We have another exciting show for you this week! Apple announced that it is planning to make several changes to its messaging and photo services in the United States aimed to prevent the abuse of children. Unfortunately, although well intentioned, these changes may threaten the security and privacy of its users and ultimately imperil secure messaging around the world. Here to explain what these changes are and why they are so concerning are CDT’s own Mallory Knodel, Chief Technology Officer, and...
Aug 17, 2021•36 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! In February, CDT released a report identifying research gaps in our understanding of the link between race and gender in disinformation campaigns. The report, Facts and their Discontents: A Research Agenda for Disinformation, Race, and Gender, identifies key research questions about how race and gender are used in disinformation efforts. The report also makes recommendations for how to tackle the related systematic and technical problems that rese...
May 26, 2021•41 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! Earlier this month, the Facebook Oversight Board affirmed Facebook’s January 7, 2021 decision to restrict the ability of then-President Donald Trump to post content on his Facebook and Instagram accounts. The Board’s decision raised a number of important questions, but left the big one unanswered. Will former President Trump be allowed back on these platforms? CDT's Free Expression Team, Emma Llansó and Caitlin Vogus will breakdown this decision a...
May 20, 2021•36 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! As part of the CDT Equity in Civic Technology Project's ongoing “Tech Tales series,” we are featuring perspectives from across the education system and sharing their experiences navigating the issues of privacy protection, responsible technology use, and digital equity in their daily lives as parents, school administrators, and education leaders. Our guests will discuss how a collaborative approach to school technology is critical to ensuring stud...
Mar 30, 2021•41 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! As part of the CDT Equity in Civic Technology Project's ongoing “Tech Tales series,” we are featuring perspectives from across the education system and sharing their experiences navigating the issues of privacy protection, responsible technology use, and digital equity in their daily lives as parents, school administrators, and education leaders. Our guests will discuss how a collaborative approach to school technology is critical to ensuring stud...
Mar 22, 2021•31 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! Last month, the Center for Democracy & Technology in partnership with the KAS Foundation, issued a report examining cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the U.S. election system. The report, an Agenda for U.S. Election Cybersecurity, looks beyond the scope of the recently updated federal voting machine guidelines and examines vulnerabilities in election infrastructure in four additional areas: voter registration systems; poll books; absentee and m...
Mar 08, 2021•21 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! Earlier this week, The Center for Democracy and Technology launched its new Equity in Civic Technology Project. This new program focuses on advocating for equitable use of data and technology in government institutions. Today we’re talking with Elizabeth Laird, Director of CDT's Equity in Civic Technology project, to discuss CDT’s latest program and how it builds on the work that was started with CDT’s Student Privacy Project. More on our host, Ja...
Feb 12, 2021•15 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! Last month, the European Commission published its long-awaited Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA report involves a review of the the 20-year-old e-Commerce Directive and seeks to answer questions regarding how society should deal with the contemporary challenges linked to digital services in the EU. Today we will be joined by one of CDT's newest faces, Iverna McGowan, who will explain what these two proposals could mean for digital and human rig...
Jan 25, 2021•13 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! Elections have dominated the headlines, and as our listeners likely know CDT’s been busy on that front –– check out our most recent episode for more! –– but that’s just one of the many issues our experts have been working on. Today we’re talking with one of the newest of these faces, Lydia X. Z. Brown Policy Counsel with our Privacy and Data Project and a well-established disability advocate – in addition to our CEO Alexandra Givens, to discuss CD...
Jan 07, 2021•22 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! With the 2020 election season in full swing, we wanted to check in with our Senior Technologist for Elections & Democracy, Will Adler, for an update on what’s going on and how we’re working to keep our election free and fair in 2020. Let’s get ready to talk tech! More on our host, Jamal https://bit.ly/cdtjamal Attribution: sounds used from Psykophobia, Taira Komori, BenKoning, Zabuhailo, bloomypetal, guitarguy1985, bmusic92, and offthesky of f...
Oct 29, 2020•19 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! 2020 has been a busy year for antitrust in the tech industry. Before the COVID 19 pandemic, the Federal Trade Commission launched investigations into past mergers in the tech industry, with the expectation that they’d be a lot tougher on companies trying to absorb their rivals. Both the DOJ and the FTC have active investigations into the big tech companies. The House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee also brought together the CEOs of Amazon, Facebo...
Aug 24, 2020•26 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! Last month, The Center Democracy and Technology filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s “Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship”. The suit argues that the Executive Order violates the First Amendment by curtailing and chilling the constitutionally protected speech of online platforms and individuals. In today’s episode, you will hear from Alexandra Reeve Givens, President, and CEO of The Center for Democracy and Technology, as we discus...
Jul 10, 2020•22 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! 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. But what are some of the inherent dangers of online voting? How do we ensure our elections are safe and secure while in the midst of a global pandemic? What are some of the problems a vote-by-mail system helps solve, and some of the inherent issues the same system might present?...
May 20, 2020•39 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! As governments work to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus across the globe, some countries have begun using highly personalized location data to locate and identify potential cases. While having access to this data may aid in curtailing the spread of the virus, many privacy advocates are concerned that collecting such data without certain safeguards could pose an immediate danger to privacy and civil liberties, and have long term consequence...
May 08, 2020•16 min
We have another exciting show for you this week! Due to the rapid school closures caused by COVID-19, many school districts are introducing new distance learning strategies in hopes to continue education during this uncertain time. But as many students are turning to technology and online platforms to aid in their studies, many privacy advocates are concerned that their data may not be properly protected. In this episode of Tech Talk, you will hear from Kimberly Ochs, CDT Fellow and Adjunct Prof...
Apr 14, 2020•29 min
We have an exciting show for you this week! In this episode of Tech Talk, you will hear from Mana Azarmi, Policy Counsel, Hannah Quay-de la Vallee, Senior Technologist, and Liz Woolery, Deputy Director of the Free Expression Project, as we discuss the EARN IT Act. A well-intentioned new bill aimed at combating child sexual exploitation online, threatens to erode free speech on online platforms and also poses a serious threat to strong end-to-end encryption and secure commutations as we know it. ...
Apr 09, 2020•21 min
We have another amazing episode of Tech Talk for you. First, we will talk with co-authors of the book Data Feminism, Catherine D'Ignazio, and Lauren Klein. Data Feminism introduces us to a new way of thinking about data science and data ethics informed by the ideas of intersectional feminism. After that, we hear from Larry Norden, Director of Election Reform at the Brennan Center, as he talks about election infrastructure. His talk originated at the “Hacking the US Election” event, which CDT co-...
Mar 11, 2020•32 min
It’s only February, but the proposals, rules, and regulations are coming out of Brussels rapidly. And as with GDPR, these proposals impact not just Europeans, but are driving policy debates globally. In this episode, CDT's EU lead Jens Henrik Jeppesen brings us the very latest from Europe. After that, we welcome the amazing Lee-Berkeley Shaw, CDT's Director of Development, who share details about our 25th Anniversary Tech Prom celebration. The event takes place April 23 in Washington, DC - you w...
Feb 13, 2020•27 min
Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with Catherine Crump. Electronic monitoring of young people in the juvenile justice system is on the rise nationwide. Despite the increase in usage, very little data actually exists about how the technology is being used and to what effect. That is, until now. Catherine Crump, a professor at the Berkeley School of Law, recently conducted a study on the use of electronic monitoring of youth in California. Her findings suggest that this technology is widening the ne...
Jan 23, 2020•18 min
Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with Steve Hollingworth, of the Grameen Foundation. Access to financing is a major obstacle to alleviating poverty for millions of people around the world. The Grameen Foundation leverages data and technology to address this issue and in this episode we hear from their president about how they are doing that. Then, Brian takes you into our just-wrapped 2019 Future of Speech Online. At the event led by CDT, we asked six speakers to share what the future of speech l...
Dec 12, 2019•45 min
Host Brian Wesolowski first sits down with Kimberly Tignor, the Executive Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Justice. She highlights the work of the Institute and shares stories of how creators of all kinds have benefited from their efforts. Then, Brian takes you into our just-wrapped 2019 Future of Speech Online. At the event led by CDT, we asked six speakers to share what the future of speech looks like for a diversity of speakers. Here's the first three of those speakers,...
Dec 12, 2019•39 min
Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with the visionary Pam Samuelson, one of the leaders behind technology law and policy clinics. These clinics are helping answer some of today’s most pressing legal questions around tech and society, and Pam tells us more about how they got started and what they're tackling now. Then, Brian brings in CDT's Natasha Duarte to talk about changes the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to make to its rules against housing discrimination. HUD wants to...
Oct 23, 2019•38 min
Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with CDT's Open Internet Counsel, Stan Adams, to discuss the latest installments in our series of technology explainers, called "Techsplanations." In these installments, Stan's broken down the basics of spectrum and network management, all building towards talking about the much hyped 5G network. If you've got questions on this technology, Stan answers it here. More from our Techsplanation series: http://bit.ly/CDTsplanations More from the series on 5G: http://bit...
Oct 02, 2019•25 min
Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with author, filmmaker, and founder of the Webby Awards Tiffany Shlain to talk about her latest book: "24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week." She brings her insight and tips from a 10-year journey with her family (including kids), taking 24 hours off each week from technological interaction. Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1982116862 More on Tiffany: https://twitter.com/tiffanyshlain More on our host, Brian: bit.ly/cdtbrian Attribution: sou...
Sep 24, 2019•20 min
Host Brian Wesolowski brings in Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, a Fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution. She has a forthcoming book, The Digitally Invisible: How the Internet is Creating the New Underclass. Together they discuss the implications of lacking broadband infrastructure and/ or access to high speed internet in communities across the country. Then, Brian sits down with Scott Turnbull, the Director of Technology for US Ignite, to discuss how 5G and other tech...
Aug 13, 2019•32 min
Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with Director of Privacy & Data, Michelle Richardson, unpacking what the $5 billion dollar fine levied by the Federal Trade Commission against Facebook means and updating us on where things stand with a federal privacy law in the United States. Then Brian brings in Senior Fellow on Competition, Data, and Power, Avery Gardiner to talk about the latest on big tech and antitrust laws. More on CDT's privacy legislation efforts: http://bit.ly/CDTfedpriv More on CDT...
Jul 30, 2019•25 min
Calls for the regulation of so-called big tech are coming from all directions, and while the proposed interventions vary widely, a common refrain is that these companies have too much power. Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with author Harold Feld, Senior Vice President of Public Knowledge, about his new e-book, The Case for the Digital Platform Act. It takes a deeper look at some of the challenges posed by the increased power of digital platforms, and proposes the creation of a new U.S. governme...
Jun 19, 2019•20 min
Host Brian Wesolowski sits down first with Pueblo Sin Fronteras' Alex Mensing, to discuss first hand-experience of enhanced screenings by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at ports of entry – and why we should all be concerned. Then Brian sits down with Rapid7's Harley Geiger (CDT alum) and CDT's Michelle Richardson to talk about the data security angle to US privacy legislation, and why Congress seems to be not giving it the attention it deserves. More on Pueblo Sin Fronteras: https://www.pueblosi...
Jun 06, 2019•38 min
Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with CDTEU's Jens-Henrik Jeppesen & Vincenzo Tiani to discuss the upcoming EU elections. The European Union has been driving a lot of change in tech and internet policy worldwide, so these elections have the potential to shake things up even more. Then Brian brings on Jamie Broadnax, the creator of the thriving online community Black Girl Nerds and previous Future of Speech Online speaker this past December. Jamie shares with us why she created the online comm...
May 21, 2019•32 min
Host Brian Wesolowski highlights CDT President & CEO Nuala O'Connor's remarks at this year's Tech Prom, where she challenged everyone to think about how they could help create technology that advances democratic values. Listen in for the full speech, and watch on CDT's YouTube channel if you'd like: http://bit.ly/2Vq8dyl Then, Brian brings in Stan Adams to talk about a new coalition between CDT and the R Street Institute around artificial intelligence, the newly formed GRAIL Network (Governa...
May 16, 2019•23 min
