Our Work
Founded in 2014, the Center on Privacy & Technology is a leader at the intersection of privacy, surveillance, and civil rights.
Latest Work
“Global Landscapes on Data Privacy: The Brazilian National Authority on Data Protection” event hosted by the Privacy Center
From banning Sam Altman’s “Tools for Humanity” iris-scanning crypto project, to stopping Meta from mining user data for training AI, Brazil has been a global trailblazer in issues of privacy and data protection. On April 24, the Director of the Brazilian National Authority for Data Protection, Professor Iagê Miola, joined us for a conversation about the hemispheric landscapes of data protection. Dr. Marianna Poyares, Postdoc Fritz Fellow at the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law moderated.
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.
“When AI Eats the Manager” event co-sponsored by Privacy Center and Fairwork
The Privacy Center co-sponsored a launch event with Fairwork for their new report "When AI Eats the Manager." The event featured speakers Veena Dubal (University of California, Irvine), Mark Graham (University of Oxford), David Seligman (Towards Justice), Funda Ustek Spilda (King’s College, London), and Katie J. Wells (Groundwork Collaborative) who discussed the reports findings.
The Privacy Center at the Center & Institutes open house at Georgetown Law
The Privacy Center attended the Georgetown Law Center Centers & Institutes Open House event, an annual event for current students that showcases the work of the Law Center's Centers & Institutes. The Privacy Center had a table at the event and spoke with students about the Privacy Center's work and how to get involved.
“Seeking the Good and the Real in An Algorithmic Age” event hosted by the Privacy Center
On February 20, 2025 the Privacy Center hosted an event titled "Seeking the Good and the Real in an Algorithmic Age" which featured a conversation between Privacy Center Advisor Board member Antón Barba-Kay and Lowry Pressly. The two discussed their recent books: A Web of Our Own Making: The Nature of Digital Formation and The Right to Oblivion: Privacy and the Good Life, by Barba-Kay and Pressly respectively. The event was hybrid, with the option to attend either in person or via Zoom. Twenty-five people attended in person and another thirty-seven attended via Zoom.
“A Theory of Law for the Next Founding Generation” paper published
Executive Director Emily Tucker co-authored a paper with philosopher David N. McNeill titled "A Theory of Law for the Next Founding Generation." The paper argues that no one gives us our rights except ourselves. In order to protect our rights under the autocratic aspirations of the current administrations, there must be a fundamental reformation in our understanding fo the relationship between constitutional legitimacy and democratic self-rule.
Privacy Center Fritz Fellow on “The Brazil Unfiltered” podcast
Marianna Poyares spoke with Prof. James Green (Brown University) on the Brazil Unfiltered podcast episode "The Impact of Big Tech on Brazilian Politics" about the reception in Brazil of Meta's recent decision of ending fact-checking and its impact in the upcoming Brazilian elections.