The Federal Trade Commission appointed a new chief technologist who previously worked as a security advisor and technical expert at The Washington Post, co-authoring some stories based on leaks by Edward Snowden.
{mosads}Ashkan Soltani was appointed Tuesday by FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez to replace Latanya Sweeney, who is stepping down to return to Harvard University.
After a year at the FTC, Sweeney will return to Harvard’s Data Privacy Lab, which she founded.
“Technology and online and mobile platforms are continuing to evolve at a rapid pace and will remain a key focus for the FTC as more and more consumers adopt mobile devices and tablets,” Ramirez said in a statement.
In 2013 alone, Soltani worked as a consultant for the Post, Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal, the FTC and a number of state attorneys general. He has worked as a consultant and researcher on technology, privacy and behavior economics for more than 20 years, according to his biography.
He previously worked as a staff technologist at the FTC from 2010 to 2011.
Barton Gellman, the lead writer for many of the Snowden stories that won the Post a Pulizer Prize, said the news is “worth celebrating” in a tweet Tuesday.