CDT’s isabelalinzer.bsky.social in @routefifty.bsky.social: "We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI’s impact on elections.”

CDT’s @jakelaperruque.bsky.social was ft in @techpolicypress.bsky.social roundup of 2025’s most-read content! His article, Status of State Laws on Facial Recognition Surveillance: Continued Progress and Smart Innovations, dives into how states are shaping rules for this tech.

We’re hiring! CDT is looking for a Senior Policy Counsel to support our state-level tech policy work. This role will engage with state policymakers and allies across the U.S., helping advance civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age.

CDT’s @kateruane.bsky.social in @austinchronicle.bsky.social: “There are so many social media outlets and generative AI services that people use as search engines now.”

MUST LISTEN: Welcome to a special edition of CDT’s Tech Talks. In this episode, we’re taking you inside one of the most anticipated nights in tech policy: CDT’s annual Tech Prom. cdt.org/insights/tec...

📺 CDT CEO @alexreevegivens.bsky.social joins FOX 5 Atlanta to discuss how teens are interacting with AI and what responsible tech design should look like in a world where digital tools shape real‑world behavior. Watch the full interview here 👉

Quinn Anex-Ries’ brief from earlier this year outlines best practices for public sector AI use case inventories, a key transparency tool to ensure agencies clearly document their development, purchasing, and use of AI. cdt.org/insights/bes...

✨ Happy New Year from CDT! ✨ In 2026, we will continue centering civil rights & civil liberties in the digital age: testifying in Congress, expanding state-level impact, and providing expert insights on emerging tech policy issues. Thank you for joining us on this critical journey.

With the New Year just hours away, please consider supporting CDT. Your donation helps us defend civil rights, advance responsible AI, guide policymakers, and protect independent federal agencies. Give today: cdt.org/2025yearend1/

ICYMI: CDT, the @civilrightsorg.bsky.social, and @protectdemocracy.org released a new analysis on the federal government’s push to access state voter rolls. Why it matters – voter privacy, election security, and the risks of centralizing sensitive data. cdt.org/insights/cdt...

Looking back at 2025, AI in schools continued to grow—and so did the risks to students. CDT’s Hand in Hand report highlighted key harms tied to more AI use: data breaches, tech-enabled harassment, AI that fails, and troubling student-tech interactions. cdt.org/insights/han...

AI agents are evolving fast—and the ones that act on their own are already outpacing the safeguards currently in place, inclu. for security, privacy, & more. CDT’s brief, “AI Agents In Focus,” breaks down how these systems work and why they pose urgent policy challenges. cdt.org/insights/ai-...

CDT Deputy Director of FX @beccabranum.bsky.social's First Amendment Transparency Roadmap from earlier this year aims to help policymakers balance transparency with free speech protections to help ensure laws are both effective & constitutional. cdt.org/insights/fir...

📢 Intern at DC’s top tech policy organization! CDT’s Summer 2025 Internship Program is still accepting applications – last day to apply is February 1st. Work on cutting-edge issues like AI, privacy, & equity OR help amplify our impact through strategic comms & fundraising. cdt.org/careers/

CDT Fellow Shruti Das examines the growing push for digital content provenance—and the hard policy questions that come with it. From interoperability to platform coordination, she unpacks what will shape whether these tools actually strengthen online trust.

Assistive tech can empower — but only if it protects users' privacy. When design overlooks sensitive health or disability data, disabled users pay the price. CDT’s Ariana Aboulafia and intern Achi Mishra outline how to center privacy in inclusive innovation in this report: cdt.org/insights/inc...

In 2025, CDT defended civil rights & liberties online—testifying in Congress, advancing AI governance, protecting free expression, and more. Help us keep fighting for a fair, safe digital world in 2026. Donate now: cdt.org/2025yearend1/

Missed it last week? 🎙️Our latest Tech Talks with Europe episode — hosted by @aimeedm.bsky.social — dives into how the EU and US are approaching fair and accountable AI, from AI agents to data protection. 🎧 cdt.org/insights/tec...

This phenomenon deserves careful and empathetic study, not panic. It's a window into how humans adapt to relational tech - and how policy can respond with curiosity, care, restraint, and respect.

That’s why proposals like the GUARD Act miss the mark. Treating conversational AI as per se harmful — including for kids — flattens the nuance of how people actually use these tools and undervalues user autonomy in emotionally influential systems. cdt.org/insights/thr...

The fact that the creator of /r/MyBoyfriendisAI eventually disengaged matters. It undercuts simplistic addiction narratives and highlights user agency — exercised within product design choices.

The real question isn’t why people do this, but what responsibilities come with designing systems that are affirming, persistent, and can mimic emotional fluency.

Users may turn to AI companions for all sorts of reasons that make sense: loneliness, grief, safety, curiosity. Policy debates should start with empathy for those uses, not judgment.

Everything about this story — and the broader phenomenon — is fascinating. “Companion AI” isn’t just about fears of displacement or emotional dependence, but about how people choose to use new technology as an emotional tool, with awareness and choice.

Curious how AI “memory” works—and how it impacts your privacy and control? Our new CDT report by @mbogen.bsky.social & Ruchika Joshi breaks down responsible approaches for AI systems that remember, act, and interact. Read it here: cdt.org/insights/a-r...

Border searches aren’t just about your phone—they can reveal deep digital footprints. Staying safe means more than just powering down. When traveling, plan ahead, know your rights, and limit what’s accessible to protect your privacy. More tips here: cdt.org/insights/pro...

CDT’s @alexreevegivens.bsky.social in @engadget.com: “This EO is designed to chill state-level action to provide oversight and accountability for the developers and deployers of AI systems, while doing nothing to address the real and documented harms these systems create.”

How do we know what to trust online in the age of generative AI? In a new guest post, CDT Fellow Shruti Das explores the promise and risk of digital content provenance—tools meant to trace where digital media comes from and how it’s been altered.

“Trump’s executive order could cause concern among lawmakers who fear possible blowback from the administration for their efforts, said @travisrh.bsky.social, the director for state engagement at the CDT, a nonprofit that advocates for digital rights & freedom of expression.”

CDT joined comments led by the @epic.org to urge DHS & the SSA to withdraw their overhaul of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program.

CDT’s @npdoty.techpolicy.social.ap.brid.gy and Visiting Fellow @nicksullivan.org joined a UN OHCHR workshop in Madrid with engineers, industry, and civil society to explore how technical standards affect internet users’ human rights. Read their recap of the event:

Happy World Arabic Language Day! #CODI member @cdt.org released a report on content moderation of the Maghrebi Arabic dialect, exploring challenges with social media in North Africa and the need for greater transparency and native speakers to train AI. 🔗 cdt.org/insights/mod...

CDT submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) opposing the agency’s proposal to eliminate disparate impact liability from Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). cdt.org/insights/cdt...

“More than 40% of surveyed 6th- to 12th-grade teachers used AI detection tools during the last school year, according to a nationally representative poll by CDT, a nonprofit that advocates for civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age.” www.npr.org/2025/12/...

Last week, CDT joined a letter by the RE:CREATE Coalition urging Congress not to move forward on HR 6028, legislation that would separate the Copyright Office from the Library of Congress, without hearings to carefully consider the ramifications of doing so. cdt.org/insights/cdt...

PornHub confirms that more than 200 million records were exposed, including email addresses and keyword searches. That’s bad. Imagine how much worse it would be if that data set also included government IDs. www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...

NEW BLOG: CDT’s @nullset.bsky.social & George Slover examine how EU competition authorities are evaluating Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT), a tool designed to give iOS users control over cross-app data collection.

Trump's #ArtificialIntelligence executive order is severely flawed, more on that below

CDT, the @civilrightsorg.bsky.social, & @protectdemocracy.org recently analyzed the federal government’s push to access state voter rolls, highlighting potential harms to voter privacy and the risks of centralizing sensitive election data. cdt.org/insights/cdt...

CDT’s @arianaaboulafia.bsky.social pens a new op-ed in @techpolicypress.bsky.social examining how surveillance tech is creating chilling effects for disabled protestors, limiting their ability to exercise their First Amendment rights safely and fully.

New blog from CDT’s @nullset.bsky.social, @travisrh.bsky.social, & @samircjain.bsky.social analyzes the Trump Admin’s latest AI EO which claims to preempt state AI laws—laying out a set of largely toothless directives aimed at chilling state action.

🎙️ New Tech Talk with CDT Europe is live! Hosted by @aimeedm.bsky.social, this episode kicks off our transatlantic mini-series on fair and accountable AI. 🎧cdt.org/insights/tec...

As 2025 ends, we’re filled with gratitude for CDT’s partners and supporters. Your generosity helps us defend people’s rights and a resilient democracy in this digital age. Wishing you a joyful holiday season and heartfelt thanks for standing with us! ☃️

CDT’s AI Governance Lab is proud to partner w/ @pjmfdn.bsky.social to develop and promote adoption of robust, technically-informed solutions for the effective regulation and governance of AI, in the US and globally.

Public agencies are embracing AI to improve service delivery, but is AI always the right solution? CDT report “To AI or Not to AI” outlines a 4-step framework to help agencies assess whether AI is the best fit—or if alternatives should be considered. cdt.org/insights/to-...

How do content moderation systems work in non-English languages in the Global South? CDT partnered with regional civil society organizations to examine moderation in Maghrebi Arabic, Kiswahili, Tamil, and Quechua across major platforms. cdt.org/content-mode...

ICYMI: One of our latest blogs by Quinn Anex-Ries looks at the risks of rushing AI adoption across federal agencies — wasting resources, harming the public, creating confusion, and deepening vendor lock-in. Check it out! cdt.org/insights/dep...

"The president cannot pre-empt state laws through an executive order, full stop. Pre-emption is a question for Congress, which they have considered and rejected, and should continue to reject." - @cdt.org's Travis Hall #AI #Trump #AIregulation #AIlaws www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/u...

ICYMI: We joined @cdt.org and other privacy + civil liberties organizations urging House Judiciary to implement necessary reform of FISA Section 702. This includes closing the backdoor search and data broker loophole, fixing overbroad expansion of ECSP, and promoting transparency at the FISA court.

CDT’s Travis Hall in Inc: “The power to preempt rests firmly with Congress, and no executive order can change that. State lawmakers have an important role to play in protecting their constituents from AI systems that are untrustworthy or unaccountable."