Center for Democracy & Technology
Recent News About Center for Democracy & Technology
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are being built, integrated, and deployed by organizations across the globe. The key to ensuring these systems fulfill their potential without causing undue harm lies in recognizing and engaging with the broader contexts in which they operate. Policymakers and public stakeholders increasingly expect a sociotechnical approach to AI system construction and governance that safeguards people's rights and safety.
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On May 15, Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), joined the Access Board in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU also included the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and aims to address equity and accessibility under the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development & Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This initiative ensures that the disability community is engaged around AI developments.
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On May 15, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Access Board and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). The partnership aims to advance the interests of disabled people in the design and governance of artificial intelligence (AI).
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On May 9, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) allied with other prominent civil society groups to send a letter urging the declassification of the service provider implicated in a recent Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) case.
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The Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe (CDT Europe) has released its Spring 2024 Tech Policy Brief, which covers pressing technology and internet policy issues under debate in Europe, the U.S., and internationally. The report also provides CDT's perspective on the impact of these issues on digital rights.
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Since the inception of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, there has been anticipation from civil society and apprehension from industry that its enforcement could signal the end of surveillance-based advertising and its associated tracking. A recent development occurred on April 17 when the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued a nonbinding opinion following Meta's introduction of a subscription option. This was in response to a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, allowing users in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland to access an ad-free...
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Online actions, no matter how trivial they may seem, can have significant consequences. Clicking on a seemingly harmless link in an email could expose your device to malware. Unbeknownst to many, cellphone plan providers might be tracking all the websites you visit. In certain countries, accessing some websites might not even be possible. This is largely due to the fact that one of the fundamental technologies that power the internet was not initially designed with security, privacy and censorship considerations.
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On May 7, CDT joined 50 other civil society organizations in a letter to Meta executives urging them to maintain the full functionality of CrowdTangle beyond Inauguration Day through at least January 31, 2025, to ensure this vital tool can be used to ensure the integrity of this important election cycle. CDT previously signed a coalition letter in March immediately after Meta’s announcement that it would shut down this service. CrowdTangle is a critical tool employed by a vast network of journalists, researchers, and election observers to scrutinize the flow of information...
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The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) joined an amicus brief on May 6, 2024, alongside the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Montana, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and Reason Foundation in Alario v. Knudsen in the Ninth Circuit. This action aimed to support the free expression rights of TikTok users in Montana.
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CDT’s Kristin Woelfel Submits Written Testimony to Pennsylvania Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
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CDT filed comments on a “Know Your Customer” rule proposed by the Department of Commerce (DOC) earlier this week. The rule aims to help the federal government track, prevent, and prosecute malicious use of internet infrastructure in the United States. While supporting this goal, CDT emphasized the importance of privacy protections in the rule, particularly concerning the compelled disclosure provisions and record-keeping requirements.The proposed rule targets providers of "infrastructure as a service" (IaaS), which offer essential computing resources to consumers....
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On April 30, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) submitted a response to the Oversight Board's request for public comments on "Explicit AI Images of Female Public Figures." In their submission, CDT highlighted the concerning issues surrounding deepfakes and their impact on women in the public eye.CDT emphasized the harmful nature of deepfakes, stating that they are a form of online gender-based violence and gender disinformation. According to CDT, deepfakes targeted at women in politics are designed to challenge, control, and attack their presence in public spaces...
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Foundation model developers are being urged to enhance their practices in benchmarking and transparency when it comes to non-English languages. The push for improvement stems from concerns that the claims made about the effectiveness of these models in languages beyond English often do not align with reality. This discrepancy is particularly noticeable in "low resource" languages, which lack sufficient text data for model training.According to a recent article, foundation model developers tend to test their models extensively in English but fall short when it comes to...
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The Center for Democracy and Technology's Chief Technology Officer, Mallory Knodel, recently presented an important statement on behalf of the Global Encryption Coalition Steering Committee (GEC-SC) and other civil society organizations at the United Nations regarding the Secretary General’s Global Digital Compact (GDC).In the statement, Knodel expressed, "We welcome the sturdy human rights framework upon which you have built the GDC. Strong, ubiquitous encryption protects human rights, especially the right to privacy, as well as free expression, free association, and...
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CDT, on April 29, submitted comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding the responsible procurement of artificial intelligence (AI) by the government. The comments included recommendations from CDT's report titled The Federal Government’s Power of the Purse: Enacting Procurement Policies and Practices to Support Responsible AI Use.In their submission, CDT highlighted the importance of incorporating measures for responsible AI into existing standard procurement practices. They emphasized the need to promote competition among AI vendors and to ensure...
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The CDT report released on April 29, 2024, titled “The Federal Government’s Power of the Purse: Enacting Procurement Policies and Practices to Support Responsible AI Use,” sheds light on the increasing government spending on artificial intelligence (AI) and the necessity for responsible AI use in federal procurement processes.According to the report, government spending on AI has surged in recent years, with over $2 billion in contracts awarded to private companies in fiscal year 2022 alone. This rise in spending has prompted crucial questions about the integration of...
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Alexandra Reeve Givens, Center for Democracy and Technology CEO, joined technology and civil rights leaders, academics, & policymakers as an inaugural board member of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) inaugural Artificial Intelligence Safety & Security Board.The Board will develop recommendations to help critical infrastructure stakeholders, such as transportation service providers, pipeline and power grid operators, and internet service providers, more responsibly leverage AI technologies. It will also develop recommendations to prevent and prepare for...
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On February 29, CDT testified in front of the Connecticut Senate’s General Law Committee on Senate Bill 2, An Act Concerning Artificial Intelligence. The organization thanked the committee for its and the sponsor’s work on the wide-ranging bill, while offering a number of suggestions to strengthen it.CDT’s Matt Scherer emphasized the importance of various enhancements including "strengthening the definitions to ensure that companies cannot evade accountability," "expanding notice and transparency requirements for AI-driven decisions," and "strengthening enforcement...
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Leading technology advocacy organizations, including the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), have come together to urge Congress to support the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) funding request for responsible AI innovation. In a collective effort, more than 80 organizations, companies, and universities have joined a letter directed at congressional appropriators, calling for the full funding of the NIST budget requests for AI-related work in the upcoming fiscal year.This coalition's objective is to emphasize the importance of investing in NIST's...
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On April 19, 2024, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) filed comments with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in response to their advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the bulk sale of data about U.S. individuals by data brokers to countries of concern.In their comments, CDT expressed their support for the DOJ’s objectives in the proceeding, emphasizing the importance of reducing the ability of countries of concern to collect and exploit data belonging to US individuals. CDT urged the DOJ to take into consideration the concerns they outlined in their submission...