It may come as a bit of a surprise to some considering that seemingly every company and government agency has one these days, but the Federal Trade Commission has never had a Chief Technologist. It's now finally filled that gap, however, and has appointed Edward W. Felten to the post. As you may be aware, Felten's a professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton and the founding director of the university's Center for Information Technology, but he's probably best known for his efforts to expose problems with electronic voting machines, and for his vocal advocacy against DRM -- he also uses his Mii for his profile image on the Freedom to Tinker blog, so you know you're not exactly dealing with your usual government bureaucrat. Felten has actually already been serving as a part-time adviser to the FTC, and it seems like he'll now basically be continuing that role in a full-time capacity, with the FTC only saying that he will "advise the agency on evolving technology and policy issues."
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