Adam Thierer joins FIRE as Senior Fellow

Adam Thierer, a leading voice on technology policy and free expression, has joined FIRE as a senior fellow.

Thierer also serves as a resident senior fellow at the R Street Institute, where he focuses on the intersection of innovation, governance, and online speech. For more than three decades, he has examined the policy implications of the digital revolution, writing extensively on issues ranging from internet governance and media regulation to online child safety and federalism.

He is the author of several influential books, including Permissionless Innovation: The Continuing Case for Comprehensive Technological Freedom and Evasive Entrepreneurs and the Future of Governance, both of which make the case that innovation often outpaces — and improves upon — regulatory frameworks.

Before joining R Street in 2022, Thierer spent more than a decade at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and previously led the Progress and Freedom Foundation. His career has also included roles at the Adam Smith Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Cato Institute.

Thierer has been a frequent voice in policy debates, testifying before Congress and state legislatures on issues related to online speech and emerging technologies. He has also served on several major online safety initiatives, including the Harvard University Internet Safety Technical Task Force and the congressionally created Online Safety Technology Working Group, where he chaired a subcommittee on parental controls.

FIRE is pleased to welcome Adam Thierer as a senior fellow.