Urgent Tech Policy Priorities for New White House and Congress
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As President Biden, Vice President Harris, and a new Congress assume office, our nation is emerging from the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic, grappling with unprecedented attacks on election integrity and divisiveness in social discourse, and continuing to confront the deep wounds of racial injustice.
The Biden Administration’s commitment to “Build Back Better” presents an important opportunity for technology policy; questions of connectivity, online speech, surveillance, privacy, and security will matter as never before.
So how can policymakers get it right, and where should they start?
CDT is releasing a roadmap detailing the four most urgent tech policy priorities that we believe the new Congress and new Administration need to address. It covers specific recommendations on how to preserve free expression and the democratic process while addressing online content issues; protect consumers and civil rights through privacy legislation and agency enforcement; reform surveillance and preserve fundamental rights; and work towards a competitive, free, and open internet.
The Biden administration can make progress on these long-overdue policy priorities, building an equitable digital future that protects users’ rights and finally closes the digital divide.
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In Case You Missed It
Last week, CDT sued the Department of Homeland Security for failing to respond for more than a year to CDT requests made under the Freedom of Information Act. DHS currently collects, reviews, and uses social media data, and border officials have reportedly refused entry to visa holders based solely on what their social media connections have posted online. We sought information about how social media data informs the U.S. government’s immigration and naturalization work, including decisions about who may travel, enter, and stay in the United States and ultimately become a U.S. citizen.
This month, we welcomed the 2021-2023 class of members to our Non-Resident Fellows Program. Sandra Braman, Anupam Chander, Casey Fiesler, Dipayan Ghosh, Rachel Kuo, Jasmine McNealy, Maria Rodriguez, and Saiph Savage will collaborate on projects with CDT’s policy experts, participate in CDT events, and work with CDT to amplify and share their relevant research. The Fellows program is part of CDT’s effort to develop spaces that bring together researchers, policymakers, and other subject matter experts to advance more informed policy solutions.
CDT recently urged the Second Circuit Court to rein in U.S. government efforts to use the outdated Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to obtain confidential data without the knowledge of the data’s owner. Both First Amendment free speech rights and Fourth Amendment safeguards against unreasonable searches are at issue when it comes to these ECPA gag orders. We argue that the court should require the government to meet a high legal standard when it tries to impose such gag orders.
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CDT in the News: NPR, Fast Company, CBS, and More
Greg Nojeim appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered, and said it’s a bad idea to create a new federal crime of domestic terrorism: “The reason there's not such a crime is that there's concern, and it's legitimate, that such a statute could be used to squelch free expression.”
Discussing CDT’s recent report on how algorithm-based hiring tools can increase disability discrimination, Lydia X. Z. Brown told Fast Company, “Even if a company wanted in good faith to try their hardest to make their tool as fair to disabled people as possible, they will never be able to account for all of the different ways that disabled people move through the world. So for me, at the end of the day, the question comes back to: How can employers reduce the risk that they are going to amplify and exacerbate already devastating disability discrimination, and inequities in employment?”
Stan Adams spoke about the coming deployment of 5G technology, telling CBS: "The big bet right now is to try to get all the infrastructure in place so that the next revolutionary app and service ecosystem can spring forward in the United States before it does somewhere else."
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CDT "In Person"In July, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in the Schrems II case that the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield provides insufficient protection against the U.S. government’s intelligence surveillance activities, creating uncertainty that threatens to disrupt transatlantic data flows. Last week, CDT’s Europe Office and the European Academy for Freedom of Information and Data Protection (EAID) hosted an in-depth discussion on key questions emerging from the case, and the possible ways forward for the Biden Administration. You can learn more about the event, which featured leading voices from both sides of the Atlantic, and watch the recording here.
CDT’s Greg Nojeim is joining the American University Law Review’s Annual Symposium, entitled “Privacy in the Age of Emergency.” Tune in for a discussion on new technologies changing the public health surveillance landscape in the fight against COVID-19 — and the privacy law implications of these developments, which could reverberate long after the pandemic ends. You can learn more and RSVP here.
Have you listened to the latest episode of our Tech Talk podcast? Join CDT’s Jamal Magby, Lydia X. Z. Brown, and Alexandra Givens to discuss our latest report on artificial intelligence and benefits.
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Partner Spotlight
In 2019, CDT received a $3 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to build CDT’s internal research capacity. This grant — part of Knight’s $50 million initiative to support new scholarship on how technology is transforming our democracy — supports CDT’s research on issues relating to free expression, mis- and disinformation, and how to better build a more informed society.
Building on our workshops held in the fall of 2020, CDT will soon be releasing a report on the intersection of disinformation, race, and gender, followed by a report on automated content moderation. Learn more about Knight Foundation here.
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Staff Spotlight
DeVan Hankerson Madrigal, Research Manager
How long have you been working in digital rights? I moved to DC in 2011 after finishing my Masters in International Trade Policy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, CA where, in broad terms, my thesis focused on internet access rights in emerging markets. If you count the time I spent in academia working to understand the international economic barriers limiting people's access to advanced technology, then I'd say 13 years.
However, if you only count work I've been paid to do, then I'd say ten years. This includes my time working at public interest organizations focused on regulatory advocacy on tech, telecom and media ownership issues, in government relations firms working between technology industry partners and legislators, and more recently in academic think tanks focused on convening a broader set of stakeholders working on many of the same issues.
What is your proudest moment while here at CDT? As of today, I've been at CDT for four months exactly, and so far it has been one of the most rewarding and impactful professional experiences I've had, even though we are working remotely. I believe my proudest moment is yet to come, however the Research Team is teeing up some really exciting reports and I am 1000% looking forward to seeing my name on a CDT publication.
What is your fandom? Oh, there are so, so many! It is hard to choose just one. I am really into most any books, films, or series featuring Vampires (incl. Vampire Diaries and its offshoots), Witches (Charmed, only the new one), Mermaids, Werewolves, Fairies, Wizards, Drag Queens, Unicorns etc. My wife would say that my twin loves are political news and the Drag Race franchise and she isn't wrong. As an aside, I have most often found myself getting lost in the Star Trek Next Generation and Vampire Diaries Fandom Wiki pages.
What is the most recent cultural activity you've been to? If by “been to” we're including virtual attendance, then I count the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States because that felt like a cultural activity to me. Outside of the inauguration, my extended family and I celebrated Kwanzaa virtually for the second time this holiday season and Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African American culture so by definition it qualifies.
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