NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

Misinformation Spreads Online as Election Officials Count Votes

The 2020 U.S. Presidential election is underway, with Election Day past and votes still being counted in a number of states. In a year where people across the U.S. voted by mail in historic numbers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, every valid vote must be counted. For more on how CDT is tackling the challenges that have arisen this election season, check out the latest episode of our podcast, Tech Talks, with CDT Senior Technologist Will Adler.

Online misinformation and disinformation about election procedures have been widespread this year, often casting doubt on the election process and discouraging people from voting. Many false claims have arisen, for instance, about the trustworthiness of mail-in ballots, but the security checks that are part of the absentee voting process should give voters confidence in mail-in ballots. As election officials count votes, the President continues to spread dangerous misinformation about the results.

To help election officials tackle the problem of election misinformation, CDT released a short guide on how to anticipate and counter election misinformation. We also partnered with the Center for Tech and Civic Life to develop and deliver a new course for election officials, “Combating Election Misinformation,” which covered different forms of misinformation, and how to respond with a defensive communications strategy.

CDT has long advocated for election officials to boost voter confidence and deter interference by conducting robust post-election auditing for every race. Risk-limiting audits involve manually recounting a random sample of ballots, allowing officials to efficiently reach a high level of confidence in the overall outcome. These audits are an effective way to give voters confidence in election infrastructure without an overly expensive and time-consuming full recount.

Speakers for webinar on use of AI in benefits determinations

In Case You Missed It

CDT is proud to join the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in announcing the 2020 Civil Rights Principles for Big Data. The Principles are designed to address current threats to civil rights, including surveillance by both the public and private sectors, and disinformation on social media platforms designed to manipulate or suppress voter participation. We hope the principles will serve as a proactive guide for designing and using technology in ways that affirmatively promote justice and equity.

As part of CDT’s work on algorithmic fairness, we recently released a report addressing the use of AI in benefits determinations. The report and related webinar are part of CDT’s broader effort to center disability issues in technology policy, including examining the use of AI in benefits determinations, hiring, policing, education, and other settings.

CDT’s Avery Gardiner discussed a few takeaways from the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent case against Google, some representing novel developments in antitrust enforcement and others hearkening back to earlier enforcement cases. The government’s complaint may demonstrate that it wants to get back into business with cases that challenge conduct by powerful firms.

To help center parent, teacher, and student perspectives in discussions about how data and technology are used in schools, CDT conducted original polling and focus group research on their views. Our research informed a report outlining key recommendations for education leaders to ensure responsible, effective student data and education technology that does not sacrifice student privacy and civil rights.

Are you interested in the work that CDT does and want to be part of a team that makes real change? CDT has a number of open senior leadership positions that you could be the perfect fit for. More information is available on our careers page.

CDT in the Press

CDT President & CEO Alexandra Givens spoke with Voice of America about online platforms taking down and labeling certain posts: “Under our Constitution, the government can’t tell Facebook, you need to take down this awful, but lawful speech. But a platform like Facebook can make that decision. What we really need to be focusing on is how platforms are using their power responsibly.”

Speaking about U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s disclosure that it uses commercially available data to conduct warrantless tracking of people in the U.S., CDT Policy Counsel Mana Azarmi told NextGov: “If government agencies like CBP can evade the warrant requirements imposed by [Supreme Court case] Carpenter simply by purchasing the data ... then we lack sufficient checks to protect our privacy.”

CDT Research Director Dhanaraj Thakur was quoted in Wired about targeted efforts to discourage or misinform voters, particularly in Black and Latinx communities: “The overarching theme is race.”

CDT "in Person"

Save the date for CDT’s fourth annual Future of Speech Online event, held virtually this year on December 7-11, from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Eastern daily. This year’s event will focus on secure online communications, including key technical concepts in encryption policy debates, possible approaches to moderating content in end-to-end encrypted systems, and the implications of restrictive national anti-encryption laws for the open, global internet.

CDT’s Europe Office is partnering with the United Nations Human Rights Europe Regional Office for an event on what Europe can do to better protect democracy in the digital age. Held virtually on November 12, the discussion will bring together high-level speakers to discuss how the EU’s new European Democracy Action Plan and Digital Services Act could help better protect European democracy. You can register here.

Partner Spotlight

For the past several months, communications company Discernible, Inc., has been working with CDT to spotlight security and privacy issues for the companies that Discernible serves. Through this direct-to-company advocacy, CDT has been able to help emergent privacy-focused companies better understand the contours of possible forthcoming federal privacy legislation and anticipate how they can both prepare and adjust consumer-facing policies in advance to be better actors for individual users.

Staff Spotlight
Joshua Gerras, Development Manager, Institutional Giving

How long have you been working in digital rights? I’ve been with CDT for two years, which marked my real entrance into digital rights. Prior to that I spent 5 years working with civil rights organizations - I got my first look into the world of digital rights via projects on the census, digital divide, and broadband access. It was quite clear to me then, as it is now, that the future fight for civil and human rights required engagement in the digital space.

What is your proudest moment while here at CDT? I’d been at CDT all of a month when we released draft federal legislation for baseline privacy. At the time GDPR was new, CCPA didn’t exist yet. I knew then that I’d found myself at an incredible organization at a critical time for this work.

What is the most recent cultural activity you've been to? I’ve been rereading The Gateless Gate, an old zen text I come back to almost yearly. But I just finished Oathbringer, the third novel in The Stormlight Archive series. Some of the best high fantasy I’ve read in years and a much needed escape from the current pandemic.

Dogs or cats? Cats, hands down. I prefer mutual respect between animals.

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