Activist and Writer
Hayley Tsukayama
(Photo by Scott R. Kline)
About
I’m a writer and activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, focusing on state-level technology policy. It’s been my honor to speak about privacy and tech policy issues at a number of cool places, including RightsCon, Brown University, Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley and for the American Bar Association. In a past life, I was a technology journalist at The Washington Post, during which time I also did many cool things.
I am currently based near San Francisco, Calif. with my husband, William.* A Minnesota girl at heart—I interned twice at the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune—I will always root for the Minnesota sports team. Even when it hurts.
In my spare time I sing, chip away at a seemingly omnipresent backlog of books and magazines, play video games, go to eat in fun places with my husband when the world is not terrifying, take on several small projects for personal improvement—such as buying books to teach myself languages or textile arts. I’ll let you know how that's going.
*Fun fact: This used to be our wedding website.
Hayley’s Work
If you want an idea of what I’M thinking about—and what I’m working on right now—check out My Twitter feed @htsuka. If you prefer fully formed thoughts, Below is a selection of my Advocacy work for EFF:
Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal - I started with a consumer rights framework as a reporter and that has served me well in my transition to advocacy. The best way to get me to write a blog post is show me a dumb idea that’s going to hurt people. Enter: the “data dividend.”
Copyright Shouldn’t Stand in the Way of Your Right to Repair - Sometimes policy issues are hard. Sometimes people would like to make you think they’re harder than they have to be.
This Is Not the Privacy Bill You’re Looking For - I would really like to see a strong privacy bill pass at the state or federal level. But a lot of my job is attempting to puncture the tires of bills that don’t quite make the mark.
The EFF Gift Guide: What’s Creeping Us Out - After many years of covering products for The Post’s holiday gift guide, I dipped a cathartic toe into the world of the anti-gift guide for my then-new employer. I want to do this every year, but it hasn’t quite worked out.
I Also occasionally still Freelance. Here are some examples that give you a sense of how I covered tech as a Reporter:
Mattel has canceled plans for a kid-focused AI device that drew privacy concerns - One of the most fascinating issues right now is looking at how technology firm's ambitions are outrunning consumers' abilities to keep up, and also government's ability to make thoughtful regulation. This was an instance where those three elements came together.
What you’re really agreeing to when you accept your smart TV’s privacy policy - Tech is confusing, terms of service documents are obtuse and companies — intentionally or not — tend to slide a lot of things, particularly about data collection, past their consumers. Talking to privacy experts here allowed us to help normal people interpret what's in those policies, and let us play around with a new story form online.
Your MP3s are going to be just fine - Then again, I'm not all about scaring the living daylights out people. Sometimes I like to deflate rumors, quell panic or set the record straight — to the best of my ability, anyway.
There were a lot of pieces going around about the "death of the MP3" at the time this was published. That prompted a corresponding flood of emails to me from folks worried their music libraries were going to disappear overnight and this piece to address those concerns. Also, it let me put my history hat on for a bit.
This dark side of the Internet is costing young people their jobs and social lives - The idea for this story about Internet addiction came from a much shorter piece on how to unplug. I wrote—a lot — about the latest features, specs and business news from the tech industry, but what I loved about this was a chance to look at how those products really affect people's lives. Even though the men I met for this story have more extreme stories than most, their experiences resonated with many.
(Including me. After this, I started putting my smartphones in a different room while I sleep.)
Follow me @htsuka
More Places To Find Me
I Do More than Work
Sing: Sacred and Profane Chamber Chorus
Volunteer: HelpBerkeley
Education
Vassar College
B.A. HISTORY, JAPANESE
University of Missouri
M.A. PUBLIC POLICY JOURNALISM