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Sonia Arrison
Senior Fellow, Technology Studies

Sonia Arrison is a fellow of Technology Studies at the California-based Pacific Research Institute (PRI) where she researches and writes on the intersection of new technologies and public policy. Specific areas of interest include privacy policy, e-government, intellectual property, nanotechnology, longevity issues, and telecommunications.

She is a weekly columnist for Tech News World and her work has appeared in many publications including CBS MarketWatch, CNN, Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, The National Post, Washington Times, and USA Today. A frequent media guest and National Press Club First Amendment Scholar, Ms. Arrison has appeared on National Public Radio's Forum, Tech TV, CBC's The National, and CNN's Headline News. She was also the host of a radio show called "digital dialogue" on the Voice America network.

Arrison is author of several major PRI studies including Canning Spam: An Economic Solution to Unwanted Email, Being Served: Broadband Competition in the Small and Medium Sized Business Market, and Consumer Privacy: A Free Choice Approach. She is co-author of Upgrading America's Ballot Box: The Rise of E-voting, Crossed Lines: Regulatory Missteps in California Telecom Policy, Punishing Innovation: A Report on California Legislators' Anti-Tech Voting, Internet Taxes: What California Legislators Should Know, and editor of Telecrisis: How Regulation Stifles High Speed Internet Access.

Often asked for advice on technology issues, Arrison has given testimony and served as an expert witness for various government committees such as the Congressional Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce and the California Commission on Internet Political Practices. She is an instructor for California's Command College and serves on the advisory boards for the Acceleration Studies Foundation, the California Women's Leadership Association, and Lead21.

Prior to joining PRI, Arrison focused on Canadian-U.S. regulatory and political issues at the Donner Canadian Foundation. She also worked at the Fraser Institute in Vancouver, B.C., where she specialized in regulatory policy and privatization. She received her BA from the University of Calgary and an MA from the University of British Columbia.

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