Our Work
Founded in 2014, the Center on Privacy & Technology is a leader at the intersection of privacy, surveillance, and civil rights.
Latest Work
“Operationalizing values: The hiring process” blog
Deputy Director Katie Evans published a blog detailing the Privacy Center's hiring process and what we value when searching for new candidates. Read the whole blog here.
Computing for the Common Good
As part of UMass Amherst's annual Computing for the Common Good symposium, senior associate Clare Garvie joined Kade Crockford, Prof. Erik Learned-Miller, and Prof. Fran Berman for a discussion about the types of regulations needed for the artificial intelligence sector.
Biden Administration Announces Termination of Agreement Following the Center’s Letter
Following a letter coordinated by the Center and co-signed by 111 other NGOs in 2019, the Biden administration announced the termination of an April 2018 interagency agreement that used immigrant children's information to find and deport their relatives. The Center also drafted and filed public comments signed by thirteen other organizations explaining that deporting families using information collected to reunite immigrant children was "chilling families from coming forward to claim their children."
Testimony to the Maryland State Legislature
Director of Research & Advocacy Emily Tucker submitted testimony to the Maryland state legislature on the Center's behalf in support of the Maryland Trust Act. The Trust Act would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies in Maryland from participating in the detention and deportation of immigrants. The Center's testimony focused on the ways that expansive surveillance by immigration authorities makes state level intervention to protect immigrant communities more urgent than ever before.
Founding Director Speaks at Harvard Law National Security Journal’s Symposium
Founding Director Alvaro Bedoya spoke about dragnet surveillance of immigrants at the "Racial and Intersectional Critiques of National Security Law" symposium hosted by the Harvard Law National Security Journal and Lieber Institute at West Point.
“Is your utility company telling ICE where you live?” blog
Associate Nina Wang published a blog detailing how ICE is getting access to utilities data from customers all across the nation. Read the whole blog here.
Op-ed: Support of Bill Restricting Use of Facial Recognition by Maryland’s MVA
Founding Director Alvaro Bedoya co-authored an opinion piece published in The Baltimore Sun with Maryland Senator Clarence Lam and Maryland Delegate Dana Stein. The piece supports a bill that would add "common-sense protections to the data held" by the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA).
Unfamiliar Face Identification Group Keynote
Senior Associate Clare Garvie gave a keynote presentation about face recognition in U.S. policing for the UFIG annual meeting, an initiative at the University of New South Wales aimed at informing the debate around face recognition development and deployment.
GU Law Facial Recognition Experts Launch “Week One” Simulation
Director of Research and Advocacy Emily Tucker and Senior Associate Clare Garvie co-taught a Week One course for 1Ls on big data, face recognition, and legislative lawyering, culminating in a mock hearing where students argued the merits of a bill limiting federal access to Maryland driver data.
A Taxonomy of Police Technology’s Racial Inequity Problems
Associate Director Laura Moy published an article in the University of Illinois Law Review titled "A Taxonomy of Police Technology's Racial Inequity Problems." Her article details the ways police surveillance technology can worsen racial inequity and suggests new ways to evaluate such technologies.