Annie Machon began her career as an intelligence officer for the UK's Security Service, MI5.

She is now an author, media commentator, political campaigner, and international public speaker on a wide variety of issues: security and intelligence; ethics and democracy; privacy and internet freedoms; human rights; media freedoms; whistleblowers; secrecy legislation; totalitarianism and police states; and accountability in government and business.

In 2020 she was awarded the SA Award for Integrity in Intelligence by the Sam Adams Associates, a global group of ethically-minded intelligence, diplomatic and military personnel.

She served four years as the European Director of Law Enforcement Action Partnership, is a board member of the World Ethical Data Foundation, and an organiser of the critically acclaimed World Ethical Data Forum.

She has also featured in numerous films and TV documentaries including The Culture High, Digital Dissidents, The Mole: Undercover in North Korea, Disparaitre, The Secrets of the Spies, Espionnes, Stasi, and State of Control.

Annie has an MA (Hons) Classics from Cambridge University.

Her most recent book, The Privacy Mission: Achieving Ethical Data for our Lives Online, was shortlisted as a finalist in the Business Book of the Year Awards 2023.