Alex Rochefort

Alex Rochefort is a PhD Candidate in the Division of Emerging Media Studies at Boston University’s College of Communication. His dissertation uses theories of the policymaking process to explain the emergence of digital platform regulation as a public concern in the United States. His broader research interests include platform governance, tech policy, and human rights. Alex’s peer-reviewed articles have appeared in Communication Law and Policy; the Journal of Information Technology and Politics; and Mass Communication and Society.

In addition to his graduate work, Alex is involved in digital rights policy research and advocacy. He was formerly a Google public policy fellow with the NGO Freedom House and, in 2020 and 2021, a contributor to that organization’s annual “Freedom on the Net” report. Alex has also been a policy fellow with Ranking Digital Rights, a civil society organization focused on human rights and corporate accountability. In 2022, he was invited to participate and speak about his work at Oxford University’s Media Policy Summer Institute, and, in 2023, he participated in the Oxford Internet Institute’s Summer Doctoral Program. Alex is currently a graduate research affiliate with the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.