Mailyn Fidler has joined the Reporters Committee as a legal fellow for the Technology and Press Freedom Project. Her work focuses on litigation, policy and research on technology issues affecting the news media’s First Amendment rights.

“I’ve always been interested in the tools and systems that people use to govern themselves,” Mailyn said. “Law is one of those systems, as is technology.”

The Technology and Press Freedom Project team, led by Gabe Rottman, publishes a weekly newsletter analyzing legal and policy issues at the intersection of technology and press freedom, including government surveillance and leak investigations.

Mailyn’s past work also concentrated on technology and press freedom issues. As an undergraduate, she studied science, technology and society at Stanford University before attending Oxford University on a Marshall Scholarship to study international relations. While attending Yale Law School, she interned at the Knight First Amendment Institute and worked with a law firm litigating First Amendment issues on behalf of major internet platforms.

In law school, Mailyn also worked with the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office to develop impact litigation related to cybersecurity and First Amendment rights, an experience that she says helped prepare her for this fellowship.

“I think there’s a lot of room for growth at this intersection of technology and press freedom,” Mailyn said. She added that her past work “is relevant to how RCFP thinks, particularly as we’re thinking of new ways and new angles to attack these issues.”

As she begins her position with the Reporters Committee, Mailyn looks forward to working to support journalists.

“I have found that in almost everything I’ve done in law, somehow I end up talking to journalists,” she said. “I think they are very important to the rule of law.”

Mailyn Fidler is not admitted to practice law.

The Reporters Committee regularly files friend-of-the-court briefs and its attorneys represent journalists and news organizations pro bono in court cases that involve First Amendment freedoms, the newsgathering rights of journalists and access to public information. Stay up-to-date on our work by signing up for our monthly newsletter and following us on Twitter or Instagram.