ACM US Technology Policy Committee History

ACM’s first policy Committee, originally known as “USACM,” was chartered in 1992 at the urging of its founding Chair and former ACM President Barbara Simons to formalize and professionalize the Association’s longstanding contributions to US public policy.

Commissioned to “identify, report on and influence US government policies on information technology on behalf of the computing community and the public," USACM in its early years provided Congress and the Executive Branch with expert technical input and engaged in apolitical advocacy on a host of cutting edge issues, most notably: the emerging National Information Infrastructure; evolving norms for intellectual property protection in the digital age; the protection of personal privacy online; and robust support for federally funded research on many aspects of computing and related fields. Subsequently, under the leadership of multiple dedicated Chairs (below), the Committee also engaged with policy makers on such key matters as encryption standards, data security and internet governance.

Known today as the ACM US Technology Policy Committee, “USTPC” has grown to more than 130 ACM members who regularly provide federal agencies, members of Congress and their staffs, the White House, and he media with expert and apolitical analysis of critical current and future issues in computing. In addition to many of the historically primary areas of focus noted above, these include: algorithmic bias and multiple other aspects of artificial intelligence; deep fakes technologies; and the cybersecurity challenges posed by election systems, networked device security, and malicious actors.

For more on ACM’s longstanding and ongoing commitment to technically informed public policy in the US, please see our Archives and current Key Issues pages.

ACM US Policy Committee Chairs/Co-Chairs

  • Barbara Simons (1992 - 1998, 2000-2004)
  • Charles Brownstein (1998-1999)
  • Gene Spafford (2000 – 2014, 2015 – 2016)
  • Edward Felten (2014 – 2015)
  • Stuart Shapiro (2016 – 2018)
  • Jim Hendler (2018 – Present)

ACM Policy Directors

  • Marc Rotenberg (1995 – 2000)
  • Jeff Grove (2001 – 2004)
  • Cameron Wilson (2005 – 2014)
  • Renee Dopplick (2014 – 2017)
  • Adam Eisgrau (2018 – Present)