Stanford Center for Internet and Society

What Stanford Center for Internet and Society does

The Stanford Center for Internet and Society (Stanford CIS) is an academic research center housed within Stanford Law School that studies the legal and policy implications of the Internet and other emerging technologies. Its research portfolio spans artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, privacy, net neutrality, copyright, platform regulation, and automated driving, and is delivered through peer-style publications, policy briefs, a long-running blog, formal comments to government bodies, and expert testimony before legislative and regulatory forums including the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, the California State Bar, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and various federal agencies.

The center does not develop or sell commercial products or services; its output is a content and policy platform distributed free of charge via its website (cyberlaw.stanford.edu), a multi-platform social media presence, and academic and government channels. The center is led by Director Barbara van Schewick (Professor of Law at Stanford Law School) and includes Policy Fellows such as Riana Pfefferkorn, Non-Residential Fellows such as Ryan Long, Affiliate Scholars such as Richard Forno, and Fellows such as Chuck Cosson, with operational linkages to the broader Stanford ecosystem including Stanford HAI. The content base is substantial and longstanding, with 903 pages in the "Of Interest" archive, 419 blog pages, and 285 privacy-topic pages documented on the website.

Revenue is institutional rather than transactional: the center is funded by Stanford University through the Law School and accepts donations through Stanford's giving platform. There are no disclosed prices, contracts, customers, funding rounds, or commercial partnerships. All publications and research are made freely available, and the center's "customers" in a functional sense are policymakers, courts, bar associations, academic scholars, journalists, and the broader public engaged with technology law and digital rights.

Name

Stanford Center for Internet and Society

Legal name

Stanford Center for Internet and Society

Website

https://cyberlaw.stanford.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1891

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Stanford CIS is an academic research center at Stanford Law School that studies law and policy around the Internet and emerging technologies, producing free publications, policy briefs, and government testimony on AI, privacy, cybersecurity, net neutrality, copyright, and platform regulation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal and Policy Research

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Sciences & Public Policy Research Universities (EDAHABAD)

Keywords

• Internet law research
• Technology policy analysis
• AI policy research
• Privacy law scholarship
• Cybersecurity policy

Headquarters

HQ city

Stanford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. University Funding: As part of Stanford Law School, the center receives institutional funding from Stanford University.
2. Donations: The center accepts donations through Stanford's giving platform, with a dedicated donation page for CIS.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Stanford CIS is a non-profit academic research center that studies law and policy around the Internet and emerging technologies including AI, cybersecurity, privacy, net neutrality, copyright, automated driving, and platform regulation. It produces research publications, policy briefs, blog posts, press releases, and expert testimony for lawmakers, regulators, and the public. The center's research and analysis are made freely available through its website and distributed through academic and government channels.

Product overview

Stanford CIS is an academic research center at Stanford Law School focused on the study of law and policy around the Internet and emerging technologies. It does not offer commercial products or services. The center produces research publications, policy briefs, blog posts, testimony, and commentary on topics including cybersecurity, AI policy, privacy, net neutrality, copyright, automated driving, and platform regulation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Publications Policy briefs, research papers, and formal publications on technology law topics including AI policy, cybersecurity, privacy, net neutrality, copyright, automated driving, and platform regulation.
• Blog Over 419 pages of blog posts covering current technology law issues including AI policy, cybersecurity, automated driving, copyright, and digital rights.
• Expert Testimony and Government Comments Direct engagement with policymakers through Senate testimony, agency comments, and regulatory proceedings on technology law and policy issues.

Quantifiable outcome

• Published 903 pages of research content across multiple technology law domains
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society: Harvard Law School's Berkman Klein Center is the closest historical and functional peer to Stanford CIS, studying internet law, privacy, and platform governance with similar academic research and policy engagement.
• Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP): Princeton CITP is an interdisciplinary research center examining the intersection of technology, law, and policy. It is directly comparable to Stanford CIS in its academic-policy hybrid model and topic coverage.
• Berkeley Center for Law and Technology: UC Berkeley's center focuses on law and technology, including IP, privacy, and biotech. It is a direct peer operating in the same law-school-anchored model for technology policy research.
• NYU Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy: NYU's Engelberg Center studies innovation law and policy including AI, copyright, and platform regulation. It is a direct peer as another elite law-school-based technology policy research center.
• Yale Information Society Project: Yale ISP conducts legal and policy research on internet, AI, and platform regulation from within Yale Law School. It is a direct peer given its shared law-school-anchored model and focus on technology law.
• Stanford HAI (Institute for Human-Centered AI): Stanford HAI is Stanford's flagship AI research and policy institute. It is a direct peer given its overlapping mission on AI policy and governance and its formal affiliation with Stanford CIS through shared Policy Fellows.
• MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative (IPRI): MIT IPRI studies the policy implications of internet technologies, including cybersecurity and privacy. It is a direct peer in the academic internet-policy research category, complementing Stanford CIS's work with technical depth.
• Georgetown Center for Privacy and Technology: Georgetown's center examines privacy, surveillance, and technology policy. It is a direct peer as a law-school-based research center engaging with regulators and policymakers on digital-rights issues.

Emerging players

• Future of Privacy Forum: FPF is a non-profit think tank focused on privacy and data protection policy. It is comparable to Stanford CIS on the privacy-policy axis, though it operates as an independent nonprofit rather than a university center.
• Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT): CDT is a non-profit advocacy organization working on internet freedom, privacy, and AI policy. It is a peer on the policy-influence dimension, though it operates more as an advocacy organization than an academic research center.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stanfordcis
• Facebookfacebook.com/stanfordcis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stanford-university-center-for-internet-and-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stanford Center for Internet and Society