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The world is moving rapidly to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus — and the Center for Democracy & Technology is working just as fast to ensure that government leaders, decisionmakers, and companies protect our civil liberties as well as our health.
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With nearly every facet of life transitioning online, technology issues have never been more important, nor has the need to get it right been more imperative. The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is providing guidance to policymakers on a variety of topics, ranging from the implications of the use of location tracking data to the impact of technology on students whose education has moved online. We are battling measures that negatively impact your speech, privacy, and data security, fighting to make sure government surveillance is subject to reasonable limits, and ensuring that policies established now as temporary measures are able to be rolled back once this unprecedented moment is passed.
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Governments around the world are turning to the rich location information provided by smartphones to track population movement, disease outbreak, and in some cases individual location. CDT has convened a task force of a select group of technologists, academics, advocates, and representatives from industry to push back on dangerous ideas. Our goal is to provide rapid and meaningful guidance for policymakers both on the strengths and limitations of the technology, and the necessary privacy and security safeguards as they work to protect citizens from the spread of disease.
As educators are working around the clock and more students move online, CDT is finding efficient ways to protect student privacy by getting our resources on data portability, deletion, and algorithmic systems into the right hands. In the coming weeks, we will also release short training modules that allow education professionals to quickly understand key policy issues that are immediately relevant to guiding their teachers, parents, and students. At the same time, we are gathering facts on the ground through polling and remote focus groups. CDT's efforts will help protect students and ensure their success as technology becomes more integrated into their education.
At a time when misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 are spreading and social distancing is creating a spike in online communication, some platforms are adopting new rules limiting the sharing of scientifically inaccurate pandemic information. But human moderation cannot be performed remotely, so technology platforms have been forced to scale back their efforts and switch to less accurate automated systems. CDT is working directly with platforms to mitigate the impact of this change on free expression, while also encouraging them to document the spread and use of misinformation and disinformation, as well as the harms caused by cyberbullying and harassment. The goal is to protect free speech online, while also determining how best to fight mis- and disinformation that undermines public health, online safety, and democratic principles more broadly.
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Tech Talk: Student Privacy During COVID-19 | Talking Tech with Kim Ochs and Elizabeth
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CDT is working tirelessly to ensure that your rights are protected, even in the midst of a global crisis. Your partnership and support have been indispensable. If you are able, please consider supporting our work at cdt.org/gtnow, and support the nonprofit sector (including, but not limited to, CDT) on #GivingTuesdayNow on May 5, 2020.
Thank you for putting democracy and individual rights at the center of the digital revolution.
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