Rohan Grover
Assistant Professor @ American University · Washington, DC
Hi, I'm Rohan! (I use he or they pronouns, and my name is pronounced ROH-hun.)
I am an Assistant Professor of AI and Media at American University’s School of Communication and a Non-Resident Fellow with the Center for Democracy and Technology. My research explores the politics of technology policy, with a focus on the ethical and political dynamics of data privacy law and AI governance. Currently, I am especially interested in tech policy intermediaries and the political economy of expertise.
My current book project, tentatively titled Manufacturing User Consent: The Social Life of Data Privacy Law in Action, is under contract with the University of California Press. It draws on ethnographic research in the privacy tech industry to demonstrate the unanticipated politics of implementing and translating data privacy law on the ground. The dissertation upon which the book is based was selected as a finalist for the Best Dissertation Award from the Society of Business Ethics.
My research has been published in journals such as New Media & Society, Political Communication, the International Journal of Communication, Telecommunications Policy, the Journal of Information Policy, The Information Society, and at CHI. My work has been supported by two NSF-funded grants in the areas of research translation and law & science. My research has been recognized with the James R. Cleary Prize for Student Media Law & Policy Research as well as top paper awards from the International Communication Association. I have also received support from major funders across the fields of communication, computing, political science, and media studies.
I earned my PhD from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. Before academia, I was a product manager and data strategist at digital media and political advocacy organizations including HuffPost, MoveOn, Planned Parenthood, and Upworthy. I hold an MA in Media, Culture, and Communication from New York University and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
My work is currently centered around three projects:
1. An academic monograph, tentatively titled "Manufacturing User Consent: The Social Life of Data Privacy Law in Action." The book will look behind the all-too-familiar consent banner and trace how people, professions, platforms, and profits shape how data privacy laws are put into practice. It pushes back on the idea that tech governance is only about law and policy. Social infrastructure matters too.
2. A policy impact project to translate and disseminate my primary research and impact how data privacy law is put into practice. In 2026–27, I am working with a team of graduate students to develop white papers and public-facing materials directed at privacy pofessionals, policymakers, and regulators. This project is funded by an NSF-backed research translation grant.
3. My emerging interests are in policy intermediaries and the political economy of tech policy expertise. I am always looking for collaborators, thought partners, and generative scholarship in this area!
October 7–10, 2026: I will co-chair (with Burcu Baykurt) a panel on technocratic experties in digital governance at the annual Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) in Toronto. In the panel, I will present a paper on the commodification of user consent.
September 30–October 2, 2026: I will present a paper on "the consent market" at the biennial Policy & Internet Conference in Sydney.
June 2026: Signed an advance contract with the University of California Press for my first monograph, tentatively titled "Manufacturing User Consent: The Social Life of Data Privacy Law in Action"
February 2026: Awarded a Seed Translational Research Project grant ($37,500) from the AU Translating Research into Action Center (NSF Grant No. 2331399)
January 2026: Selected as a Non-Resident Fellow of the Center for Democracy and Technology
November 2025: Published an article on why people don't demand data privacy in The Conversation (co-authored with Josh Widera). The article was featured on Marketplace Tech, News.com.au, and KCBS Radio.
October 2025: Awarded a Connection & Collaboration grant ($3,000) from the AU School of Communication
August 2025: Joined American University as Assistant Professor of AI and Media!
May 2025: Defended my dissertation, Consent Theater: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Data Privacy Law in Action, and graduated with my PhD in Communication
April 2025: Published a journal article, "When user consent fails: How platforms undermine data governance" in the International Journal of Communication
January 2025: Published a journal article, "Data disaffection: Toward a relational and affective understanding of datafication" (co-authored with Josh Widera and Mike Ananny) in New Media & Society
I am always happy to connect with new people. Please feel free to get in touch (), especially if you are: