Ben Scott (policy advisor)


Ben Scott Ben Scott is director of policy and advocacy at Luminate, a part of the global philanthropic organization, The Omidyar Group. He is also on the management board of the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung in Berlin, an independent technology policy think tank. He has been a part of the leadership at the SNV since 2014, and before that was a fellow there. Previously, Scott was Senior Advisor at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C., where he did work on the ad tech industry. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he was the coordinator of the Tech & Innovation Policy Advisory Group for Hillary Clinton. Previously, he was a Policy Advisor for Innovation at the US Department of State where he worked at the intersection of technology and foreign policy. In a small team of advisors to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he worked to help steward the 21st Century Statecraft agenda with a focus on technology policy, social media and development.

Life

Scott grew up in Canyon, Texas. Scott is a 1995 graduate of the University of Illinois Laboratory High School. Scott is a graduate of Northwestern University. In 2010 he received his Doctorate from the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Career

Scott has worked as a legislative telecommunications policy fellow for Rep. Bernie Sanders and as the Policy Director for Free Press, a national media reform organization. While at Free Press Ben lead a number of initiatives and was described as a "driving force for 'net neutrality.'" While at Free Press, his expertise was often sought by the press and Ben was regularly called on to testify before the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.
In May, 2010 Scott left Free Press to become Policy Advisor for Innovation at the U.S. State Department. He was part of a small team of advisors to the Secretary of State and has been described as a key player working towards 21st Century Statecraft.
In 2015, Ben Scott was called on to submit an expert report for the German Parliament's official inquiry committee into the Snowden affair.
Since 2018 he has served as director of policy and advocacy at Luminate, part of the global philanthropic organization, the Omidyar Group.

Books