Edward William Felten (born March 25, 1963) is an American computer scientist. At Princeton University, he served as the Robert E. Kahn Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs, as well as being director of the Center for Information Technology Policy from 2007 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019. In the Obama administration, he served as chief technologist of the Federal Trade Commission from 2011 to 2012 and as deputy chief technology officer of the United States from 2015 to 2017. Felten retired from Princeton University in July 2021.
Felten has done a variety of computer security research, including work on proof-carrying authentication and work on security related to the Java programming language, but he is perhaps best known for his paper on the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) challenge.
In 2018, Felten started to serve as board member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a term that ended on January 29, 2025.
