Our Work
Founded in 2014, the Center on Privacy & Technology is a leader at the intersection of privacy, surveillance, and civil rights.
Latest Work
“A crypto coin for your privacy — how Altman promises the world in exchange for your biometric data” blog
"The political imagination of our elites raises the slogan “humanity first” only to display a barren concept of what it means to be human: to be a user, a consumer, and a source of data extraction." Our Fritz Fellow Dr. Marianna Poyares writes for our blog about Altman and Blania's World project and their Tools for Humanity retina scanning enterprise. Read the whole blog here.
Faculty Director David Vladeck Publishes Op-Ed in Baltimore Sun
David Vladeck co-authored an op-ed in Baltimore Sun "You’re giving away your rights in those online contracts you don’t read" which argued that businesses are stripping away consumer rights through online contracts. The piece called on the CFPB to outlaw the use of unfair clauses in some consumer contracts.
“David Vladeck on FTC Enforcement, Federal Privacy Legislation, and Lessons from the Titanic” blog
Senior Associate Cynthia Khoo interviewed Professor David Vladeck, former Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection and Faculty Director of the Privacy Center, for our blog. Read the whole blog here.
“Testifying about the Dangers of Face Recognition Use in the Private Sector” blog
On February 24, 2023, Justice Fellow Meg Foster testified on behalf of the Privacy Center in a hearing before the New York City Council Committee on Consumer & Worker Protection. Read her whole testimony, with some additional context, on our blog here.
Letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Center signed on to a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging them to regulate the sale of "credit header" data, including names, addresses, and other sensitive personal information, which data brokers have purchased from sources like essential utility companies and sold to police and immigration enforcement. The letter's release was covered by WIRED.
Further Comments of Support for the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act
The Center submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission's Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security, a key proceeding with the potential to establish long-needed protections from abusive business practices enabled by the mass collection of personal data. The Center's comments urged the Commission to keep three specific contexts of surveillance-fueled harm and injustice in mind in its rulemaking determinations, namely worker surveillance, immigrant surveillance, and systems of policing and punishment.
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.
Faculty Director David Vladeck Quoted in the New York Times on DC’s Consumer Protection Lawsuit
Faculty Director David Vladeck was quoted in the New York Times discussing the attorney general for the District of Columbia's move to add Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, to a consumer protection lawsuit, in one of the first efforts by a regulator to expose him personally to potential financial and other penalties.
Faculty Director Testifies Before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Center faculty director David Vladeck testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation at the hearing "Protecting Consumer Privacy."