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JUNE NEWSLETTER  

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Fighting for First Amendment Rights and Racial Justice

In the United States, access to and the protection of basic First Amendment rights is key to a healthy democracy. The Center for Democracy & Technology stands with the countless people across the country exercising their constitutional right to peacefully protest racial injustice — and with the reporters who must be able to cover these events without harassment. Black lives and Black voices matter: we affirm our commitment to working to eradicate systemic racism, both internally and externally, and to amplifying the voices and important work of our partners on racial justice in the fields of law, policy, and technology.

In accordance with CDT’s long tradition of protecting First Amendment rights, on June 2, CDT filed a lawsuit ([link removed]) against President Trump’s unconstitutional "Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship." When the U.S. government violates speech rights online, CDT steps up to protect democracy. Said CDT President & CEO Alexandra Givens, "The Executive Order is designed to deter social media companies from fighting misinformation, voter suppression, and the stoking of violence on their services. It’s a transparent attempt to strong-arm public discourse in an election year."

This week CDT was proud to see Airbnb's announcement of Project Lighthouse ([link removed]), a long-running effort against discrimination on its platform. CDT advised on this project in collaboration with Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Color Of Change, League of United Latin American Citizens, National Action Network, The Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, and Upturn. The initiative creates a feedback loop between Airbnb, advocacy organizations, and affected communities to understand the effectiveness of changes to the platform in combatting issues of bias and discrimination. There are no proven solutions, and Airbnb will devote technical and legal resources to testing, implementing, and iterating on ideas. We look forward to continuing to engage in this effort, and hope other platforms will consider this model when thinking about how to make progress on the challenges they face.

In Case You Missed It

CDT launched the Global Encryption Coalition ([link removed]) to combat recent global attacks on encryption, in partnership with the Internet Society and Global Partners Digital. Made up of more than 30 civil society organizations, the coalition aims to help activists on the ground in key areas where encryption is under threat, like Australia, India, and Brazil, to beat back proposals that would weaken encryption. It will also serve to deliver expert analysis, global engagement, and a megaphone for local efforts.

CDT co-signed a set of principles ([link removed]) for protecting civil rights, privacy, and equity in the response to the COVID-19 crisis, joining with a long list of civil rights groups like the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights. The principles make clear that digital tools should only augment and not replace manual contact tracing, and that no COVID-19 response technology has been proven trustworthy and effective for combating the pandemic in the U.S. Use of such technology must only be allowed if it is non-discriminatory, effective, voluntary, secure, accountable, and used exclusively for public health purposes.

CDT released a short paper on the use of aggregated location information ([link removed]), which has featured prominently in discussions on how to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. In the paper, we review several disclosures of aggregated mobility data, lay out how such data can be useful, and discuss what companies seeking to disclose aggregated data should consider in order to preserve privacy and aid public health policy. Aggregated location data is no silver bullet, but when used in ways that consider individual privacy and underrepresented communities, it may be one part of a larger strategy to keep us all healthy, safe, and informed.

Join CDT’s Tech Talk Podcast ([link removed]) in a discussion on election security during COVID-19. As the United States gears up for the 2020 election season, many experts are exploring new digital solutions to aid in keeping Americans safe while voting during COVID-19. VotingWorks’ Ben Adida and CDT’s own Hannah Quay-de la Vallee discuss the importance of safe and secure elections even during a global pandemic.

CDT in the Press

Alexandra Givens, CDT President & CEO, was quoted in the Washington Post ([link removed]) about CDT’s new lawsuit: “We see the executive order as very clear retaliation that’s designed to deter social media companies from fighting misinformation and voter suppression.” She also spoke about the lawsuit on video with Bloomberg Technology ([link removed]) and Cheddar ([link removed]).

CDT "in Person"

CDT is happy to announce our next Discussion Series, “Navigating Student Privacy and Education Technology Amidst COVID-19”. We hope you will join us on Thursday, June 18, from 1:00-2:00 PM to hear about the changing context of student privacy protection and the steps state and local practitioners should take to protect the privacy of students and their families. You can RSVP here ([link removed]).

Partner Spotlight

CDT is proud to partner with the Open Society Foundations ([link removed]) on our Security and Surveillance Project. Through this collaboration, CDT is protecting human rights through promoting intelligence surveillance reform, protecting communications content and metadata domestically and across national borders, and resisting new, problematic surveillance authorities and programs. The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens, supporting a vast array of projects in more than 120 countries, providing thousands of grants every year through a network of national and regional foundations and offices. You can read more about the Open Society Foundations and their work at www.opensocietyfoundations.org ([link removed]).

Staff SpotlightAlexandra Reeve Givens, President & CEOHow long have you been working in digital rights? In law school I focused on human rights law, but it wasn’t until I joined the Senate Judiciary Committee that I applied that focus to digital rights. I saw that the issues we loosely call “tech policy” encompass the most pressing social justice issues of our time: equity in access, the disproportionate impact of surveillance on communities of color, the risks of data perpetuating discrimination, the tensions between protecting free speech and addressing online hate speech and harassment, and much more. I’ve been in the field ever since.

What is your proudest moment while here at CDT? This month, we filed a lawsuit challenging the President’s "Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship." Filing a lawsuit during my third week at CDT hadn’t exactly been on my To Do list. But the Order is such a clear attempt to stifle social media companies’ efforts to address voter suppression that I felt we had to respond. I couldn’t be prouder of how our team came together to prepare the complaint, explain our position, and take a stand during this particularly critical time for the First Amendment.

What is the most recent cultural activity you've been to? Not a cultural activity, but an essential one — the Black Lives Matter protests in DC.

Dogs or cats? Dogs!

Want to Help CDT? 

CDT is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to standing up for your rights. Our work is made possible through donations from individuals and organizations in the community, many of whom research organizations in advance of a gift to verify work and impact.

You can help CDT by taking two minutes to share your thoughts on CDT’s work on GreatNonprofits ([link removed]), a charity rating organization. We want to hear from you what we are doing well and why you value CDT’s work. This small step can help bring more supporters to CDT, enabling us to continue to put democracy and individual rights at the center of the digital revolution. 

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