Tod Cohen is one of the technology industry’s foremost experts on Internet law and policy. He draws upon more than two decades of experience in-house with some of the world’s best-known internet and e-commerce companies to provide tech clients with practical, strategic advice on critical evolving issues in data privacy, payments, antitrust and competition law, and content moderation.
Tod joined O’Melveny from Twitter, where he served as Deputy General Counsel responsible for global legal policy, data protection, litigation, content moderation and law enforcement, employment law, and human rights. At Twitter, he managed cross-functional strategic initiatives, including the “Big Tech” antitrust inquiries and new data protection regulatory obligations in the United States and Europe.
Prior to Twitter, Tod was General Counsel of StubHub, where he directed the company’s legal and policy team overseeing payments regulation, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, antitrust law, privacy and data protection, and global public policy. Before that, he served as Deputy General Counsel of eBay, responsible for global public policy for eBay, PayPal, Skype, eBay Classified Group, and StubHub as well as eBay’s Global Asset Protection Team and the company’s offensive and defensive antitrust work.
Tod has served as an expert, member, and participant in government and industry coalitions, including the US Department of Commerce’s Expert Working Group on Electronic Commerce; ICANN; the EU’s Stakeholder Dialogues on Copyright Infringement; the World Customs Organization; the World Intellectual Property Organization; and the President’s Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking. He has served as a Visiting Professor at King’s College in the UK and is a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the Internet Education Foundation.
Admissions
Bar Admission
- California
- District of Columbia
Education
- George Washington University Law School, J.D., 1992 with Highest Honors; Law Review Articles Editor; Moot Court Board; Order of the Coif; Winner, International Space Law Moot Court Competition
-
University of Utah, B.A., 1985
Professional Activities
Leadership
- Senior Advisor, Platform Economy Insights (2020-Present)
- Board Member, Congressional Internet Education Foundation (2012-Present)
- Appointed Member, US Presidential Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking (2013-2017)
- Board Member, Close Up Foundation (2010-2016)
- Appointed Member, US Department of Commerce / USTR Industry Trade Advisory Committee, Information and Communications Technologies, Services and Electronic Commerce (ITAC 8) (2002-2008)
- Steering Committee Member, The American Assembly, Arts Technology and Intellectual Property Project (2000-2002)
- Vice Chairman (Private Sector), Free Trade Agreement of the Americas Joint Government - Private Sector Experts’ Committee on Electronic Commerce (1999-2001)
Podcasts
Speaker
- "Web 3.0 and the New Frontier of the Metaverse: Understanding the Law and Best Practices," Stanford Digital Economy Best Practices Conference (June 13, 2022)