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Mark Surman
Canadian internet activist

Mark Surman is a Canadian open internet activist and the president and executive director of the Mozilla Foundation. He is a leading advocate for trustworthy AI, digital privacy, and the open internet. Before joining the Mozilla Foundation, Mark spent more than 15 years leading organizations and projects promoting the use of the internet and open source for social empowerment in many countries around the world.

Surman is also an active board member, currently serving as an advisory board member of the McMaster University Masters in Public Policy, Digital Society program, the co-chair of the steering committee for the European AI Fund, and a board member for the Mozilla Foundation.

Surman's writing has appeared in The Washington Post, CNN.com, The Globe and Mail, Chronicle of Philanthropy, MIT's Innovations, and Fast Company. In 2005, Mark published the book Commonspace: Beyond Virtual Community. with Prentice Hall.

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Education and early employment

Surman received his bachelor's degree in the history of community media from the University of Toronto in 1996. His undergraduate thesis was entitled Wired Words: Utopia, Revolution, and the History of Electronic Highways. The paper was presented at the Internet Society's INET'96 conference.15

In 1998, Surman co-founded and became president of the Commons Group, providing advice on networks, technology, and social change.16 During this time, Mark also led the development of the APC Action Apps, an open source project aimed at providing content publishing and sharing for activist organizations.17

From 2005 to 2008, Surman was the managing director of telecentre.org.18 Created by Canada's International Development Research Centre, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and Microsoft, telecentre.org worked to network the global telecentre community and improve their sustainability.19 Mark co-edited the book From the Ground Up: the Evolution of the Telecentre Movement.20

Surman was awarded one of the inaugural Shuttleworth Foundation fellowships in 2007. Shuttleworth Foundation provides funding for people using open source methods to create social change.2122 There he helped advance thinking about how to apply open source approaches to philanthropy23 and contributed to the development of the Cape Town Declaration for Open Education.24

Mozilla Foundation

In August 2008, Surman became the executive director of the Mozilla Foundation,25 the non-profit organization that supports the open source Mozilla project. The Foundation also runs advocacy programs26 and offers fellowships27 to protect the open internet.  It is the sole owner of the Mozilla Corporation, which makes the Firefox web browser.

During his early years at the Foundation, Surman oversaw the development of the Mozilla Festival (2010), an annual gathering of people working on open internet and open source projects.28 He also led the development of the initial Mozilla Fellowship program with the Knight Foundation (2011), with a focus on putting open source developers in newsrooms.29 These efforts expanded Mozilla’s work beyond its traditional focus on browser and email software.

Starting in 2012, Surman helped develop a collection of efforts focused on promoting digital literacy,30 including Mozilla's Maker Party31 event series and the Webmaker software project.32 These efforts also included a number of joint initiatives with MacArthur Foundation that focused on digital learning, including Open Badges and Hive.33 Mozilla’s work on digital literacy was wound down in late 2017.34

In 2016, Surman and others shifted the Foundation’s focus toward supporting the growth of what they have called ‘the internet health movement’.35 Work in this area has included the launch of the yearly Mozilla Internet Health Report,36 the Privacy Not Included guide,37 and campaigns advocating that companies like Amazon,38 Facebook39 and YouTube40 improve their products in the public interest. Programs such as MozFest and the Mozilla Fellowships have continued as a part of the Foundation’s movement building activities.41

In 2018, the Foundation further focused its movement building efforts around the theme of promoting responsible data and AI practices.42 The rationale for this focus was detailed in a paper entitled Creating Trustworthy AI, jointly written by Surman and Rebecca Ricks.43

In 2022, Surman took on the additional role of Mozilla Foundation president, working with Mitchell Baker on Mozilla-wide strategy and expansion efforts.44 This included the launch of Mozilla Ventures,45 a fund to invest in responsible tech startups and Mozilla.ai,46 an R+D arm focused on translating computer science research into open source trustworthy AI products.

Personal life

Surman was born and resides in Toronto, Ontario. He has two sons, Ethan and Tristan Surman. Both are members of the band The Neighbourhood Watch.47 He was married to long time collaborator and Centre for Social Innovation founder Tonya Surman.

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References

  1. "Mozilla Leadership Page". Mozilla Foundation. Retrieved August 21, 2015. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/leadership/#mark-surman ↩

  2. Surman, Mark. "Mozilla's Vision for Trustworthy AI". blog.mozilla.org. Retrieved 2021-04-22. https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2020/12/15/mozillas-vision-for-trustworthy-ai/ ↩

  3. Surman, Mark; Bednar, Vass (January 12, 2021). "Digital privacy law is being updated for the first time in decades, and it's imperative we get it right". CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-digital-privacy-bill-c11-1.5863117 ↩

  4. "CBC Spark: Internet health as a social issue". CBC Radio. Retrieved 2021-04-22. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/internet-health-as-a-social-issue-1.4053202 ↩

  5. "People". McMaster Faculty of Social Sciences. Retrieved 2021-04-22. https://publicpolicy.mcmaster.ca/people ↩

  6. "Who we are | European AI Fund". Retrieved 2021-04-22. https://europeanaifund.org/about/ ↩

  7. Baker, Mitchell. "Mark Surman joins the Mozilla Foundation Board of Directors". The Mozilla Blog. Retrieved 2021-04-22. https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2021/04/20/mark-surman-joins-the-mozilla-foundation-board-of-directors ↩

  8. Surman, Mark (October 7, 2015). "Smartphone users in emerging markets deserve better than a watered-down Internet". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 14, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2015/10/07/smartphone-users-in-emerging-markets-deserve-better-than-a-watered-down-internet/ ↩

  9. Surman, Mark (February 18, 2016). "Mozilla chief: FBI snooping at Apple 'back door' makes you less safe". CNN. Retrieved April 28, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/18/opinions/apple-encryption-backdoor-fbi-surman/ ↩

  10. Surman, Mark (December 18, 2013). "What did you learn out of school today?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 14, 2015. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/what-did-you-learn-out-of-school-today/article16005825/ ↩

  11. Ibargüen, Alberto; Surman, Mark & Walker, Darren (February 11, 2015). "Philanthropy Must Jump-Start a Digital Revolution for the Common Good". Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved August 31, 2015. https://philanthropy.com/article/Opinion-Philanthropy-Must/228039 ↩

  12. Surman, Mark; Gardner, Corina & Ascher, David (December 31, 2014). "Local Content, Smartphones, and Digital Inclusion". Innovations. 9 (3–4): 63–74. doi:10.1162/inov_a_00217. S2CID 57566389. https://doi.org/10.1162%2Finov_a_00217 ↩

  13. Davidson, Cathy & Surman, Mark (August 8, 2012). "Why Web Literacy Should Be Part of Every Education". Fast Company. Retrieved August 31, 2015. http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680264/why-web-literacy-should-be-part-of-every-education ↩

  14. Wershler-Henry, Darren Sean; Surman, Mark (January 2001). Commonspace: Beyond Virtual Community. ISBN 0130893617. 0130893617 ↩

  15. "Wired Words: Utopia, Revolution, and the History of Electronic Highways". 2016-01-03. Archived from the original on 2016-01-03. Retrieved 2021-04-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20160103053852/http://www.isoc.org/inet96/proceedings/e2/e2_1.htm ↩

  16. "Commons Group". Commons Group. https://commons.ca/ ↩

  17. "Where do we go from here? APC after the internet explosion | Association for Progressive Communications". www.apc.org. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://www.apc.org/en/about/history/apc-after-internet-explosion ↩

  18. ".:telecentre.org:". 2007-02-10. Archived from the original on 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20070210103127/http://www.telecentre.org/ ↩

  19. "Connecting ICTs to Development: The IDRC Experience". IRDC. Retrieved August 21, 2015. http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications/Collections/ICT4D/Pages/default.aspx?index=24 ↩

  20. "From the Ground Up e-book". 2007-01-10. Archived from the original on 2007-01-10. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20070110015844/http://ebook.telecentre.org/ ↩

  21. "We are the Shuttleworth Foundation". The Shuttleworth Foundation. Retrieved August 21, 2015. https://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org ↩

  22. "Mark Surman". The Shuttleworth Foundation. 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://shuttleworthfoundation.org/fellows/mark-surman/ ↩

  23. "Philanthropy on the commons". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/philanthropy_on_the_commons/ ↩

  24. Casserly, Cathy (2018-01-26). "10 years of OER: What funders can learn from a historical moment". Hewlett Foundation. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://hewlett.org/10-years-oer-funders-can-learn-historical-moment/ ↩

  25. "Mark Surman: New Mozilla Foundation Executive Director | Mitchell's Blog". blog.lizardwrangler.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://blog.lizardwrangler.com/2008/08/18/mark-surman-new-mozilla-foundation-executive-director/ ↩

  26. "Advocacy". Mozilla Foundation. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/advocacy/ ↩

  27. "Fellowships". Mozilla Foundation. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/ ↩

  28. "How To MozFest: An Open Book". MozFest Book. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://book.mozillafestival.org/ ↩

  29. bhueppe. "Knight-Mozilla News Technology Partnership Announced". The Mozilla Blog. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2011/02/07/knight-mozilla-news-technology-partnership-announced ↩

  30. "Is Digital Literacy an Essential 21st-Century Skill?". WISE. 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://www.wise-qatar.org/digital-literacy-mark-surman/ ↩

  31. "Mozilla's Webmaker is providing a new tool for users to read, write and participate on the Web". TechChange. Retrieved August 21, 2015. https://www.techchange.org/event/july-techtalk-mark-surman-executive-director-of-mozilla/ ↩

  32. Summers, Nick (2014-10-23). "Mozilla's Webmaker app will make it easy for anyone to create Web apps on their smartphone". TNW | Apps. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://thenextweb.com/news/mozillas-webmaker-app-will-make-easy-anyone-create-web-apps-smartphone ↩

  33. "Mozilla Foundation - MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/mozilla-foundation-42446/ ↩

  34. Lawrence, Chris (2017-11-21). "Mozilla Learning Updates, Transitions and Sunsets". Medium. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://medium.com/read-write-participate/for-nearly-a-decade-mozilla-has-been-a-proud-leader-and-catalyst-for-digital-learning-from-b0e5c647da8a ↩

  35. Surman, Mark (18 May 2017). "Net neutrality is a pivotal moment in a broader movement for a healthy internet". Mashable. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://mashable.com/2017/05/18/net-neutrality-pivotal-moment-broader-movement-mozilla/ ↩

  36. "The Health of the Internet 2019". CBC Radio. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/the-health-of-the-internet-in-2019-deepfakes-biased-ai-and-addiction-by-design-1.5122433 ↩

  37. Hassan, Aisha. "See which gadgets Mozilla found to be secure and trustworthy". Quartz. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://qz.com/1464099/internet-connected-holiday-gifts-that-are-secure-and-trustworthy/ ↩

  38. Bogart, Nicole (2021-01-30). "Doorbell cameras are helpful for package theft, but come with privacy risks". CTVNews. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/sci-tech/doorbell-cameras-are-helpful-for-package-theft-but-come-with-privacy-risks-1.5289139 ↩

  39. Horwitz, Jeff (2021-01-31). "Facebook Knew Calls for Violence Plagued 'Groups,' Now Plans Overhaul". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knew-calls-for-violence-plagued-groups-now-plans-overhaul-11612131374 ↩

  40. Leprince-Ringuet, Daphne. "Mozilla wants to understand your weird YouTube recommendations". ZDNet. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://www.zdnet.com/article/mozilla-wants-to-understand-your-weird-youtube-recommendations/ ↩

  41. "Gizmodo Brasil". Gizmodo Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://gizmodo.uol.com.br/ ↩

  42. Mozilla (2018-11-30). "Slowing Down, Asking Questions, Looking Ahead". Medium. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://medium.com/read-write-participate/slowing-down-asking-questions-looking-ahead-265f6b99810d ↩

  43. "Creating Trustworthy AI". Mozilla Foundation. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/insights/trustworthy-ai-whitepaper/ ↩

  44. Surman, Mark; President; Director, Executive. "Community is key to our next chapter | The State of Mozilla". Mozilla. Retrieved 2023-05-28. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/foundation/annualreport/2021/article/mark-surman/ ↩

  45. "Mozilla's Mark Surman Is Rethinking Venture Capital". Time. 2022-11-13. Retrieved 2023-05-28. https://time.com/6232949/interview-mark-surman-mozilla/ ↩

  46. Brady, Diane. "Mozilla Foundation's Mark Surman On Launching An AI Startup For All". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-05-28. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dianebrady/2023/03/22/mozilla-foundations-mark-sumner-on-launching-an-ai-startup-for-all/ ↩

  47. Mirny, Naomi (2021-02-09). "'Lost in Bloom' chronicles The Neighbourhood Watch's coming-of-age". The McGill Tribune. Retrieved 2021-04-26. https://www.mcgilltribune.com/a-e/lost-in-bloom-chronicles-the-neighbourhood-watchs-coming-of-age-02092021/ ↩