Matt Pearl is the director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He joined CSIS in January 2025 after more than 14 years of federal government service. Until August 2024, he was director for emerging technologies and special advisor to the deputy national security advisor at the National Security Council, where he focused on technology and telecommunications issues. Prior to that, Matt was an associate bureau chief at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), where he was responsible for managing wireless policy, including overseeing many of the largest spectrum transitions and auctions in history. Before joining the FCC, he worked as a law clerk for Judge Harris Hartz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Prior to that, he was a law clerk for Judge Lawrence Kahn of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. From 2014 to 2020, Matt was a research affiliate at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, where he was part of an effort to advance networking technologies. Matt earned his JD at Yale Law School, where he served as a submissions editor for the Yale Journal on Regulation.
Areas of Expertise
In the News 8 of 18 results
How China is shackling Trump's cyber agenda
Matt Pearl cited in Axios — December 9, 2025
How China is shackling Trump's cyber agenda
Matt Pearl cited in Axios — December 9, 2025
‘An existential threat’: For Silicon Valley, falling behind in AI is a bigger threat than tariffs
Matt Pearl cited in CNN — August 18, 2025
In Trump’s Washington, Palantir is winning big
Matt Pearl cited in The Washington Post — August 1, 2025
RIF anxiety swirls at State
Matt Pearl cited in POLITICO — June 26, 2025
The US must step up its artificial general intelligence game
Matt Pearl and Navin Girishankar cited in Washington Examiner — June 15, 2025
On TikTok, Chinese Manufacturers Open a New Line in the Trade War
Matt Pearl cited in The New York Times — April 24, 2025
A Trump-proofed plan for undocumented immigrant phone discounts
Matt Pearl in POLITICO — April 11, 2025
All Matt Pearl Content
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Decoding D.C.: Policy, Power, and People
Space in the Digital Era: Security, Competition, and Governance Beyond Earth
Podcast Episode by Matt Pearl and Audrey Schaffer — January 7, 2026
The Global Rulebook: Competing Visions for Tech Governance
Podcast Episode by Matt Pearl — December 17, 2025
Invisible Infrastructure: How Spectrum and 5G Shape Global Power
Podcast Episode by Matt Pearl — December 3, 2025
Keeping China Grounded: Ensuring Long-Term U.S. Tech Leadership in Low Earth Orbit
Event — December 2, 2025
Redundancy, Resiliency, and Repair: Securing Subsea Cable Infrastructure
Event — November 21, 2025
It’s Time for AI Policy to Get Serious About the AI Adoption Gap
Podcast Episode by Shiva Goel and Matt Pearl — November 20, 2025
It’s Time for AI Policy to Get Serious About the AI Adoption Gap
Commentary by Shiva Goel and Matt Pearl — November 20, 2025
The Invisible Shield: Wireless Spectrum and U.S. National Security
Event — November 12, 2025
Cables Under Pressure: Securing Europe’s Subsea Cables
Podcast Episode by Matt Pearl — November 12, 2025