Peter Eckersley (computer scientist)

Peter Eckersley
Eckersley in March 2022
Born1978 or 1979
Melbourne, Australia
Died (aged 43 or 44)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Resting placeCryopreserved at Alcor Life Extension Foundation
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne (PhD)
Occupations
Known for
Scientific career
ThesisDigital Copyright & The Alternatives: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry (2012)
Websitepde.is

Peter Daniel Eckersley (1978 or 1979 – 2 September 2022) was an Australian computer scientist, computer security researcher and activist. From 2006 to 2018, he worked at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, including as chief computer scientist and head of AI policy. In 2018, he left the EFF to become director of research at the Partnership on AI, a position he held until 2020. In 2021, he co-founded the AI Objectives Institute.

While at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Eckersley started projects including Let's Encrypt, Privacy Badger, Certbot, HTTPS Everywhere, SSL Observatory and Panopticlick. Eckersley was an outspoken advocate on topics including internet privacy, net neutrality and the ethics of artificial intelligence. In 2023, he was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame.