Brian J. Chen is Data & Society’s policy director, leading the organization’s work to shape tech policy. With a background in movement lawyering and legislative and regulatory advocacy, he has worked extensively on issues of economic justice, political economy, and tech governance.
Previously, Brian was a senior staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project, where he led campaigns to strengthen the labor and employment rights of digital platform workers and others in precarious industries. His writing has appeared in The Baffler, Phenomenal World, Boston Review, and other magazines. He holds a JD from New York University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
Related Resources
Policy brief
January 21, 2026
The Big AI State: How the Trump Administration Is Shaping US Industrial Policy Toward “Global Technological Dominance”
In an independent piece for Phenomenal World, Brian J. Chen considers US-China tech tensions, export controls, efforts to achieve digital sovereignty, and how the AI race is…
Great Power Antinomies
In an independent piece for Phenomenal World, Brian J. Chen considers US-China tech tensions…
October 16, 2025
Article
Policy brief
October 8, 2025
The “Privacy” Trap: How “Privacy-Preserving AI Techniques” Mask the New Worker Surveillance and Datafication”
This legislation is a liability shield for the tech industry, Brian J. Chen and Janet Haven write in The Hill. It “provides is a free pass for the AI industry to continue to…
Ted Cruz’s AI Sandbox Enables Dangerous Self-Regulation, Not Innovation
This legislation is a liability shield for the tech industry, Brian J. Chen and Janet Haven write…
September 23, 2025
Article