Apple hires NFL, Biden veteran for key policy role
Apple has hired Cynthia Hogan, a top lobbyist for the National Football League and former aide to Vice President Joe Biden, as the new head of its Washington office — a major pickup for the tech giant as it continues to battle law enforcement officials who seek greater access to its customers’ data.
Hogan will become the iPhone maker’s vice president for public policy and government affairs for the Americas, a role that oversees not only the company’s D.C. operations but also Canada and Latin America. She’ll report to Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, who previously led the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Cynthia’s intellect and judgment have consistently distinguished her as a uniquely talented professional and we’re lucky to have her join the team at Apple,” Jackson said in a statement.
Hogan takes the new role at a critical time for Apple, which is engaged in a legal and public relations showdown with the Justice Department over law enforcement’s ability to break into password-protected iPhones for investigations. The government recently abandoned a court case against Apple over an iPhone tied to the San Bernardino shooting — after the FBI said it had found a way into the device without Apple’s help — but another case, involving a device tied to a drug probe, continues in New York.
More broadly, Apple finds itself center stage in a growing national debate about the balance between consumer privacy and law enforcement, particularly when it comes to national security. Apple CEO Tim Cook has been a vocal proponent of encryption for iPhones and other Apple devices, and he has criticized the FBI for seeking a “backdoor” into the company’s products. Officials like FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, however, warn about the dangers of law enforcement “going dark” and losing the ability to track suspects.
The debate is beginning to ripple through Congress, where key lawmakers like Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and the panel’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), are drafting a bill that would require tech companies to comply with court orders to help law enforcement gain access to consumer data.
Hogan will take the helm of Apple’s D.C. team on April 29, capping off a roughly two-year stint at the NFL. She joined the league in 2014, and most recently served as its executive vice president for government affairs. In that role, she helped the NFL contend with a series of crises — from mounting concerns about head injuries to scandals involving player misconduct off the field.
Hogan can draw on plenty of government experience and contacts, having served as a counsel to Biden. While in the vice president’s office, she worked on the campaign to confirm Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. During Biden’s Senate days, Hogan served as his chief counsel and staff director on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee.
Her hiring by Apple is another sign of the company’s steadily increasing presence in Washington. Under Cook, Apple spent a record $4.4 million last year to lobby on privacy, cybersecurity, patent reform and other issues, according to federal ethics reports.