Analysis

  • The Spirit of DOGE Is Alive and Well in the House’s So-Called Fraud Prevention Bills

    June 9, 2026

    This week, the House of Representatives votes on three bills that would permanently formalize the DOGE playbook, risking the privacy and liberty of every American for the sake of unproven fraud prevention methods.

    • Cybersecurity

    • Data Protection

    • Data Security

    • Democracy & Free Speech

    • Fighting Federal Data Abuses

    • Government Databases

    • Government Records & Privacy

    • Open Government

    • Privacy Laws

    • Proposed U.S. Legislation

    • Analysis

  • America needs a strong privacy law. The SECURE Data Act isn’t it.

    May 4, 2026

    Everyone, including leaders in Congress, agree that we need a federal privacy law in the United States. But a privacy law is only as good as the protections it offers.

    • Consumer Privacy

    • Online Advertising & Tracking

    • Privacy Laws

    • Proposed U.S. Legislation

    • Analysis

  • To protect kids online, don’t ban them from social media. Regulate design.

    April 30, 2026

    Many state bills do not focus on regulating tech companies’ harmful design practices but instead on blocking kids’ access to social media and other apps unless they get parental consent. This is not an effective way to protect kids online.

    • Age Assurance

    • Children's Privacy

    • Consumer Privacy

    • Cybersecurity

    • Data Minimization

    • Data Protection

    • Platform Accountability & Governance

    • Platform Governance Laws & Regulations

    • Privacy Laws

    • Section 230

    • Social Media Privacy

    • The First Amendment

    • U.S. State Privacy Laws

    • Analysis

  • Government AI Is Coming for Your Data

    April 14, 2026

    The government wants to use AI to analyze Americans’ information obtained without a warrant though purchases from data brokers and “incidental” collection from foreign intelligence surveillance. Congress must act now and demand closures these loopholes around our rights before any renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Authority.

    • Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

    • FISA Section 702

    • Government AI Use

    • Intelligence Surveillance

    • Surveillance Oversight

    • Analysis

  • [UPDATED] The Data Brokers Selling US Data to Foreign Actors, According to California

    March 25, 2026

    On March 24, California released an updated registry of data brokers—companies in the business of collecting, inferring, aggregating, and selling people’s data

    • Consumer Privacy

    • Data Brokers

    • Privacy Laws

    • U.S. State Privacy Laws

    • Analysis

  • DOJ Wants Sensitive Voter Data But Can’t Be Bothered to Protect It 

    March 12, 2026

    Midterms loom. Congress’s failure to rein in a runaway Executive has not endeared voters. “Shock and awe” tactics do not make for good governance and may cost dearly at the polls. But the White House and its Congressional allies have a plan: control who votes.   

    • Democracy & Free Speech

    • Fighting Federal Data Abuses

    • Voter Privacy

    • Analysis

  • Coming to America: The Government Wants to See Your Emails

    February 12, 2026

    At a time when foreign travelers to the United States are already (understandably) nervous about the government's treatment of non-citizens, a new surveillance initiative is likely to raise even more alarms for travelers.

    • FISA Section 702

    • Surveillance Oversight

    • Traveler Screening & Border Surveillance

    • Analysis

  • Dear Chatbots: Don’t Fuel Data Broker-Driven Doxxing

    January 22, 2026

    January is always the month of resolutions, and in that vein, perhaps it’s time for chatbot companies to make a new resolution of their own. In December, the technology blog Futurism published an article stating that Grok AI was enabling users to accurately doxx specific people.

    • Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

    • Commercial AI Use

    • Consumer Privacy

    • Data Brokers

    • Analysis

  • A New Year’s Resolution for Everyone: Stop Talking about Generative AI Like It Is Human

    January 8, 2026

    Anthropomorphizing genAI is not only technically inaccurate, but it also exacerbates the harms generative AI causes and allows Big Tech to control the narrative around regulating generative AI tools.

    • AI Policy

    • Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

    • Chatbots

    • Analysis

  • Big Tech’s Holiday Wish List: Secretly Charging You More with Surveillance Pricing

    December 18, 2025

    • Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

    • Consumer Privacy

    • Platform Accountability & Governance

    • Surveillance Pricing

    • The First Amendment

    • Analysis