My name is Heather Burns and I am a tech policy wonk based in Glasgow, Scotland. I work for an open web built around international standards of human rights, privacy, accessibility, and freedom of expression. That means I advocate for policy and technology developments which keep the internet open, globally connected, secure, and trustworthy.

I’ve been Extremely Online since 1994. I built my first web site in 1996 in Lynx on Unix. You can read the rest of the story in the introduction to my book.

This is my personal site, and the content and opinions on it do not reflect the opinions of any current contractor or previous employer.

What I’m working on now

• 2024’s suite of elections from the digital perspective – and there are 58 of them in 54 countries
• The UK Online Safety Act
• The UK Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill
• The UK Data Protection and Digital Information Bill
• …and how the latter three will impact service providers who are not Big Tech, as well as those who use any service regardless of who makes it

Want me to work with you?

I’m currently freelancing and am fully booked up for the rest of 2023.

If you’re thinking about bringing me in for 2024: I work with smart, proactive, critical thinkers. And so I support teams who bring those people on board, rather than avoiding them. I’m at my best in projects and organisations that are fearless, provocative, and show up to fight the good fights. As for where I do that from, I work hybrid/remote from Glasgow, aka Not London, and so I work with people who don’t have a problem with that.

As always, the usual filters apply. I’m not a lawyer or an academic. I don’t have a Ph.D (gasp!). I don’t work with big tech or anti-big tech campaigns, I don’t work in corporate compliance, and I don’t work with government or regulators. Finally, I don’t work for all-white-male golf course boys’ clubs, and yes, this still needs to be said in Scotland, and it shouldn’t.

TFW you unbox your own book. Yes those are William Morris shoes.

Past work

• 2022: Head of Policy and Governance, MaidSafe
• 2020 – 2021: Policy Manager, Open Rights Group
• 2015 – 2020: Freelance tech policy and regulation specialist for clients across the startup, digital rights, privacy, digital agency, and games sectors
• 2011 – 2020: Open source software contributor and community member
• 2007 – 2015: Full-time web designer and developer
• 2000 – 2005: Worked in international relations and community development

In August 2018 I was flattered to be named as Smashing Magazine’s Person of the Week for my work on GDPR and privacy. Photo taken by some Geordie in a Belgrade dive bar run by two refugees from Reading ’94.