outlets including the The Guardian, Tech Policy Press, Democracy, and Slate.
Professor Goodman served as Senior Advisor for Algorithmic Justice at NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce during the Biden Administration. She has served as a Senior Fellow at the Digital Innovation & Democracy Institute at the German Marshall Fund and has received grants from the Knight Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation for various projects involving new models of platform regulation and transparency, digital public media and democracy, and algorithmic system justice. She has also advised a number of cities on responsible tech deployment. She served as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the FCC and a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania's Carey Law School, Annenberg School of Communication, and the Wharton School, as well as the London School of Economics.
Prior to joining the Rutgers faculty in 2003, Professor Goodman was a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling LLP and served as Of Counsel with the firm until 2009. Professor Goodman clerked for Judge Norma L. Shapiro on the U.S. Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, after graduating from Harvard Law School and Harvard College. She has three children.
Publications
Academic Articles, Reports, and Chapters
- Default to Distrust: Synthetic Content Policy and the Pivot to Authentication, Case Western L. Rev. (forthcoming 2025)
- Tyranny.gov: Technologies of Unreason, 47 Hawaii Law Rev. 308 (2025)
- Regulatory Analogies, LLMs, and Generative AI, Critical AI 2(1) (2024), Duke University Press https://doi.org/10.1215/2834703X-11205238.
- The effect of traffic light veracity labels on perceptions of political advertising source and message credibility on social media, Journal of Info. Tech. & Politics (2023) (with Tom Dobber, Sanne Kruikemeier, Fabio Votta, & Natali Helberger)
- Exploring Police Perspectives on Algorithmic Transparency: A Qualitative Analysis of Police Interviews in the UK, EAAMO ’23: Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization 2023, Article 25, 1–19 (with Miri Zilka, Carolyn Ashurst, Luke Chambers, Pamela Ugwudike, & Marion Oswald)
- Algorithmic Auditing: Chasing Accountability, 39 Santa Clara High Tech. L. J. 289 (2023) (with Julia Trehu)
- The Impact of Twitter Labels on Misinformation Spread and User Engagement: Lessons from Trump’s Election Tweets, WWW '22: Proceedings of the ACM Web Conference 2022, 2541–2551 (with Orestis Papakyriakopoulos)
- AI Audit Washing and Accountability, German Marshall Fund (2022) (with Julia Trehu)
- Information Fidelity and Friction, 21 Nev. L. Rev. 623 (2021)
- Creating a Covid-19 Commission on Public Health Misinformation (with Blair Levin), Day One Project (2021)
- A "Full Stack" Approach to Public Media in the US (with Sanjay Jolly), German Marshall Fund (2021)
- The Stakes of User Interface Design for Democracy (with Karen Kornbluh), German Marshall Fund (2021)
- Safeguarding Democracy Against Disinformation: Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative Roadmap (with Karen Kornbluh), German Marshall Fund (2020)
- Digital Information Fidelity and Friction, Knight-Columbia First Amendment paper (2020)
- Smart City Ethics: How “Smart” Challenges Democratic Governance, in Oxford Handbook of the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (Ed. by Markus D. Dubber et al.) (Oxford University Press 2020)
- Report of the Media Subcommittee for the Study of Digital Platforms, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (July 2019) (co-author)
- Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the Future of Online Speech (with Ryan Whittington), German Marshall Fund (2019)
- Urbanism Under Google: Lessons from Sidewalk Toronto, 88 Fordham L. Rev. 457 (2019) (with Julia Powles)
- The First Amendment Opportunism of Digital Platforms, German Marshall Fund (2019)
- Defining Equity in Algorithmic Change, Regulatory Review (2019)
- Algorithmic Transparency for Smart Cities, 20 Yale J. of Law & Tech. 103 (2018) (with Robert Brauneis)
- Four Ages of Public Media, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2017)
- Zero Rating and Equity at the Network’s Other Edge 15 Colo. Tech. L. J. 63 (2016)
- Atomic Age of Data: Policies for the Internet of Things, Aspen Institute Report (2015)
- Anchor Institutions and Broadband Justice, 41 Fordham Urban L. J. 1665 (2014)
- Visual Gut Punch: Persuasion, Emotion, and the Constitutional Meaning of Graphic Disclosure, 99 Cornell L. Rev. 513 (2014)
- Modeling Policy for Public Media, 24 Harv. J. of Law & Tech. 112 (2010) (with Anne H. Chen)
- Digital Public Service Media Networks to Advance Broadband and Enrich Connected Communities, 9 J. Telecom & High Tech. L. 82 (2010) (with Anne H. Chen)
- Spectrum Auctions and the Public Interest, 7 J. Telecom & High Tech. L. 343(2009)
- No Time for Equal Time, 76 Geo. Was. L. Rev. 897 (2008) (symposium issue)
- Free Speech and Media Policy: The First Amendment at War With Itself, 35 Hofstra L. Rev. 1211 (2007) (symposium issue)
- Peer Promotions and False Advertising Law, 58 S. Car. L. Rev. 683 (2007) (symposium issue)
- Stealth Marketing and Editorial Integrity, 85 Tex. L. Rev. 83 (2006)
- Spectrum Equity, 41 J. Telecom. & High Tech. L. 101(2005)
- Media Policy Out of the Box: Content Abundance, Attention Scarcity, and the Failures of Digital Markets, 19 Berkeley Tech. L. J. 1389 (2004)
- Spectrum Rights in the Telecosm to Come, 41 San Diego L. Rev. 269 (2004)
- Tender Justice: Judge Shapiro's Hard-Headed Humanity, 152 U. Pa. L. Rev. 25 (2003)
- Bargains in the Information Marketplace: The Use of Government Subsidies to Regulate New Media, 1 J. Telecom. & High Tech. L. 217 (2002)
- Digital Television and the Allure of Auctions: The Birth and Stillbirth of DTV Legislation, 49 Fed. Comm. L. J. 517 (1997)
Book Chapters, Monographs, Reports
- Synthetic Media Policy: Provenance and Authentication — Expert Insights and Questions, Technology Policy Press (2025)
- U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NTIA, AI Accountability Policy Report (2024) (principal author)
- Creating a Covid-19 Commission on Public Health Misinformation (with Blair Levin), Day One Project (2021)
- A "Full Stack" Approach to Public Media in the US (with Sanjay Jolly), German Marshall Fund (2021)
- The Stakes of User Interface Design for Democracy (with Karen Kornbluh), German Marshall Fund (2021)
- Safeguarding Democracy Against Disinformation: Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative Roadmap (with Karen Kornbluh), German Marshall Fund (2020)
- Digital Information Fidelity and Friction, Knight-Columbia First Amendment paper (2020)
- Smart City Ethics: How “Smart” Challenges Democratic Governance, in Oxford Handbook of the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (Ed. by Markus D. Dubber et al.) (Oxford University Press 2020)
- Report of the Media Subcommittee for the Study of Digital Platforms, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (July 2019) (co-author)
- Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the Future of Online Speech (with Ryan Whittington), German Marshall Fund (Aug. 2019)
- The Atomic Age of Data: Policies for the Internet of Things, Aspen Institute Report (2015)
- Public Media Policy Reform and Digital Age Realities in Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years (Randolph May ed.) (Carolina Academic 2012)
- Public Service Media Narratives in Handbook of Media Law and Policy: A Socio-Legal Exploration (Monroe E. Price & Stefaan G. Verhulst, ed.)(Routledge 2012)
- Information Needs of Communities (Steven Waldman, ed.) (Carolina Press 2011) (principal author of 50 page nonprofit media section)
- Spectrum Policy and the Public Interest in Television Goes Digital (Darcy Gerbarg ed.) (Springer 2009)
- Public Service Media 2.0 in … And Communications for All: A Policy Agenda for a New Administration (Amit M. Schejter ed.)(Lexington Books 2009)
- Public Television and Pluralistic Ideals in The Future of Public Service Broadcasting (Tim Gardam & David Levy ed. (Reuters Institute 2008)
- Spectrum Sharing and Spectrum Efficiency in A Framework for a National Broadband Policy (Aspen Institute 2008)
- Proactive Media Policy in an Age of Content Abundance in Media Diversity and Localism: Meanings and Metrics (Philip M. Napoli ed.)(Erlbaum 2006)
Press publications
- Accelerating AI in the US Government: Evaluating the Trump OMB Memo, Technology Policy Press (04/25)
- Twitter’s Newsworthiness Policy – What is it?, Technology Policy Press (12/21)
- Three Steps to Help Treat America’s Debilitating Information Disorder (with Karen Kornbluh), Washington Post (1/21)
- San Diego, Street Smarts and Surveillance (with Kayvon Paul), Protego Press (11/20)
- How Did Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube Handle Misinformation During the Election? (with Karen Kornbluh), Slate (11/20)
- Social Media Platforms Need to Flatten the Curve of Dangerous Misinformation, (with Karen Kornbluh), Slate (8/20)
- Sidewalk Toronto Goes Sideways: Five Lessons for Digital Governance, Protego Press (6/20)
- The Real Free Speech Problem on Social Media, (with Karen Kornbluh), Slate (6/20)
- Ignore Trump’s Twitter Tantrum Executive Order and Address Disinformation Instead (with Karen Kornbluh), Just Security (6/20)
- Opinion: The more outrageous the lie, the better it is for Facebook’s bottom line, (with Karen Kornbluh), The Los Angeles Times (11/19)
- How Facebook Shot Themselves in the Foot in their Elizabeth Warren Spat (with Karen Kornbluh), The Guardian (10/15/19)
- How to Regulate the Internet (with Karen Kornbluh), Project Syndicate (7/10/19)
- Bringing Truth to the Internet (with Karen Kornbluh), Democracy Journal (Summer 2019, No. 53)
- Curb its Enthusiasm: As Sidewalk Labs Moves Fast in Toronto, Pay Attention to the Streets, Globe and Mail (6/14/19)
- Reviving the Personal Attack Rule for Digital Platforms is Not a Good Idea, Protego Press (5/28/19)
- Facebook’s Moment for Thought Leadership Has Passed, Protego Press (4/2/19)
- The First Amendment Opportunism of Digital Platforms, German Marshall Fund (2/11/19)
- So, Mark Zuckerberg Wants to Repent for Facebook's Sins? He Can Start Here, The Guardian (10/2/17)
- Facebook Should Consider Subsidizing and Promoting Local News, Slate (12/1/16)
- Facebook and Google: Most Powerful and Secretive Empires We've Ever Known, The Guardian (9/28/16)
- Revealing Algorithmic Rankers (with Julia Stoyanovich), Freedom to Tinker (8/5/16)
- Self-driving Cars: Overlooking Data Privacy is a Car Crash Waiting to Happen, The Guardian (6/8/16)
- Big pharma, tobacco, tech - how the first amendment is being abused, The Guardian (3/16/16)
- India's Ban on Facebook's Free Service is an Overreaction, The Guardian (2/8/16)
- Prospects for U.S. Spectrum Management, Practicing Law Institute (2002) (with Stanford McCoy and Devandra Kumar)
- Access Through Cable: Who Will Control the Cable Internet Gateway?, Australian Media Law Association’s Communications Law Bulletin (4/20)
- Towards Digital Television and New Paradigms for Media Law and Regulation, American Bar Association’s Bulletin of Law, Science and Technology (12/97)
- Second Byte: Congressional Excursion into Digital TV, American Bar Association’s Communications Lawyer (1996)
- Superhighway Patrol: Why the FCC Must Police the Airwaves, The Washington Post (8/6/95)
Abstracts and electronic copies of some of Ellen Goodman's papers are available on her author page at the SSRN Electronic Library at: http://ssrn.com/author=333377