Karen Kaiser

Karen Kaiser has been a leading global freedom of expression advocate for 25 years, and AI governance leader, championing press freedom, independent journalism, journalist safety, and human rights, particularly at the intersection of rule of law, technology, and democracy. 
 
Kaiser is currently Director and Legal Advisor at the Clooney Foundation for Justice, leading a newly launched program with the Oxford Institute of Technology and Justice that harnesses AI for good to expand access to justice for journalists and women globally. She directs the development of AI-powered tools, from co-creation and global testing to responsible deployment, in partnership with leading technology companies, making it easier for vulnerable communities to access trusted legal support. 

Prior to her role at CFJ, Kaiser served as SVP, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer at The Associated Press for 12 years, leading the legal operations for the news organization globally, as well as legal strategy, governance, risk, compliance, crisis management, AI policy, and press freedom advocacy, with particular emphasis on threats to freedom of expression, journalist safety, and content protection. She spearheaded AP’s risk management framework, directed the company’s AI legal and governance approach, led crisis response protocols securing the release of detained journalists globally, and managed industry-setting press freedom initiatives. 

Kaiser has been a leader in advancing press freedom protections globally. In both 2014 and 2022, Kaiser was instrumental in reforming the U.S. Department of Justice Guidelines on Subpoenas for Members of the Press, and served on the DOJ News Media Task Force for over a decade, meeting regularly with U.S. Attorneys General on press freedom issues. She has testified before the U.S. Congress for stronger protections for journalists, and has engaged on press freedom issues with global leaders and international organizations. 

Kaiser is Chair of the International Bar Association Media Law Committee, and is on the Steering Committee of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and also serves as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Media Development Investment Fund, the Media Advisory Council of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom, and the Advisory Committee for Lawyers for Reporters. She is a frequent speaker at numerous international conferences on issues of international press freedom rights and human rights, speaking at venues including UNESCO World Press Freedom Day, G20, and the International Journalism Festival. Kaiser has twice been honored as one of “America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel” by the National Law Journal for championing press freedom rights. 

Prior to serving as General Counsel, Kaiser was chief newsroom lawyer at AP, and previously also held positions at the Tribune Company, and as a senior litigator at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, where she worked on landmark First Amendment cases. She clerked for the Honorable Kevin Thomas Duffy in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.
Kaiser holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from Fordham Law School, and a certificate from the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD Business School (France). Kaiser is conversational in French.