Center for Democracy & Technology
Recent News About Center for Democracy & Technology
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The Center for Digital Technology (CDT) has released a report titled "Moderating Maghrebi Arabic Content on Social Media," highlighting the challenges and implications of moderating content in Maghrebi Arabic dialects in North Africa. The report is part of a CDT series investigating biases and disparities in content moderation within the Global South.
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In the June 2024 Trump-Biden debate, a notable adherence to rules and procedures was observed. Unlike their 2019 debate, where interruptions were frequent, the candidates this time waited their turn to speak. This change was attributed not to a shift in political culture but to an audio adjustment: microphones were only functional during designated speaking periods.
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This week marked the 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the international standards body for the web. The W3C's birthday is on October 1, and a celebration event was held in California on September 24 during the annual technical plenary week of meetings. Many participants joined both in person and online.
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The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has released a report titled "In Deep Trouble: Surfacing Tech-Powered Sexual Harassment in K-12 Schools." The report highlights the growing issue of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including deepfakes, within public K-12 schools during the 2023-2024 school year.
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In September 2022, the European Commission introduced the AI Liability Directive (AILD), a draft framework for civil liability rules allowing individuals to claim damages caused by AI systems. Discussions on this directive were paused pending the adoption of the AI Act and an impact assessment report by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS). With the release of this report, debate on the AILD has resumed.
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Digital platform companies such as Uber, TaskRabbit, and Amazon are central to today's economy, connecting consumers to products and services and workers to various labor markets. An estimated 16% of people in the United States have engaged in platform-mediated gig work, with over half relying on this income for basic needs.
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CDT’s Aliya Bhatia and Ariana Aboulafia have collaborated on a new op-ed that was published in Teen Vogue on September 24, 2024. The article discusses the impact of age verification technology on young disabled people.
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Less than two months after the AI Act came into force, oversight bodies have started meeting to discuss its implementation. The AI Board held its first official meeting, focusing on the Commission’s initial deliverables related to the Act and sharing best practices for national AI governance. Currently, the AI Board is the only active oversight body created by the AI Act. There is no public information available about the multistakeholder Advisory Forum or the Scientific Panel.
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The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has released a report titled "Improving Governance Outcomes Through AI Documentation: Bridging Theory and Practice." The report emphasizes the importance of AI documentation as a tool for governing AI systems, providing stakeholders both within and outside AI organizations with insights into the development, functionality, and risks associated with these systems.
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The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has highlighted the increasing use of data and algorithms in personalized pricing, also known as "bespoke pricing." This practice involves tailoring prices based on a consumer's identity, preferences, and situation. While some view this as a form of dynamic pricing with potential benefits, others criticize it as invasive and potentially exploitative.
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The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has aligned with over 120 other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in opposition to H.R. 9495, a proposed bill that could allow the Treasury Department to revoke an organization's tax-exempt status without due process. The bill would enable the Secretary of the Treasury to label a domestic non-profit organization as a "terrorist supporting organization" and remove its tax exemption if it is found to have provided "material support" to a terrorist group.
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CDT, in coalition with New America’s Open Technology Institute, The Internet Society, Professor Daniel Weitzner, Professor Eran Tomer, and Professor Sarah Scheffler, has filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court with the assistance of Keker, Van Nest & Peters in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton. This case involves a challenge to a Texas law that requires websites and online services hosting a certain percentage of “sexual material harmful to minors” to verify the age of their visitors and prevent minors from accessing their sites. After the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals...
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Since 2017, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has partnered with Stand Together Trust to host experts from various sectors for an event examining the Future of Speech Online (FOSO). This gathering includes leaders from government, civil society, industry, and academia to explore how free expression is influenced by technology. Against the backdrop of numerous global elections and the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), FOSO 2024 spotlighted "AI, Elections, & Speech." Leading voices on these issues participated in a two-day event on September 16 and 17 to discuss...
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CDT Europe, in collaboration with 41 civil society organizations, will co-host the "Tech and Society Summit" on October 1, 2024. The event aims to facilitate dialogue between civil society and newly elected EU decision-makers, focusing on technology, society, and environmental issues. The summit seeks to bridge digital rights organizations and policymakers to support accountable policies that advance digital rights.
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The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) has released a report titled “Rules of the Road: Political Advertising on Social Media in the 2024 U.S. Election.” Authored by Laura Kurek, a CDT intern and Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan School of Information, with contributions from CDT interns Ebie Quinn from Harvard Law School and Saanvi Arora from UC Berkeley, the report delves into the evolution of political advertising on social media platforms.
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After being passed by the Senate earlier this year, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) may now be considered in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. KOSA’s path to this point has been long and fraught with controversy, but this is the closest the bill has come to enactment since it was introduced over two years ago. A House markup outcome will shape its chances of becoming law.
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AI-powered chatbots draw on the collective work of billions of humans. To respond to user queries, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and other large language models rely on their analysis of trillions of words posted online. Similarly, image generators produce graphics by analyzing billions of photos and illustrations available on the web. Unless these systems are given a specific, limited store of content to learn from, they "crawl" the web to gather the necessary data.
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As the United States approaches the end of its "year of elections," concerns over the integrity and accuracy of election-related information continue to grow. The rise in popularity and availability of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots introduces a new vector for potential misinformation, particularly affecting voters with disabilities.
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Professor Ethan Zuckerman is suing Meta Platforms, seeking protection to launch Unfollow Everything 2.0, a tool that allows users to "turn off their newsfeeds" and curate their own experiences on Facebook. The lawsuit aims to revisit Section 230(c)(2) of the Communications Decency Act, which could potentially give users more control over their online experiences.
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The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) has joined a letter addressed to Senators Chris Coons and Thom Tillis, Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, expressing concerns regarding the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act, S. 4875. This proposed legislation would grant individuals a lifetime property right in their voice or visual likeness in any digital replica. While individuals could directly license this right, they would not be able to assign it.