January 2025 Newsletter

CDT Stands Against Gutting of Independent Government Surveillance Watchdog

CDT spoke out against an effort this week by President Trump to gut the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), a bipartisan oversight body that over the past two decades has monitored and exposed government abuses and false claims around its surveillance. On January 22, President Trump threatened to terminate Democratic PCLOB members if they do not resign by January 23. Terminating these members would dramatically undermine the independence of the Board, leave PCLOB without bipartisan representation, and destroy the quorum necessary for it to commence investigations and issue reports that have repeatedly proven crucial to protecting civil liberties in governmental anti-terrorism programs. The PCLOB Members President Trump seeks to remove each received unanimous bipartisan support when appointed, being confirmed by the Senate by voice vote. As CDT President and CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens asserted in a statement, “This effort to shoot the watchdog should set off alarm bells for how the President and his appointees seek to wield the government’s broad surveillance powers. And, it could torpedo trans-Atlantic trade and data sharing agreements that depended on the PCLOB’s assurance of oversight when they were brokered.” PCLOB was originally recommended by the 9/11 Commission, and established as an independent entity in 2007 with an overwhelming bipartisan vote. Over the years, it has brought to light abuses under surveillance authority FISA 702, opened inquiries that resulted in legislative reforms, and debunked the Intelligence Community claim that an expiring provision of the USA PATRIOT Act had thwarted dozens of terrorist attacks. “Congress cannot ignore this threat to erode a key agency charged with protecting Americans’ fundamental freedoms,” added Givens. “The Senate must focus on this in the forthcoming confirmation votes for intelligence community leaders and take bipartisan action to ensure the PCLOB can continue its vital work with the independence that is critical to its operations.”

In Case You Missed It

— CDT and other civil society organizations — members of Meta’s advisory group of external civil rights experts — sent a?letter to Meta expressing our grave concerns?with the company’s recently announced content moderation policy changes.

— As the Trump Administration recently rolled back restrictions on immigration enforcement in schools, new CDT resources explore how education leaders can protect the civil rights of immigrant students in today’s data and technology-filled school environments. The first resource explores?what schools’ obligations are and how to fulfill them, and the second explores what?specific risks face immigrant students?on AI-powered campuses. This work is particularly important in light of new CDT survey research, in which 17 percent of teachers reported that their school shared data with immigration officials, and students and teachers both reported students being contacted by immigration enforcement based on reports generated by student activity monitoring software.

— A new CDT?report surveys the spectrum of approaches to assessing AI systems, to help identify which approaches best serve which policy goals. In supplementary blog posts, we focus on how?hypothesis testing as in scientific research offers advantages and disadvantages?for assessing AI systems, and?explain sociotechnical approaches to AI impact assessments.

—?In a pair of blog posts, we identified trends in?public sector-specific state AI legislation?and?state executive orders on AI use in state government,?and discussed what governors and lawmakers should do to advance responsible public-sector use of AI.

— In response to NTIA’s request for input, CDT submitted comments on ethical guidelines for research using data about people gathered through online services.

CDT in the Press?

—CDT CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens spoke with the Associated Press about the Trump Administration’s rescission of the Biden Administration’s AI EO:? “The reports have been written and the recommendations generated, and they’re available for everyone to build on,” she said. “[Those parts of] the executive order's work [are] completed, whether or not it’s rescinded… If you look past the political positioning on this, the Biden executive order built upon themes that were established in the first Trump administration and have been reiterated by bipartisan voices in Congress.”

— CDT’s Kate Ruane discussed the TikTok ban with NPR: "I think the biggest obvious result of this law going into effect is that … it's going to require more technical savvy to access TikTok," Ruane told NPR. "And that in and of itself is going to be too big of a barrier for lots and lots of people to continue to access TikTok or to continue to try to use TikTok as a service."

— Ruane also spoke about the ban with Time Magazine: “Even if President Trump and the incoming Attorney General say ‘I will not be enforcing this law,’ there would still be significant legal risk for the companies to which the law applies that they may not be willing to take on,” she said. “Because should the decision ever change, they could be subject to significant penalties.”

— CDT’s Jake Laperruque wrote for Tech Policy Press about the status of state laws limiting police use of facial recognition technologies.

CDT "In-Person"

—?CDT is pleased to announce our third annual Spring Fling, a celebration that will take place during IAPP’s Global Privacy Summit. Join us on Tuesday, April 22, from 8–10:30 PM at Dirty Habit in Washington, D.C. — you won’t want to miss it!

— Attending the French AI Action Summit in February? CDT serves on the Summit’s steering committee and is participating in several side events. Please contact us to connect!

— In the?latest episode of CDT’s podcast, CDT Non-Resident Fellow Dr. Umang Bhatt Bhatt joined us to tackle the question of what happens when an AI system deployed by a company decides to “resign” by stopping its recommendations or restricting access to its outputs.

—?CDT CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens participated in the 2025 CES conference in Las Vegas, discussing the intersection of consumer privacy and technological innovation on a panel,?From Regulation to Reality: Does the U.S. Need More Privacy Laws?

Staff Spotlight

Maddy Dwyer , Policy Analyst, Equity in Civic Technology

How long have you been working in digital rights??About two and a half years now! I began at CDT as a Communications Intern in the summer of 2022, eager to bring together my knowledge of strategic communications and passion to fight to protect individuals from privacy and civil rights harms caused by irresponsible use of data and technology by companies and governments. In the summer of 2023, I was hired full time at CDT as a Policy Analyst on the Equity and Civic Technology team and have been growing my skills on the policy side, advocating for the responsible use of data and technology by public agencies. I primarily work on student privacy and civil rights issues and government use of AI.

What is your proudest moment while here at CDT? Solo authoring my very first report at CDT was a proud moment for me as a newer tech policy professional. In May of 2024, CDT published “Fostering Responsible Tech Use: Balancing the Benefits and Risks Among Public Child Welfare Agencies,” which sheds light on the ways that data and technology, including AI, can impact children in foster care.

What is your fandom??I (a little shamefully) love all things Bravo! Give me all the drama from the Real Housewives franchises, Southern Charm, Summer House, the list goes on and on.

What is the best book you've read recently??The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.?

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