David A. KAYE

David Kaye is a professor of law at the University of California, Irvine, and 2023-2024 Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in Public International Law at Lund University, Sweden. From 2014 – 2020 he served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. In that role, he reported to the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly on major issues facing the international community, including landmark reports on human rights and the internet, academic freedom, surveillance and digital security, access to information in international organizations, and the protection of journalists and whistleblowers. He also undertook official country missions addressing freedom of expression issues in Japan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Ecuador, Mexico, Ethiopia and Liberia. David is also the author of the book, Speech Police: The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet (2019). His scholarship has appeared in international and American law journals and books, while he regularly writes for mainstream media outlets on international legal issues. After earning his bachelor’s and law degrees at the University of California, Berkeley, David began his legal career with the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, including service as principal lawyer handling international humanitarian law and a three-year posting at the American Embassy in The Hague. He also co-founded the human rights law program at UCLA School of Law. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Trustee of ARTICLE 19, and a former member of the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law.