Travis Hall

So far, #AI moratorium lost 99-1 (really 100-0) in the Senate earlier this year, and now House R leadership has lost its gambit to force preemption into the NDAA.

Gee, I wonder what lesson they'll learn.

#ArtificialIntelligence

Architects of influence Online.

In a new CDT report, @isabelalinzer.bsky.social and @beccabranum.bsky.social explore how creators, platforms, and policymakers are reshaping political speech and where regulatory gaps leave elections vulnerable. Read more: cdt.org/insights/arc...

Early retirement has led to an in incredible gig as Comm Serv Manager at @phoenixbikes.bsky.social running the Give a Bike program. This year we have given 130 bikes to members of the community. This Giving Tuesday pls consider supporting Phoenix Bikes.

#bikedc

www.phoenixbikes.org/donate/

Purple graphic for CDT’s GivingTuesday campaign. “In our mission to advance civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age, your support powers CDT’s work. Donate on our website at cdt.org.”

Today is #GivingTuesday! CDT is working to ensure innovation respects your rights—from defending free expression and online privacy, to advancing responsible AI, to preparing for the 2026 elections. Support CDT today with a gift of any size. cdt.org/2025givingtu...

CMT Subcommittee: Legislative Solutions to Protect Children and Teens Online The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing committee.

NOW: CDT’s Free Expression Project Director,@kateruane.bsky.social, is testifying before the House Energy & Commerce CMT Subcommittee in a hearing on “Legislative Solutions to Protect Children and Teens Online.”

This morning, my colleague @kateruane.bsky.social will be testifying in front of House E&C on #KidsSafety bills, including on #privacy.

Testimony: d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/Testimony_Ru...

Looking forward to it!

Deep blue graphic for CDT’s GivingTuesday campaign. “In a year of rapid technological change, celebrate GivingTuesday with CDT on Tuesday December 2, 2025.”

#GivingTuesday is tomorrow! Stand with CDT in advancing civil rights & civil liberties in the digital age. From defending free expression to protecting people’s privacy and advancing responsible AI, our impact is powered by supporters like you. Donate here: cdt.org/2025givingtu...

Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with 'suspicious' travel patterns The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious.

"Siri, create a claim of reasonable suspicion to justify a car stop"

Border Patrol is using AI to generate alerts of "suspicious" driving patterns and using them as the basis for stops. Raises huge concerns regarding automation bias and AI reliability
apnews.com/article/immi...

The Trump Administration should abandon this reckless Executive Order and allow states to move forward in ensuring that the U.S. can lead on innovating responsible and accountable AI systems.

Where health care talks stand The Senate’s leaving today for Thanksgiving recess without clear bipartisan agreement on how to address expiring Obamacare subsidies. But after a busy week of talks across the Capitol, we’re starting ...

The Senate rejected a similar measure earlier this year on a 99-1 vote following bipartisan outcry; it looks like they decided to reject this unpopular idea again. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

It requires once-independent regulators in the FTC and FCC to abuse their authorities in service of removing any oversight over those developing or deploying AI.

The Order is also designed to push this Administration’s particular ideology into AI systems. It creates arbitrary and politically motivated goalposts such as a prohibition on laws that require the alteration of “truthful outputs” based on whatever the this Administration deems to be true.

It also flies in the face of the report from last year’s bipartisan House AI task force. obernolte.house.gov/AITFReport

This proposal is shocking in its disregard for the democratic processes of state governments in their work to address the real and documented harms arising from AI tools; a priority for Republican and Democratic state lawmakers alike.

The Executive Order is clearly designed to bully states into removing any guardrails on the use of AI through legal threats and cutting off Congressionally-mandated funds.

White House floats executive order to override state AI laws The White House can't preempt state-level regulation — that's Congress' job.

The President cannot preempt state laws through an executive order, full stop. Preemption is a question for Congress, which they have considered and rejected, and should continue to reject. www.axios.com/2025/11/19/t...

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau or CFPB) is issuing a proposed rule for public comment that amends provisions related to disparate impact, discouragement of applicants or prospective ...

The CFPB proposed a new rule where it would no longer recognize disparate impact liability when enforcing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. This would eliminate a key protection against discrimination in access to credit, including when AI is involved.
www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Architects of Online Influence: How Creators, Platforms, and Policymakers Shape Political Speech [ PDF version ] A social media creator gave gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars to Donald Trump during a livestream ahead of the 2024 presidential election. A progressive influencer ranted in a v...

New report alert🚨🚨 Political influencers aren’t quite activists, media, or advertisers. So what are they? How do social media policies and government regulations apply?

🧵 on this transformative trend in democracy and politics:
cdt.org/insights/arc...

The Border Search Device Database and AI: How Emerging Tech Could Supercharge the Dangers of an Outdated Warrant Exception This is the third post in CDT’s series on the Border Search Exception. Our previous posts examine best practices for protecting private information when crossing the border and the convoluted legal la...

NEW: In the latest in our @cdt.org series on the border search exception, we show how your devices can be searched, fully copied, stored with DHS for years, and have sensitive data harvested with powerful AI tools. All without a warrant.

cdt.org/insights/the...

Come for the headline, stay for the 🔥 quotes from @kateruane.bsky.social

Careers Current Openingsfind yourself engaged in passionate discussions about privacy policies? Are you yearning to put your expertise to work on internet neutrality legislation? If so, you might be a great f...

Interested in #TechPolicy #internships? Join us at @cdt.org next summer! Several options: Legal, research, comms, etc.

cdt.org/careers/

Staff Spotlight: DeVan Hankerson Madrigal 🌟

DeVan is CDT’s State Policy Analyst & Research Manager, advancing research and policy to protect digital rights and promote equitable tech access. cdt.org/staff/devan-...

White Center for Democracy and Technology logo on blue background.

📢 Applications are open for CDT’s Summer 2026 Internship Program until February 1!

Join DC’s leading tech policy organization and work on critical issues like AI governance, privacy, and digital equity — or help amplify our mission through strategic comms & fundraising.
cdt.org/careers/

Airline #Privacy is a serious problem, as airlines essentially have no privacy requirements (Dept of Transportation started investigating airline privacy practices last year but the agency has since dropped it).

You should opt out of this practice ASAP.

CDT's Jake Kauffman and Jamal Magby in a podcast studio at Tech Prom 2025.

LISTEN NOW: As AI systems shape decisions in healthcare, hiring, and beyond, the need for transparency has never been greater. How can we document these tools in ways that are both meaningful and actionable? Tune into the latest Tech Talks podcast episode on AI Documentation: cdt.org/insights/tec...

Advocating with Evidence: Lessons for Tech Researchers in Civil Society Advocating with Evidence: Lessons for Tech Researchers in Civil Society November 13, 2025, 10-11am ET online Civil society is struggling to address how technology and the tech industry contribute to eroding democracy, amplifying bias, and accelerating hateful ideologies. Timely, accessible findings are necessary to inform policy and advocacy, but it can be challenging to produce […]

Join CDT, @datasociety.bsky.social & @ACLU.org “Advocating with Evidence: Lessons for Tech Researchers in Civil Society” — a conversation on using research to advance equity and tech accountability.

📅 Nov 13 | 10–11 AM ET | Online

Since moving to civil society, I've noticed a huge dearth of support for researchers working in the space - although there are tons of us! Come join this D&SxACLUxCDT event where we talk about the opportunities and challenges of research to support tech policy & advocacy!

The #FOSO25 Fireside Chat is starting now! Join @daphnek.bsky.social, Genevieve Lakier, and Derek Bambauer as they kick off Future of Speech Online 2025 — exploring the new forms of jawboning, and how to balance government communication with protection from coercion.

🔗 standtogether.swoogo...

2025 Tech Prom Join us on October 23, 2025, at The LINE DC for this year’s Tech Prom! 🎟️ [ Reserve Your Seat ]   |   🏛️ [ Sponsor the Event ] At the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), we fight to advance civil...

Proud to be part of the @CDT.org team as we celebrate 30+ years of championing digital rights! Join us at #TechPromCDT on Oct. 23, 2025 for the conversations (and the vibes) that make tech policy exciting. 🎉
cdt.org/event/2025-t...

We Don’t Want a “Papers, Please” Web A More Considered Way Forwardriving-now" href="#online-papers-checks-arriving-now" class="toc-anchor">Online Papers Checks Arriving Nowpers-please-on-the-web" href="#a-dangerous-future-papers-please-o...

Age verification mandates, digital ID laws, and policies entrenching digital identification online are fundamentally changing how we access the web and whether we can access it anonymously.

Read my colleague Nick on why a "Papers, Please" web isn't what we want: cdt.org/insights/we-...