Declan McCullagh

{{Short description|American entrepreneur and journalist}}

Declan McCullagh is an American entrepreneur, journalist, and software engineer.

He is the CEO and co-founder,{{cite web | url = https://angel.co/recent-media | title = AngelList web site | accessdate = June 30, 2015}} with computer scientist Celine Bursztein, of Recent Media Inc.,{{cite web | url = https://recent.io/ | title = Recent Media Inc. | accessdate = June 30, 2015 | archive-date = July 1, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150701002139/https://www.recent.io/ | url-status = dead }} a startup in Silicon Valley that has built a recommendation engine and iOS and Android news app. Recent, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning for its recommendation engine, was released{{cite web | date = June 26, 2015 | url = https://www.recent.io/blog/recent-beta-has-been-published | title = Recent beta has been published | accessdate = June 30, 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} to early users in June 2015.

He previously worked for Wired, CNET, CBS Interactive, and Time Inc. His articles about technology have been published in Reason, Playboy, the Wall Street Journal,{{cite web | work = The Wall Street Journal | publisher = wsj.com | date = November 20, 2000 | url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB974677063997061152 | title = ICANN Use More Web Suffixes | last = McCullagh | first = Declan | accessdate = June 30, 2015 }} Communications of the ACM (co-authored with computer scientist Peter G. Neumann),{{cite journal | journal = Association for Computing Machinery | publisher = acm.org | date = June 1999 | title = Inside risks: risks of Y2K | last = McCullagh | first = Declan | volume = 42 | issue = 6 | page = 144 | doi = 10.1145/303849.303872 | s2cid = 6500510 | doi-access = free }} and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.{{cite web | publisher = harvard.edu | date = Fall 2001 | url = https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-84436410/technology-as-security | title = Technology as Security | last = McCullagh | first = Declan | accessdate = June 30, 2015 |url-access=subscription }}

Previously as a journalist he specialized in computer security and privacy. For many years, he moderated the Politech mailing list, giving commentary on the intersection of politics and technology. He is notable, among other things, for his early involvement with the media interpretation of U.S. presidential candidate Al Gore's statement that he "took the initiative in creating the Internet".

In addition to technology, McCullagh has written approvingly of free markets and individual liberty.{{cite web |work=Wired News |publisher=wired.com |date=September 12, 1997 |url=https://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/1997/09/6864 |title=In Defense of Libertarianism |last=McCullagh |first=Declan |accessdate=September 16, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021061548/http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/1997/09/6864 |archivedate=October 21, 2008 }} He began writing weekly columns for CBS News entitled Other People's Money upon CBS Corporation's acquisition of CNET Networks. In August 2009, McCullagh renamed his column to Taking Liberties, which focuses on "individual rights and liberties, including both civil and economic liberties."{{cite web | work = CBS News | publisher = cbsnews.com | date = August 19, 2009 | url = http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/08/19/taking_liberties/entry5250968.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody | title = Welcome To "Taking Liberties" | last = McCullagh | first = Declan | accessdate = August 28, 2009 }}