Last month, DHS issued a notice of its intent to change the agency rule on DNA collection to give itself essentially unlimited authority to take DNA from anyone. 48 members of Congress signed a letter opposing the rule. You have until Jan 2 to submit your comment. drive.google.com/file/d/1tqSA...

This story from @rollingstone.com draws extensively on two of our reports, Raiding the Genome and American Dragnet. The US government is building a vast genetic surveillance apparatus in the name of immigration enforcement. Great quotes in here from @sglabe.bsky.social.

Our ED, Emily Tucker, talked to @madisyn-writes.bsky.social about why many of the folks who helped advocate for the Maryland Driver Privacy Act are now worried that the state hasn’t actually been following the law since it went into effect.

Our Associate Emerald Tse was featured in a Documented article about Palantir’s development of surveillance tech that targets immigrant communities & advocates. "These surveillance technology tools aren’t new, they’re just more powerful than they were before," said Tse. Read the whole article here:

"States should ignore this ridiculous EO" as well as any similar attempts to preempt legislatively. The president's billionaire cronies have made him understand that controlling data means controlling resources means controlling people. This EO is a declaration that we must all submit.

Our Director of Research & Advocacy Stevie Glaberson spoke with Stephen Rhode and one of our Advisory Board members Heidi Boghosian for their podcast Law & Disorder. They discussed our Raiding the Genome report and 2025 update. Listen to the whole episode here:

Earlier this year, our ED Emily Tucker wrote a perspective piece for Tech Policy Press urging for hard limits on the scale of corporate data collection, titled “To Have Democracy, We Must Contest Data.” Read her article here:

Our ED Emily Tucker recently spoke with @npr.org's Jude Joffe-Block about how ICE surveillance violates privacy and civil rights. Read the article here: www.npr.org/2025/11/08/n....

Our former Senior Associate Clarence Okoh co-wrote an article for Tech Policy Press detailing the risks associated with the implementation of AI-powered surveillance tools in schools, titled "Unproven Vape Detection Tech Expands Surveillance in Schools, Threatening Privacy." Read it here:

Check it out: The Metropolitan Washington Workshop on Immigration & Race is holding a discussion TOMORROW. Join for a discussion on how the US surveillance apparatus built on migrant data extractivism extends to all of society. Register here: go.gwu.edu/mwwir.

In September we released an update to our 2024 report, “Raiding the Gnome,” showing that CBP has taken DNA from ~2,000 U.S. citizens without any judicial oversight. The program is illegal and impacts everyone. Hear more from our Director of Research & Advocacy:

Our Senior Associate Clarence Okoh recently co-authored an article titled, “Baltimore County must protect Black children from dangerous tech. Here’s how.” The article describes how the discrepancies in AI detection systems in schools are putting children at risk as opposed to keeping them safe.

Our ED Emily Tucker is speaking on the “Responsible AI and Privacy” panel hosted by Good Systems at UT-Austin this Wednesday 11/19 at 10 AM CST. Join for a discussion about where privacy stands in the technological revolution of AI! Register here (Zoom available): responsibleai2025.splashthat.com.

How do news media, AI and data governance shape the information we all rely on? 👉 Nordicom recently published “Information Ecosystems and Troubled Democracy: The State of Knowledge on News Media, AI, and Data Governance.”

Read this letter from Sen. Wyden and 39 other lawmakers to state governors warning them that they are sharing their residents' data with ICE. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

This Fall, we welcomed Ayah Eldosougi, our new Fritz Fellow, and Taman Mohamed, our new Justice Fellow. They recently sat down to talk privacy, power, and podcasts. Read their conversation here: medium.com/@georgetownp...

Join us in congratulating our Director of Research & Advocacy Stevie Glaberson for being selected to join the 2025-26 cohort of Gender+ Justice Initiative Fellows!

Our ED Emily Tucker spoke with @politico.com’s Alfred Ng about ICE's new contract for skip tracing for today’s Morning Tech newsletter. “It’s surveillance that targets people that are typically hard to find in the databases that already exist,” said Tucker.

📢📢📢 Don’t miss this great event happening TODAY! Join us to learn how 5 experts have made their own path in the privacy field.

Corporations call it "privacy-preserving," but this new AI tech isn't all that it seems. Our new brief w/@datasociety.bsky.social + CoWorker exposes how this tech harms + exploits workers and what we can do to strengthen worker protections + power in the digital age: datasociety.net/library/the-...

Last month, we published new research about CBP’s collection of DNA from US citizens. In a new blog post, our Associate @ehtse.bsky.social writes about the widespread risks of genetic surveillance and our ongoing research into DHS’s DNA collection program. Read it here:

🚨TOMORROW! Curious about the implications that technology access has on the economic and social participation of communities marginalized by the structural barriers of inequity? Dr. Nicol Turner Lee will discuss her book, “Digitally Invisible: How the Internet is Creating the New Underclass.”

📢 Georgetown students!! Interested in a career in privacy? Join us on October 20 to hear from professionals who’ve found a range of pathways to their careers in privacy.

Digital Inclusion Week is here and we have an event for you! Dr. Nicol Turner Lee of @brookings.edu will join us to discuss what digital equity can look like as the importance of internet access in the US for economic participation continues to increase.

Cuando publicamos nuestro informe de 2024 “Asalto al Genoma,” sospechábamos que agentes del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) podían estar coleccionando ADN de ciudadanos estadounidenses. Ahora podemos confirmar que esas sospechas eran correctas.

DHS DNA collection “is illegal, unconstitutional, and deeply corrosive to civil rights and liberties. No amount of coerced ‘consent’ can make it otherwise,” says Privacy Center Dir. of Research & Advocacy Stevie Glaberson.

When we published our 2024 report “Raiding the Genome,” we suspected that DHS agents might be taking DNA from US citizens. We can now confirm that those suspicions were correct. www.raidingthegenome.org

They promised cheap rent They gave us culture war

Happening tomorrow! Interested in scholarship surrounding emerging technology and social responsibility? Join us as Professor Ryan Calo dives into his new book, “Law and Technology: A Methodical Approach”!

Last week @amcommmedia.bsky.social hosted “Expanding Surveillance of Immigrants – At What Cost?” to explore how the US govt’s growing surveillance arsenal is used beyond immigration enforcement. americancommunitymedia.org/media-briefi...

En 2024 publicamos “Asalto al Genoma: Cómo el Gobierno de los EEUU Abusa de Sus Facultades en Materia de Inmigración para Acumular ADN para Futuras Acciones Policiales.” Hemos seguido investigando el programa de recolección de ADN del DHS. Hoy compartimos algunas novedades. raidingthegenome.org

A book talk you don’t want to miss! Professor at @uwlaw.bsky.social @rcalo.bsky.social, will talk about his new book “Law and Technology: A Methodical Approach,” which explores what scholars and society can do about emerging technology.

Did you just read about how traditional Medicare is about to require prior approval - and they’re going to hire **AI companies** to dole out those approvals? Then you need to learn about Dr. Gary Bent.

Update: This week, the WA Dept of Licensing cut off ICE’s access to a state database containing driver and vehicle licensing data.

Earlier this summer, our Associate Dr. Marianna Poyares (@maripoyares.bsky.social) wrote a piece for our blog about Sam Altman’s new retina scanning tech. Now, as more companies are considering implementing this tech, it’s imperative to understand the trade offs. Read Marianna’s blog here:

Last call for the A.I. in Art: Perceptions, Values & Rights Exhibition! It’s on display until 9/1 @GeorgetownUniversity Lauinger Library & is the product of an interdisciplinary research project led by students & faculty from Dept of CompSci, Dept of Art & Art History, & @georgetownlaw.bsky.social.

Director of Research & Advocacy Stevie Glaberson (@sglabe.bsky.social) joined The Take podcast to talk about DHS DNA collection. Watch the episode from @ajepodcasts.bsky.social:

Thank you @pressley.house.gov for bringing attention to DHS’s abusive DNA collection program in Congress this week. The public deserves transparency about how federal immigration enforcement handles people’s sensitive genetic material.

The latest from philosopher David McNeill, who teaches our “No, We Don’t Live In A F%#*ing Simulation” mini course.

“What we have now is the federal government has essentially unleashed an anonymized, militarized police force on its own people, and people are doing the most basic things they can think of to try to take back some sense of agency and security.” - Emily Tucker, Center on Privacy & Technology

This week, @wyden.senate.gov cited findings from our recent update to the “Raiding the Genome” report in an oversight letter to DHS and DOJ, raising important questions about the massive DNA collection program led by those agencies. www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-r...

TONIGHT: Interested in learning more about resisting mass surveillance and ICE’s use of Flock? The focus will be specifically on how to shut off Flock in Denver, but lessons are applicable everywhere! Join the teach-in livestream at 6pm MT: bit.ly/FLOCKteachin

Anyone’s personal information can end up in the hands of ICE simply by applying for a driver’s license. A report from Seattle’s King 5 reveals that, after cutting off immigration enforcement from its driver records, WA Dept of Licensing quietly reinstated access. www.king5.com/article/news...

“It’s very clear that the current goal is to continue to grow digital surveillance and use it for whatever this current administration decides,” our Associate @ehtse.bsky.social told @prismreports.org

Last year, we published “Raiding the Genome: How the United States Government Is Abusing Its Immigration Powers to Amass DNA for Future Policing.” Since then, we’ve continued to research DHS’s DNA-collection program. Today, we’re sharing some updates. raidingthegenome.org

🧵On Tues, the Senate passed Pres. Trump’s bill. In it is $175bn to enforce Trump’s anti-immigration agenda & room for billions more for his other priorities like new tech for DHS. Our ED Emily Tucker spoke with @techpolicypress.bsky.social ‬about the bill: www.techpolicy.press/republican-b...

We’re excited to have 3 new excellent Distinguished Fellows joining our team! Please welcome Cathryn Ann Paul Jackson, Beile Lindner, and Salomé Viljoen (‪@salome.bsky.social)!

Across the country, more and more schools are adopting technology to surveil their students in the name of “safety.” Our Senior Associate @clarenceokoh.bsky.social recently spoke with @wordinblacknews.bsky.social's Quintessa Williams about the surveillance & policing of Black students in schools.

As the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement in the nation's interior, it’s trying to issue a $25 million contract for DNA testing. "The mass collection of this data leaves it open for abuse," Associate @ehtse.bsky.social told @bloomberg.com