Declan McCullagh

Who is Declan McCullagh?

Declan McCullagh is an American journalist and columnist for CBSNews.com. He specializes in computer security and privacy issues. 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." McCullagh himself once claimed that "If it's true that Al Gore created the Internet, then I created the 'Al Gore created the Internet' story."

In 2009, McCullagh turned his journalistic focus to the issue of climate change.

McCullagh has written frequently in defense of libertarianism. He began writing weekly columns for CBSnews.com on economic commentary 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." He also participated and won $100,000 on the California Lottery's Make Me a Millionaire game show in episode 2002.

He attended Carnegie Mellon University and was student body president before being removed from office due to charges of committing domestic violence. He pleaded guilty to harassment.