Our Work
Founded in 2014, the Center on Privacy & Technology is a leader at the intersection of privacy, surveillance, and civil rights.
Latest Work
“On Tardigrades” blog
In April 2022, Alvaro Bedoya, the Founding Director of the Privacy Center, left the Privacy Center to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission. Upon his departure, he summarized his thoughts about his time at the Privacy Center on our blog. Read the whole blog here.
U.S. Senate Confirms Privacy Center’s Founding Director Alvaro Bedoya as New Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
On May 11, 2022, the full U.S. Senate confirmed Founding Director Alvaro M. Bedoya as Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. Read the full press release.
Center’s Founding Director Confirmed by the Senate to the FTC
On Wednesday, May 11, the Center’s Founding Director, Alvaro Bedoya was confirmed by the Senate to the FTC.
Comments on the Privacy Risks of Period-Tracking Apps
Associate Korica Simon was quoted in USA Today speaking about period-tracking apps’ collection of user data and what privacy concerns such apps raise in the wake of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Op-Ed: Selling Utility Data to ICE Restricts Access to Essential Utilities
Policy Associate Nina Wang published an op-ed in The Boston Globe urging lawmakers to take action and protect people living in the U.S. from ICE’s collection of utility data.
Settlement Will Prevent Clearview AI from Selling Face Recognition Technology to Private Firms
The ACLU of Illinois reached a settlement with Clearview AI on the matter of selling its faceprint databases. Last July, the Center, represented by Georgetown Law’s Civil Litigation Clinic, filed an amicus brief in the ACLU’s lawsuit, alleging violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. While the lawsuit was specific to Illinois, the effects are far-reaching. It permanently bans Clearview from providing its massive faceprint database to private actors, nationwide, and bans them from providing it to law enforcement in Illinois for five years.
Testimony to the House of Commons of Canada on Police Use of Facial Recognition Technology
Associate Cynthia Khoo appeared before the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics on March 21, 2022, testifying on police use of facial recognition technology based on her work as a Research Fellow at the Citizen Lab (University of Toronto). Khoo raised key concerns with facial recognition and algorithmic policing technologies, including systemic discrimination, constitutionality, transparency and accountability, and reliance of law enforcement on private sector commercial vendors.
“Artifice and Intelligence” blog
Executive Director Emily Tucker published a blog post about the Privacy Center's decision to drop the terms "artificial intelligence," "AI," and "machine learning" from our work. Read the whole blog here.
Op-Ed: New Jersey Should Restrict Law Enforcement’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology
The Center joined fifteen civil and digital rights groups in signing a letter and op-ed opposing law enforcement use of facial recognition technology in New Jersey. The letter highlights various harms that would result from law enforcement use of facial recognition technology, including an expansion to the over policing of Black and Brown communities.
Executive Director Emily Tucker Named a 2021 Soros Justice Fellow
Associate Jameson Spivack spoke about face recognition policy and privacy implications as part of the Tech Institute's "Tech Ideas Lunches" series open to Georgetown Law students, faculty, and staff.