Our Work
Founded in 2014, the Center on Privacy & Technology is a leader at the intersection of privacy, surveillance, and civil rights.
Latest Work
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.
First-of-Its-Kind Bill Introduced in D.C. to Stop Discrimination in Automated Decision-Making Tools
D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine introduced the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act (SDAA), which seeks to prohibit the use of biased or discriminatory algorithms to inform decisions about housing, employment, education, healthcare, and other important services. This bill was the result of a partnership between the Privacy Center, the Georgetown Law Communications & Technology Law Clinic, Color of Change, and the D.C. Office of the Attorney General. Read the full press release.
Coalition Letter to Congress in Support of Build Back Better Act FTC Provisions
The Center signed onto a letter with over two dozen other tech policy, civil rights, and consumer protection organizations, supporting greater funding ($1 billion) and stronger enforcement powers (first-time civil penalties) for the FTC in the Build Back Better Act, to facilitate the agency's data protection and antitrust activities.
Letter to the FTC Urging A New Rulemaking Process to Protect Privacy and Civil Rights and Restrict Discriminatory Data Practices
The Center signed onto a letter alongside 44 groups working on privacy, civil rights, media democracy, or consumer advocacy, urging the FTC to launch a rulemaking process to protect privacy and civil rights and restrict discriminatory data practices.
Coalition Letter to the DHS to End Biased Profiling and In Support of Surveillance Reforms
The Center joined 21 other organizations in a letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urging greater transparency around DHS's collection and usage of data, as well as the termination of programs such as social media monitoring, the purchasing of privately-held data, and programs claiming to prevent fraud, violence, or domestic terrorism.
Coalition Letter Urging the FTC To Protect Civil Rights From Commercial Data Practices
The Center has joined a sign-on letter urging the FTC to use all its available authority and tools to protect civil rights from violative commercial data practices. The letter details at least 27 harms that result from such practices, including harms to equal opportunity and consumer privacy.
Biden Administration Announces Termination of Agreement Following the Center’s Letter
Following a letter coordinated by the Center and co-signed by 111 other NGOs in 2019, the Biden administration announced the termination of an April 2018 interagency agreement that used immigrant children's information to find and deport their relatives. The Center also drafted and filed public comments signed by thirteen other organizations explaining that deporting families using information collected to reunite immigrant children was "chilling families from coming forward to claim their children."
Coalition Letter Urging FTC to Study Data, Bias, and Disparate Impact
Associate Director Laura Moy organized a coalition letter urging the FTC to include questions on data, bias, and disparate impact in any new studies the agency undertakes. The letter was signed by 27 civil rights, digital rights, racial justice organizations, and consumer groups.
Coalition Letter to Congress on Police Face Recognition
The Center was one of 40 organizations that wrote a letter urging Congress to pass strong police face recognition legislation, stop continued federal funding for the technology, and ensure policing reforms include face recognition prohibitions. Photo by Joshua Sukoff on Unsplash
Coalition Letter to Congress on Protests and Police Reform
The Center joined over 100 organizations calling on Congress to cease federal funding for police surveillance technology used to criminalize dissent. Photo by Liam Edwards on Unsplash.