Liberty, Technology and the Next President

One of the biggest mistakes a new administration might make in its first 100 days would be to ignore the impact technology has had on the privacy of our communications and the striking need to update the law accordingly. If the President fails to act early in his first term...

War, Financial Crisis and Fate of Nation Hanging in the Balance

War, financial crisis and the fate of a nation hanging in the balance. It sounds like a back-of-the-envelope outline for a spy novel, but it’s actually the current political climate in the U.S. Given that, it’s no surprise that discussion of Internet and technology...

FOIA Brain Teaser: When Is An Agency Not An Agency?

"A judge ruled this week that the Office of Administration (OA), part of the Executive Office of the President (EOP), is exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests because it is not an “agency” under the law. The ruling adds to the inconsistent and somewhat arbitrary...

Privacy Principles for Digital Watermarking

A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online from The Center For Democracy and Technology (1) CDT Offers Privacy Principles for Digital Watermarking (2) Basics of Digital Watermarking Technology (3) CDT's Suggested Principles (1) CDT Offers...

Congressional Investigation of ISP Data Collection Scheme Urge

Fifteen of the nation's leading privacy and public interest groups today released a letter urging Congress to hold hearings on the growing practice of Internet Service Providers targeting ads to subscribers based on their personal Web activities. The letter urges the...

CDT Joins With Health Privacy Project to Create Major Voice In Health Data Field

WASHINGTON, DC - March 11 - Today the Center for Democracy & Technology (“CDT”) announces the launch of a major project on health privacy and information technology. To fulfill an ambitious agenda CDT is joining forces with the Health Privacy Project, which for ten...

Markey's New Internet Neutrality Bill

Rep. Ed Markey, (D-MA), Chairman of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee, introduced an Internet neutrality bill on Feb. 13th that would establish pro-neutrality principles as expressions of U.S. policy. It also calls on the FCC to do a detailed assessment of how current...

The Truth About (Telecom) Immunity

Administration officials are complaining about House Democrats stalling legislation that would grant immunity to any telecommunications carrier that assisted with its domestic spying program. Without that immunity cloak, the White House says, telecoms will hesitate to...

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Wiretap Case

The Supreme Court today turned aside a legal challenge to the Administration's warrantless wiretaps, declining to review a lower court decision dismissing the case because the names of those being spied on are secret. "The Court's decision allows the government to avoid...

House Rejects Short Term Extension of Protect America Act

The House of Representatives today rejected a three-week extension of the Protect America Act – the legislation it passed in August at the request of the President to expand NSA surveillance authorities. Although the Protect America Act expires in just three days, the...

Irons in the Fire: 30 bills take aim at crucial online issues

Irons in the Fire: 30 bills take aim at crucial online issuesThe swirling news vortex of a Presidential election cycle tends to suck all the oxygen out of nearly any issue that dares to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with early primaries, delegate counts, and "Super Tuesday." But...

Plan for ICANN's Future Urgently Needed

"Plan for ICANN's Future Urgently Needed The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the private, non-profit steward of the global domain name system, does not have a mechanism to protect itself against governmental interference, CDT warned in comments...

FTC Takes on Sanford Wallace... Again

"Earlier this week, the FTC filed a new brief against notorious spammer/spyware purveyor Sanford Wallace, and his partner Walter Rines, for violating the default judgment against them that was originally based on CDT’s 2004 petition. Good to see that the Commission is not...