In recent years, differential privacy has emerged as a promising solution for enhancing privacy protections in data processing systems. However, beneath its seemingly robust framework lie certain assumptions that, if left unquestioned, could inadvertently undermine its efficacy in safeguarding individual privacy. Here to discuss their recent papers on differential privacy is Rachel Cummings, Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia University and CDT Non-Resident Fellow and Daniel Susser, Associate Professor for the Department of Information Science at ..read more

On February 26, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton, two pivotal cases that could alter the landscape of free expression on the internet. In this episode, we sat down with CDT’s Director of the Free Expression Project, Kate Ruane, and Vice President of the Center for Civil Rights and Technology, K.J. Bagchi to discuss the two cases that are challenging the constitutionality of the controversial Texas and Florida social media laws ..read more

In today's episode, we’ll delve into the exciting realm of Artificial Intelligence, and its transformative impact on education. The recent strides in AI have reignited curiosity about its potential to enhance learning experiences. However, it's essential to recognize that AI encompasses a diverse array of methods, capabilities, and limitations. Join us as we navigate through the nuances often overlooked by researchers, education technology firms, and other developers in the AI landscape. Here to discuss what this means and share insights from his paper, “Unpacking the "Black Box" of AI in Educ ..read more

Back in 2018, CDT’s own, Mallory Knodel, teamed up with Niels ten Oever from the critical infrastructure lab at the University of Amsterdam to present a draft document at the internet standards governing body called the Internet Engineering Task Force, or IETF. This draft outlined a proposal that urged the community to officially reject the use of discriminatory and exclusive language in Internet Drafts and RFCs. As we persistently uncover and confront systemic racial inequality across society, it becomes equally vital to guarantee that the fundamental design comprising one of our most critica ..read more

CDT’s Tech Talk is a podcast where we dish on tech and Internet policy, while also explaining what these policies mean to our daily lives. You can find Tech Talk on Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes, and Google Podcasts, as well as Stitcher and TuneIn. Recently, the US Privacy and Civil Liberties Board released a comprehensive report on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, commonly called FISA 702. FISA 702 is a warrantless surveillance authority that was first established in 2008. It empowers the government to designate foreigners abroad as surveillance targets and to compel co ..read more

Note: This podcast episode was recorded BEFORE the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions on the crucial online free expression cases: Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh. Nevertheless, we've chosen to release this episode NOW because the conversation contains important information about the potential risks to users’ free speech that is more relevant than ever. While the legal landscape may have shifted since this recording, the principles of protecting free expression and fostering an open and inclusive digital environment are not going away. In the Gonzalez and Taamneh opinions, the Sup ..read more

SLIDES HERE: http://bit.ly/2LoSjAN Ethan Zuckerman, of the Center for Civic Media at MIT, gave a keynote address entitled "We Make the Media," at the #FOSO18 #futureofspeech annual event. He is introduced by CDT's Emma Llansó, our Director of the Free Expression Project. On December 7, 2018, the Center for Democracy & Technology, in partnership with the Freedom Forum Institute, Charles Koch Institute and WAMU's 1A, convened a one-day symposium on the future of speech online, the (second annual) "Freedom of Speech Online 2018." Video of the event: http://bit.ly/2EDG1Ed More on Ethan: https ..read more

Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with Charles Duan, the Director of Technology and Innovation Policy at the R Street Institute, to help understand how standards and patents can impact competition and consumers. Then Brian brings in CDT's own Stan Adams to talk about a new "tech 101" series from CDT, Techsplanations. The series offers accessible explainers on how core technologies and internet systems actually work. More on Techsplanations: http://bit.ly/techsplanations More on Charlie: http://bit.ly/RStCharles More on Stan: http://bit.ly/cdtstan More on our host, Brian: bit.ly/cdtbrian Attribut ..read more

CDT has launched a new initiative aimed at helping internet users better assess the trustworthiness of VPNs, and a number of VPN providers were active partners in this process. Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with Joseph Jerome to discuss the work he's spearheading, and why it's so essential. More info on the Signals of Trustworthy VPNs initiative: cdt.org/vpns More on Joe: https://twitter.com/joejerome || email: jj@cdt.org More on our host, Brian: bit.ly/cdtbrian Attribution: sounds used from Psykophobia, Taira Komori, BenKoning, Zabuhailo, bloomypetal, guitarguy1985, bmusic92, and offthesky ..read more

We hosted, in conjunction with the Delegation of the European Union to the United States and the R Street Institute, a series of tech and internet policy happy hours, in the hopes of galvanizing a non-partisan discussion between of tech companies, the government, and civil society organizations. Host Brian Wesolowski is joined here to recap the series of events by R Street's Sasha Moss & the EU Delegation to the United States' Jesse Spector. Transatlantic Tech Trends (Polling) from the Tech Summer Series Kickoff: http://bit.ly/2wNPceC Democracy in the Digital Age video + recap: http://bit ..read more