Jane Horvath

Jane Horvath is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is a Co-Chair of the firm’s Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Group, and a member of the Administrative Law and Regulatory, Artificial Intelligence, Crisis Management, Litigation and Media, Entertainment and Technology Practice Groups. Having previously served as Apple’s Chief Privacy Officer, Google’s Global Privacy Counsel and the DOJ’s first Chief Privacy Counsel and Civil Liberties Officer, among other positions, Jane draws from more than two decades of privacy and legal experience, offering unique in-house counsel and regulatory perspectives to counsel clients as they manage complex technical issues on a global regulatory scale.

In recognition of her expertise and contributions to the field, Jane has received several accolades. Lawdragon named her among its 2024 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors list, which highlights “100 stellar players who capture the state of artificial intelligence in the law today, with a side of interesting legal tech.” The Future of Privacy Forum  honored Jane with their Career Achievement Award, which is awarded to “private sector leaders who have made major contributions to advancing the values of data protection.” Politico  included Jane as one of the top “Rulemakers” in the Tech28, their annual ranking of the 28 power players behind Europe’s tech revolution.

Jane returned to Gibson Dunn after serving as Apple’s Chief Privacy Officer, where she led the company’s regulatory, policy and product strategy on all privacy- and cybersecurity-related legal matters. In this role, Jane shaped and implemented worldwide data protection laws, including in jurisdictions with omnibus privacy laws, such as the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan, as well as jurisdictions considering similar laws, such as the United States and Vietnam. Jane’s practice focuses on counseling involving privacy, cybersecurity and data strategies – particularly those at the forefront of new regulation – and advocacy and strategy with global regulators and policy makers on these same issues. She brings hands-on practical experience building privacy, cybersecurity and data solutions at the edge of innovation and at a global scale. Jane has extensive knowledge regarding encryption and related global laws and has been deeply involved in providing comments in response to the European Union Digital Markets Act and pending competition legislation in the United States, Japan and Australia. She has extensive experience implementing encryption into different product applications and defending encryption against U.S. and global government access requests – issues that are top of mind right now for technology companies. Additionally Jane has an immense understanding of government surveillance and data localization laws.

Recent experience includes:

• advising clients, management and product teams in developing product and business strategies that involve privacy and data architecture, encryption and offensive security and data localization and advocating for the adoption of those strategies with key regulators and policymakers around the globe;
• implementing networks, data solutions and technology in China and navigating Chinese privacy laws and the interaction with U.S. and global national security, privacy and regulatory considerations;
• developing global strategies and solutions for companies in relation to pending competition, AI, privacy and other regulation in the UK, EU, Japan and other global markets;
• advising companies on the implementation of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act;
• advising companies on cybersecurity oversight and risk, along with other critical risk areas, such as managing data storage and workforces in China and global data network architecture and localization; and
• drafting key privacy legislation, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and related amendments.

Before joining Apple, Jane was Global Privacy Counsel at Google from 2007 to 2011. Jane served as the U.S. Department of Justice’s first Chief Privacy Counsel and Civil Liberties Officer from 2006 to 2007, and, in that capacity, worked on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an executive agency established in the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. While at the DOJ, she was also a member of the High-Level Contact Group and leader of the U.S. delegation of experts tasked with exploring common ground between the European Union’s Third Pillar data protection principles and U.S. federal privacy laws. From 1995 to 2001, Jane was the General Counsel of Digital City Inc., an America Online, Inc. (AOL) subsidiary, and Assistant General Counsel to AOL, where she helped draft the company’s first privacy policies. Jane started her legal career as an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in 1991.

Jane is a recognized thought-leader in the areas of privacy and technology, frequently appearing as a keynote speaker and on panels hosted by global regulators and leading policy organizations. She is routinely sought out by public boards, executives, and policy makers for strategic advice on privacy and cybersecurity matters. Jane was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as a Special Advocate for the Data Protection Review Court (DPRC), part of a process reviewing complaints about U.S. signals intelligence collection violating applicable U.S. law. Jane currently serves as a board member on the board of directors for the Future of Privacy Forum, an organization that serves as a catalyst for privacy leadership and scholarship, advancing principled data practices in support of emerging technologies. Jane is also a member of the Aspen Global Cybersecurity Group, an organization committed to preserving peace and freedom online and addressing pressing international cybersecurity challenges.

Jane received her J.D. from the University of Virginia and her Bachelor of Science from the College of William and Mary.