{{short description|Canadian internet activist}} {{Infobox person | name = Mark Surman | image = -rpTEN - Tag 3 (26749546951).jpg | caption = Mark Surman at re:publica 10, 2016 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1969|2|20}} | birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | alma_mater = University of Toronto | occupation = President of the Mozilla Foundation | children = Tristan Surman (1999) Ethan Surman (2002) | website = {{URL|http://marksurman.commons.ca}} | signature = | spouse = Tonya Surman (divorced) | module = {{Listen| embed=yes |filename = Mark Surman voice.flac |title = Surman's voice |type = speech |description = recorded August 2017}} }}
'''Mark Surman''' is a Canadian open internet activist and the president of the Mozilla Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mozilla Leadership Page|url=https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/leadership/#mark-surman|access-date=August 21, 2015|publisher=Mozilla Foundation}}</ref> He is a leading advocate for trustworthy AI,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Surman|first=Mark|date=|title=Mozilla's Vision for Trustworthy AI|url=https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2020/12/15/mozillas-vision-for-trustworthy-ai/|access-date=2021-04-22|website=blog.mozilla.org|language=en}}</ref> digital privacy,<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Surman|first1=Mark|last2=Bednar|first2=Vass|date=January 12, 2021|title=Digital privacy law is being updated for the first time in decades, and it's imperative we get it right|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-digital-privacy-bill-c11-1.5863117}}</ref> and the open internet.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CBC Spark: Internet health as a social issue|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/internet-health-as-a-social-issue-1.4053202|access-date=2021-04-22|website=CBC Radio|language=en-US}}</ref> Before joining the Mozilla Foundation, Mark spent more than 15 years leading organizations and projects promoting the use of the internet and open source for social empowerment in many countries around the world.
Surman is also an active board member, currently serving as an advisory board member of the McMaster University Masters in Public Policy, Digital Society program,<ref>{{Cite web|title=People|url=https://publicpolicy.mcmaster.ca/people|access-date=2021-04-22|website=McMaster Faculty of Social Sciences|language=en-us}}</ref> the co-chair of the steering committee for the European AI Fund,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Who we are {{!}} European AI Fund|url=https://europeanaifund.org/about/|access-date=2021-04-22|language=en-GB}}</ref> and a board member for the Mozilla Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Baker|first=Mitchell|title=Mark Surman joins the Mozilla Foundation Board of Directors|url=https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2021/04/20/mark-surman-joins-the-mozilla-foundation-board-of-directors|access-date=2021-04-22|website=The Mozilla Blog|language=en-US}}</ref>
Surman's writing has appeared in ''The Washington Post'',<ref>{{cite news |author=Surman, Mark |title=Smartphone users in emerging markets deserve better than a watered-down Internet |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2015/10/07/smartphone-users-in-emerging-markets-deserve-better-than-a-watered-down-internet/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 7, 2015 |access-date=October 14, 2015}}</ref> ''CNN.com'',<ref>{{cite journal |author=Surman, Mark |title=Mozilla chief: FBI snooping at Apple 'back door' makes you less safe |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/18/opinions/apple-encryption-backdoor-fbi-surman/ |journal=CNN |date=February 18, 2016 |access-date=April 28, 2016}}</ref> ''The Globe and Mail'',<ref>{{cite journal |author=Surman, Mark |title=What did you learn out of school today? |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/what-did-you-learn-out-of-school-today/article16005825/ |journal=The Globe and Mail|date=December 18, 2013 |access-date=October 14, 2015}}</ref> ''Chronicle of Philanthropy'',<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ibargüen, Alberto |author2=Surman, Mark |author3=Walker, Darren |name-list-style=amp |title=Philanthropy Must Jump-Start a Digital Revolution for the Common Good |url=https://philanthropy.com/article/Opinion-Philanthropy-Must/228039 |journal=Chronicle of Philanthropy |date=February 11, 2015 |access-date=August 31, 2015}}</ref> MIT's ''Innovations'',<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Surman, Mark |author2=Gardner, Corina |author3=Ascher, David |name-list-style=amp |title=Local Content, Smartphones, and Digital Inclusion |journal=Innovations |date=December 31, 2014 |doi=10.1162/inov_a_00217 |volume=9 |issue=3–4 |pages=63–74|s2cid=57566389 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and ''Fast Company''.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Davidson, Cathy |author2=Surman, Mark |name-list-style=amp |title=Why Web Literacy Should Be Part of Every Education |url=http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680264/why-web-literacy-should-be-part-of-every-education |journal=Fast Company |date=August 8, 2012 |access-date=August 31, 2015}}</ref> In 2005, Mark published the book ''Commonspace: Beyond Virtual Community''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Commonspace: Beyond Virtual Community |isbn=0130893617 |last1=Wershler-Henry |first1=Darren Sean |last2=Surman |first2=Mark |date=January 2001 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/commonspacebeyon0000surm }}</ref> with Prentice Hall.
==Education and early employment== Surman received his bachelor's degree in the History of Community Media from the University of Toronto in 1996. His undergraduate thesis was entitled ''Wired Words: Utopia, Revolution, and the History of Electronic Highways''. The paper was presented at the Internet Society's INET'96 conference.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-01-03|title=Wired Words: Utopia, Revolution, and the History of Electronic Highways|url=http://www.isoc.org/inet96/proceedings/e2/e2_1.htm|access-date=2021-04-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103053852/http://www.isoc.org/inet96/proceedings/e2/e2_1.htm|archive-date=2016-01-03}}</ref>
In 1998, Surman co-founded and became president of the Commons Group, providing advice on networks, technology, and social change.<ref>{{cite web|title=Commons Group|url=https://commons.ca/|access-date=|website=Commons Group}}</ref> During this time, Mark also led the development of the APC Action Apps, an open source project aimed at providing content publishing and sharing for activist organizations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Where do we go from here? APC after the internet explosion {{!}} Association for Progressive Communications|url=https://www.apc.org/en/about/history/apc-after-internet-explosion|access-date=2021-04-26|website=www.apc.org}}</ref>
From 2005 to 2008, Surman was the managing director of telecentre.org.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2007-02-10|title=.:telecentre.org:.|url=http://www.telecentre.org/|access-date=2021-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210103127/http://www.telecentre.org/|archive-date=2007-02-10}}</ref> Created by Canada's International Development Research Centre, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and Microsoft, telecentre.org worked to network the global telecentre community and improve their sustainability.<ref>{{cite web|title=Connecting ICTs to Development: The IDRC Experience|url=http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications/Collections/ICT4D/Pages/default.aspx?index=24|publisher=IRDC|access-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref> Mark co-edited the book ''From the Ground Up: the Evolution of the Telecentre Movement''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2007-01-10|title=From the Ground Up e-book|url=http://ebook.telecentre.org/|access-date=2021-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070110015844/http://ebook.telecentre.org/|archive-date=2007-01-10}}</ref>
Surman was awarded one of the inaugural Shuttleworth Foundation fellowships in 2007. Shuttleworth Foundation provides funding for people using open source methods to create social change.<ref>{{cite web|title=We are the Shuttleworth Foundation|url=https://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org|publisher=The Shuttleworth Foundation|access-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2007-05-01|title=Mark Surman|url=https://shuttleworthfoundation.org/fellows/mark-surman/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=The Shuttleworth Foundation}}</ref> There he helped advance thinking about how to apply open source approaches to philanthropy<ref>{{Cite web|title=Philanthropy on the commons|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/philanthropy_on_the_commons/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=openDemocracy|language=en}}</ref> and contributed to the development of the Cape Town Declaration for Open Education.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Casserly|first=Cathy|date=2018-01-26|title=10 years of OER: What funders can learn from a historical moment|url=https://hewlett.org/10-years-oer-funders-can-learn-historical-moment/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Hewlett Foundation|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Mozilla Foundation== thumb|Mark Surman at Campus Party (2013) In August 2008, Surman became the executive director of the Mozilla Foundation,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mark Surman: New Mozilla Foundation Executive Director {{!}} Mitchell's Blog|url=https://blog.lizardwrangler.com/2008/08/18/mark-surman-new-mozilla-foundation-executive-director/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=blog.lizardwrangler.com}}</ref> the non-profit organization that supports the open source Mozilla project. The Foundation also runs advocacy programs<ref>{{Cite web|title=Advocacy|url=https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/advocacy/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Mozilla Foundation|language=en}}</ref> and offers fellowships<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fellowships|url=https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Mozilla Foundation|language=en}}</ref> to protect the open internet. It is the sole owner of the Mozilla Corporation, which makes the Firefox web browser.
During his early years at the Foundation, Surman oversaw the development of the Mozilla Festival (2010), an annual gathering of people working on open internet and open source projects.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How To MozFest: An Open Book|url=https://book.mozillafestival.org/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=MozFest Book|language=en}}</ref> He also led the development of the initial Mozilla Fellowship program with the Knight Foundation (2011), with a focus on putting open source developers in newsrooms.<ref>{{Cite web|last=bhueppe|title=Knight-Mozilla News Technology Partnership Announced|url=https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2011/02/07/knight-mozilla-news-technology-partnership-announced|access-date=2021-04-26|website=The Mozilla Blog|language=en-US}}</ref> These efforts expanded Mozilla’s work beyond its traditional focus on browser and email software.
Starting in 2012, Surman helped develop a collection of efforts focused on promoting digital literacy,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-07-26|title=Is Digital Literacy an Essential 21st-Century Skill?|url=https://www.wise-qatar.org/digital-literacy-mark-surman/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=WISE|language=en-US}}</ref> including Mozilla's Maker Party<ref>{{cite web|title=Mozilla's Webmaker is providing a new tool for users to read, write and participate on the Web|url=https://www.techchange.org/event/july-techtalk-mark-surman-executive-director-of-mozilla/|publisher=TechChange|access-date=August 21, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054909/https://www.techchange.org/event/july-techtalk-mark-surman-executive-director-of-mozilla/|url-status=dead}}</ref> event series and the Webmaker software project.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Summers|first=Nick|date=2014-10-23|title=Mozilla's Webmaker app will make it easy for anyone to create Web apps on their smartphone|url=https://thenextweb.com/news/mozillas-webmaker-app-will-make-easy-anyone-create-web-apps-smartphone|access-date=2021-04-26|website=TNW {{!}} Apps|language=en}}</ref> These efforts also included a number of joint initiatives with MacArthur Foundation that focused on digital learning, including Open Badges and Hive.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mozilla Foundation - MacArthur Foundation|url=https://www.macfound.org/grantee/mozilla-foundation-42446/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=www.macfound.org}}</ref> Mozilla’s work on digital literacy was wound down in late 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lawrence|first=Chris|date=2017-11-21|title=Mozilla Learning Updates, Transitions and Sunsets|url=https://medium.com/read-write-participate/for-nearly-a-decade-mozilla-has-been-a-proud-leader-and-catalyst-for-digital-learning-from-b0e5c647da8a|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Medium|language=en}}</ref>
In 2016, Surman and others shifted the Foundation’s focus toward supporting the growth of what they have called ‘the internet health movement’.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Surman|first=Mark|title=Net neutrality is a pivotal moment in a broader movement for a healthy internet|url=https://mashable.com/2017/05/18/net-neutrality-pivotal-moment-broader-movement-mozilla/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Mashable|date=18 May 2017|language=en}}</ref> Work in this area has included the launch of the yearly Mozilla Internet Health Report,<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Health of the Internet 2019|work=CBC Radio|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/the-health-of-the-internet-in-2019-deepfakes-biased-ai-and-addiction-by-design-1.5122433}}</ref> the Privacy Not Included guide,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hassan|first=Aisha|title=See which gadgets Mozilla found to be secure and trustworthy|url=https://qz.com/1464099/internet-connected-holiday-gifts-that-are-secure-and-trustworthy/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Quartz|language=en}}</ref> and campaigns advocating that companies like Amazon,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bogart|first=Nicole|date=2021-01-30|title=Doorbell cameras are helpful for package theft, but come with privacy risks|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/article/doorbell-cameras-are-helpful-for-package-theft-but-come-with-privacy-risks/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=CTVNews|language=en}}</ref> Facebook<ref>{{Cite news|last=Horwitz|first=Jeff|date=2021-01-31|title=Facebook Knew Calls for Violence Plagued 'Groups,' Now Plans Overhaul|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knew-calls-for-violence-plagued-groups-now-plans-overhaul-11612131374|access-date=2021-04-26|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> and YouTube<ref>{{Cite web|last=Leprince-Ringuet|first=Daphne|title=Mozilla wants to understand your weird YouTube recommendations|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/mozilla-wants-to-understand-your-weird-youtube-recommendations/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=ZDNet|language=en}}</ref> improve their products in the public interest. Programs such as MozFest and the Mozilla Fellowships have continued as a part of the Foundation’s movement building activities.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gizmodo Brasil|url=https://gizmodo.uol.com.br/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Gizmodo Brasil|language=pt-BR}}</ref>
In 2018, the Foundation further focused its movement building efforts around the theme of promoting responsible data and AI practices.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mozilla|date=2018-11-30|title=Slowing Down, Asking Questions, Looking Ahead|url=https://medium.com/read-write-participate/slowing-down-asking-questions-looking-ahead-265f6b99810d|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Medium|language=en}}</ref> The rationale for this focus was detailed in a paper entitled Creating Trustworthy AI, jointly written by Surman and Rebecca Ricks.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Creating Trustworthy AI|url=https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/insights/trustworthy-ai-whitepaper/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Mozilla Foundation|language=en}}</ref>
In 2022, Surman took on the additional role of Mozilla Foundation president, working with Mitchell Baker on Mozilla-wide strategy and expansion efforts.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Surman |first1=Mark |last2=President |last3=Director |first3=Executive |title=Community is key to our next chapter {{!}} The State of Mozilla |url=https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/foundation/annualreport/2021/article/mark-surman/ |access-date=2023-05-28 |website=Mozilla |language=en}}</ref> This included the launch of Mozilla Ventures,<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2022-11-13 |title=Mozilla's Mark Surman Is Rethinking Venture Capital |url=https://time.com/6232949/interview-mark-surman-mozilla/ |access-date=2023-05-28 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref> a fund to invest in responsible tech startups and Mozilla.ai,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brady |first=Diane |title=Mozilla Foundation's Mark Surman On Launching An AI Startup For All |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dianebrady/2023/03/22/mozilla-foundations-mark-sumner-on-launching-an-ai-startup-for-all/ |access-date=2023-05-28 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> an R+D arm focused on translating computer science research into open source trustworthy AI products. In 2024, he was succeeded as executive director by Nabiha Syed. He remains the President of Mozilla.
In January 2026, Mark Surman directed and launched the State of Mozilla report<ref>https://stateof.mozilla.org/</ref>. Surman has played a central role in framing Mozilla’s position that the internet is undergoing a foundational transition, in which control over AI systems and infrastructure is becoming as consequential as control over the web itself. In public remarks and organizational strategy, he has emphasized the need to preserve openness, user agency, and decentralization at a time when technological development is becoming more concentrated within a small number of major firms.
In a recent article by CNBC <ref>https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/27/mozilla-building-an-ai-rebel-alliance-to-take-on-openai-anthropic-.html </ref> he describes how he is building “a rebel alliance of sorts,” of tech startups, developers and public interest technologists committed to making AI more open and trustworthy.
== Personal life == Surman was born and resides in Toronto, Ontario. He has two sons, Ethan and Tristan Surman. Both are members of the band The Neighbourhood Watch.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mirny|first=Naomi|date=2021-02-09|title='Lost in Bloom' chronicles The Neighbourhood Watch's coming-of-age|url=https://www.mcgilltribune.com/a-e/lost-in-bloom-chronicles-the-neighbourhood-watchs-coming-of-age-02092021/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=The McGill Tribune|language=en-US}}</ref> He was married to long time collaborator and Centre for Social Innovation founder Tonya Surman.
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Commons category|Mark Surman}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Surman, Mark}} Category:1969 births Category:Mozilla people Category:Free software people Category:Living people Category:Activists from Toronto