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 signs on to letter opposing HR 1 AI proposal
The Privacy Center signed on to a letter opposing the proposal in H.R. 1 that includes a 10-year ban on the enforcement of state and local law related to artificial intelligence (AI) The letter was drafted by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. The letter was signed by 59 civil rights and civil society organizations. The moratorium advocacy worked– the provision was removed from the final bill.
Privacy Center signs on to letter opposing the “big beautiful bill”
The Privacy Center joined a diverse coalition of organizations in signing on to a letter opposing the proposal in House Republicans "big beautiful bill" (funding package) that would bar state enforcement of regulation pertaining to AI or automated decisionmaking tools for a decade. The letter was drafted by Demand Progress. Other signatories included Cornell University, Public Citizen, the Innocence Project, Southern Poverty Law Center, worker organizing groups from Alphabet and Amazon, and many more. The moratorium advocacy worked--the provision was removed from the final bill.
“Sam Altman’s World: Sometimes Things Are Just What They Seem to Be” Article in Tech Policy Press
Privacy Center Executive Director, Emily Tucker, co-authored a piece in Tech Policy Press with philosopher David McNeill, warning of the dangers of Sam Altman’s new Tools for Humanity technology. Sam Altman is “nothing special,” they say. “He is the kind of person who inevitably rises in an extractivist economic system that transparently rewards those who show contempt for laws, regulations, and the people who enact them.”
“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.
“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 Impact of AI on Students, Education, and Privacy” Black History Month event hosted by Honey Brown Hope Foundation
Senior Associate Clarence Okoh spoke at Black History Event titled "The Impact of AI on Students, Education, and Privacy" focused on technology and racial justice at the Houston Community College and hosted by the Honey Brown Hope Foundation and the NOTICE Coalition's No Data About Us Without Us Fellowship Program.
“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.
“Suffering is Real. AI Consciousness is Not.” article published in Tech Policy Press
Executive Director Emily Tucker and David McNeill co-authored an article in Tech Policy Press: "Suffering is Real. AI Consciousness is Not." The article was mentioned in the "Top stories on Tech Policy Press" newsletter: "Wondering where today's subject line came from? It's from this piece, which is a must-read. Some AI enthusiasts are fantasizing about the potential future suffering of chatbots. But David McNeill and Emily Tucker say there are a lot of very good reasons for rejecting the claim that contemporary AI research is on its way toward creating genuinely intelligent, much less conscious, machines. (This is one of my personal favorites this week.)"
Guest lecture at Howard University School of Law
Senior Associate Clarence Okoh guest lectured at Howard University School of Law for the "Contemporary Issues in AI and Civil Rights" seminar course. He spoke on "AI, Civil Rights and School Discipline."
Privacy Center at the “Student Privacy & Parental Consent” conference
On February 7 the Center’s Senior Associate, Clarence Okoh, was a speaker at the Student Privacy & Parental Consent: Legal Innovations and Global Insights. This conference is hosted by Toyo University and co-sponsored by George Washington University Law School Center for Law and Technology and the Public Interest Privacy Center (PIPC). The conference addressed how global policymakers are developing new legal frameworks to better safeguard child and student privacy and safety online against new and emerging technologies. Okoh spoke on a panel titled: "How to Regulate the Black Box of AI-Created 'Educational Opportunities." Okoh was also a speaker at the pre-conference workshop Child Privacy Online. Clarence spoke on a panel titled "Deep Dive: Regulating AI and Children."