Our Work
Founded in 2014, the Center on Privacy & Technology is a leader at the intersection of privacy, surveillance, and civil rights.
Latest Work
Privacy Center Fritz Fellow presented at Tech & Society Week
Postdoctoral Fritz Fellow Marianna Poyares and Fritz team members Ankita Sharma (B.S. Computer Science) and Dorea Marshall (J.D. Law) presented their research to the Georgetown community during Tech and Society week. Their research was on the ethical and legal implications of immigrant surveillance.
“American Dragnet” report cited in the San Francisco Chronicle
Privacy Center Executive Director Emily Tucker spoke with San Francisco Chronicle's Ko Lyn Cheang about a Richmond, CA municipal debit card program for undocumented immigrants that might have created an avenue for federal immigration enforcement to target them. While Tucker was not quoted, the article cited the Privacy Center's report American Dragnet: "A 2021 report, the result of a two-year investigation by Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology, found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, had a $21 million contract with a data broker to access more than 400 million names, addresses and utility records."
Privacy Center Fritz Fellow presented at 2025 STS Hub “Diffracting the Critical”
Dr. Marianna Poyares was one of the panelists of the 2025 STS Hub, taking place at the Humboldt Universität in Berlin March 11 - 14. Her presentation "The border at the center: why a critical STS must grapple with border enforcement" argues that new technologies of border and immigration enforcement consist of some of the most extreme forms of surveillance and data extraction, disregarding individual and human rights protections, as they operate within the normative equivalent of a state of exception.
Privacy Center Associate testified in Maryland Senate and House
Privacy Center Associate Emerald Tse testified in front of the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and House Judiciary Committee in support of bills SB 977 and HB 1431, also known as the Maryland Data Privacy Act. The bill would require ICE to get a warrant in order to access state and local agency data for immigration enforcement. This crucial bill would effectively stop ICE from targeting immigrants.
“ICE and Educators” event hosted by Shift Press
Senior Associate Clarence Okoh provided a tech and surveillance training for educators and young adults on "ICE and Educators" hosted by Shift Press--a Texas-based movement journalism and youth civic engagement organization. Clarence's presentation emphasized how to protect immigrant youth and families from school surveillance.
“Border Solidarity: Transversal Alliances and Defiant Territories” paper published
Our postdoctoral Fritz Fellow Marianna Poyares published a paper on the journal Critical Times (Duke University Press) titled "Border Solidarity: Transversal Alliances and Defiant Territories" about immigrant sanctuary and the foundations of solidarity. Based on four years of ethnographic research with the NYC Sanctuary Movement, she argues for that through transversal alliance-building, sanctuary institutes bonds of community and the legitimate standing of non-citizens.
“American Dragnet” report cited and Distinguished Fellow quoted in the New York Times
The Privacy Center's 2022 report "American Dragnet" was cited in an article in the New York Times about the technology the Trump administration could use to mobilize its immigration policy, specifically mass deportations. "Agents can obtain records of utility bills for roughly three-quarters of Americans and driver’s licenses for a third of Americans, according to a 2022 study by Georgetown University." Distinguished Fellow Justin Sherman was also quoted in the article: "Privacy harms may seem theoretical on paper, but they’re never theoretical for vulnerable people on the front lines," said Sherman.
Privacy Center report “American Dragnet” cited in The New York Times
The Privacy Center's 2022 report "American Dragnet: Data-Driven Deportation in the 21st Century" was cited in this New York Times article about the technology the Trump administration could use to mobilize its immigration policy, specifically mass deportations. "Agents can obtain records of utility bills for roughly three-quarters of Americans and driver’s licenses for a third of Americans, according to a 2022 study by Georgetown University."
Privacy Center quoted in Al Jazeera English
Fritz Fellow Marianna Poyares spoke with Linh Nguyen at Al Jazeera English about how Donald Trump could leverage technology at the disposal of the Department of Homeland Security to carry out his mass deportation plan. "So, we know that when are are talking about expanding mention beds and expanding the surveillance network we’re talking about an increased number of contracts that are going to happen between the public sector and the private sector," Poyares stated.
“DHS Should Halt Latest Tech Investments, Due to History of Rights Violations” blog
Associate Emerald Tse wrote a blog about the Department of Homeland Security's investment in artificial intelligence. "Those technologies may have a theoretical benefit, but we can be certain about how they subvert privacy and civil rights," wrote Tse. Read the whole blog here.