Our Work
Founded in 2014, the Center on Privacy & Technology is a leader at the intersection of privacy, surveillance, and civil rights.
Latest Work
Letter to the FTC on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security Rulemaking
The Center signed onto a joint letter alongside 40 civil rights and technology policy advocacy organizations calling on the Federal Trade Commission to define discrimination as an unfair practice and to require testing of algorithmic systems for discrimination, as part of the Commission's Commercial Surveillance and Data Security Rulemaking. The letter also provided several recommendations for the FTC to develop concrete and specific protections for civil rights.
Presentation at Labor Research & Action Network Workshop
Distinguished Fellow Gabrielle Rejouis spoke at an LRAN workshop, "American History, Race, Prison, and Surveillance: Atlanta’s Cop City, Extractive Economies and Amazon’s Culture of Surveillance", presenting on the history of worker surveillance. Her presentation connected the history of surveillance to current Amazon surveillance of workers and their support of law enforcement surveillance of Black communities. The presentation drew from the research for the Color of Surveillance: Monitoring Poor and Working People.
Government Technology Coverage of Cop Out Roundtable
Government Technology published an article covering the Center's event, "Cop Out: Automation in the Criminal Legal System," covering the discussion around what’s at stake for communities subjected to these tools and whether new technology is simply exacerbating long-standing issues in the criminal justice system and reinforcing disparities.
“Building on the Dream: Privacy, Equity, and Civil Rights” Event
On January 18th, the Center on Privacy & Technology co-hosted "Building on the Dream: Privacy, Equity, and Civil Rights" with the Georgetown Law Tech Institute. The event featured US Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson announcing a NTIA request for comments regarding how data practices affect civil rights and a panel of privacy and civil rights experts.
Newsletter on First Amendment Rights and Abortion
Former associate Korica Simon published a piece in a newsletter for the Initiative for a Representative First Amendment (IfRFA) at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University in their capacity as a former IfRFA fellow. The piece talks about new laws states have passed around abortion, the intersection the first amendment rights and whether they are constitutional.
Podcast Interview: Taking Action
Senior Associate Cynthia Khoo spoke to Daniel del Pielago, Housing Director at Empower DC, for their podcast Taking Action, a one-hour radio show aired live every Tuesday at 1pm ET on WPFW 89.3 FM. She was interviewed alongside Ben Winters, Senior Counsel and lead of the AI and Human Rights Project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). Cynthia and Ben spoke about algorithmic housing discrimination, as well as algorithmic discrimination more broadly.
Op-Ed: The DC Council Must Pass the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act
Senior Associate Cynthia Khoo co-authored an op-ed in the Washington Post with Daniel Jellins, staff lawyer and clinical teaching fellow at the Communications and Technology Law Clinic at Georgetown Law. The op-ed sets out the differences between algorithmic discrimination and "analog" discrimination; explains why algorithmic discrimination requires legal reform to address; and calls on DC Council to pass the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act.
Written Testimony Provided in Support of the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act
The Center submitted written testimony in support of the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act to the Council of the District of Columbia, co-authored by Senior Associate Cynthia Khoo, Associate Korica Simon, and Executive Director Emily Tucker. Their comments expanded on Khoo's oral testimony at hearing, further elaborating on the nature of algorithmic discrimination; arguing that business costs should not be weighed in prohibiting illegal discrimination; correcting industry talking points regarding technical definitions and the state of the relevant legal, policy, and research field; and urging DC Council to act now to reduce harm, rather than wait to follow potential future federal initiatives.
Oral Testimony Provided in Support of the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act
Senior Associate Cynthia Khoo submitted oral testimony in support of the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act (SDAA), at a hearing held by the Committee on Government Operations and Facilities at the Council of the District of Columbia. She emphasized that algorithmic discrimination is distinct from "analog" discrimination and pointed out that intent is not determinative in anti-discrimination law and is often missing from the kind of sociotechnical systems that give rise to algorithmic discrimination.
Stop Discrimination Algorithms Act Introduced
The Center celebrated D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine's introduction of of the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act (SDAA). The bill, which would prohibit businesses from using algorithms to discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics like race, gender, national origin and sexual orientation, was based on a proposal drafted by Georgetown Law’s own students in Professor Laura Moy’s Communications and Technology Law Clinic (CTLC). Professor Moy's clinic, the Privacy Center, and Color Of Change worked closely with the Attorney General's office to develop the legislation that provides 21st-century civil rights protections. The bill's launch was covered by NPR and DCist with quotes from Center associate Cynthia Khoo.