Carolina Rossini
Professor of Practice | Director of Public Interest Technology Programs University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Amherst MA
Technology policy and law scholar specializing in public interest technology, AI governance and digital rights.
Expertise
Biography
She advises governments, international organizations, philanthropic foundations, civil society and global companies on technology policy, AI and data governance, digital transformation, human rights, and institutional strategy. Her work combines policy expertise with strategic leadership to help organizations navigate complexity, build partnerships, influence policy, strengthen institutions, and achieve lasting impact.
Rossini co-founded the Datasphere Initiative and the Portulans Institute, where she served as inaugural CEO, and serves on the boards of organizations advancing digital governance, human rights and technology for public benefit.
Previously, she held senior positions at Access Now, Public Knowledge, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Meta, and was a Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Her international advisory and policy work has involved the United Nations, the OECD, the World Economic Forum, the G20/T20 and organizations including the Co-Develop Fund, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, the Organization of American States, Freedom of the Net and UNHCR.
A Brazilian-American citizen, Brazilian lawyer and internationally recognized speaker and author, Rossini has spoken at more than 100 events worldwide and published research and policy work with leading academic publishers and international institutions. She was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader (2016–2021).
Video
Education
Boston University
LL.M.
Intellectual Property
2008
UNICAMP/UNESP Santiago Dantas program
M.A.
International Economic Relations
2005
IE University
M.B.A.
2004
University of São Paulo
J.D.
Law
2000
Links
Select Recent Media Coverage
Does a video store privacy law apply online? The Supreme Court will decide.
The Washington Post Online
2026-10-14
Rossini commented on whether the Video Privacy Protection Act applies to online viewing data and what the case reveals about gaps in federal consumer privacy protections.
Meta reaches settlement over social media case
Reuters Online
2026-08-26
Rossini commented on Meta’s settlement with U.S. states, including whether the agreement requires meaningful changes to Facebook and Instagram product design.
Mark Zuckerberg's Meta under fire after California resident makes disturbing claims: 'Truly a menace'
The Cool Down
2026-03-12
A reckoning could be in store for Big Tech after a California woman made disturbing claims in her lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, according to Carolina Rossini, director of Public Interest Technology programs at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
The Future of Digital Spaces and Their Role in Democracy
Pew Research Center Online
2021-11-22
Rossini contributed an expert perspective on the future of digital public spaces and the need to address technology’s effects on health and society.
Select Publications
Changes to Facebook and Instagram are key part of Meta’s $17B settlement with the states over harm to teens
The ConversationCarolina Rossini
2026-08-26
Meta has agreed to pay up to US$17 billion over 10 years to settle claims brought by a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general. The states argued that the company deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to hook children into using its apps, misled the public about the harm and improperly collected data from children under 13.
Algorithmic Design, Product Liability, and the Protection of Children Online: K.G.M. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., et al. and Lessons for Brazil's Digital ECA
Pensar - Revista de Ciências JurídicasCarolina Almeida Antunes Rossini, Rafael A. F. Zanatta
2026-05-15
Comparing the U.S. case K.G.M. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., et al. with Brazil’s Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents, the article examines whether platform design can ground legal responsibility for harm to children. It argues that both developments shift attention from third-party content to design choices and duties of care; it also finds that foreseeability and companies’ internal knowledge can matter even without scientific consensus on social media harms.
Jury finds Instagram and YouTube addictive in lawsuit poised to reshape social media – platform design meets product liability
The ConversationCarolina Rossini
2026-03-25
The verdict in a Los Angeles courtroom on March 25, 2026, may become one of the most consequential legal challenges that Big Tech has ever faced.
This is an inflection point in the global debate over Big Tech liability: For the first time, an American jury had been asked to decide whether platform design itself can give rise to product liability – not because of what users post on them, but because of how they were built. The jury found that Meta and Google knew the design or operation of Instagram and YouTube was or was likely to be dangerous when used by a minor, and that the platforms failed to adequately warn of that danger.
Two verdicts in two days: How American courts are rewriting the rules for Big Tech and children
The ConversationCarolina Rossini
2026-03-06
Within 48 hours, the legal landscape governing social media and children shifted in ways that will take years to fully understand and verify. On March 24, 2026, a Santa Fe jury ordered Meta to pay US$375 million for violating New Mexico’s consumer protection laws.
