Isabel Linzer

OpenAI: Chinese agent used ChatGPT for smear ops : Note to secret agents: ChatGPT is NOT a private diary

Transnational repression for the AI age: www.theregister.com/2026/02/25/c...

Exciting opening on my team for a summer student research assistant! Looking for a graduate student in a technical field or with a technical background to come work on a project looking at AI and the future of content markets.

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.

Ending online anonymity would not be some magic cure to “fix” whatever problems plague the internet. But it would make a lot of people a lot less safe, and much less free to speak.

cats, too!

(jk, Search Party is a terrible service designed to create a dragnet surveillance apparatus. please stop!)

Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses

In an internal memo in May, Meta laid out its plans to release facial recognition in its smart glasses, to the blind first, & then to the general public.

“Civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...

Trump’s DOJ is building a voter purge machine—powered by your private data The federal agency ordinarily would prevent attacks on voting rights. Now it’s carrying them out.

Now would be a good time to read my @motherjones.com story with @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social about Pam Bondi’s insane plan to get voter rolls from all 50 states & why it poses such a grave threat to the right to vote www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

India AI Impact Summit 2026 The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is a flagship global gathering hosted by the Government of India under the IndiaAI Mission, in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics & Information TechnologyMeitY). Scheduled for 19–20 February 2026 in New Delhi, the Summit will bring together policymakers, researchers, industry leaders, startups, civil society, and international organizationsns to shape the future of inclusive and impactful AI

At the #AIImpactSummit, we (@cdt.org) will be hosting two sessions on February 16th and 18th digging into a few of these questions and more under the frame of building multilingual AI tools and how to put language speakers and communities at the fore. Please join impact.indiaai.gov.in/agenda

Thread for folks following the upcoming AI summit, non-english language AI, and/or Indian tech sector + role of government:

Opinion | Democracy Dies by Database

"For the most part, a company wants your wallet, not your liberty. The same cannot be said of this administration." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/o...

CDT, The Leadership Conference, and Protect Democracy Release New Analysis of Federal Efforts to Access Voter Data As the federal government rapidly seeks to gain access to state voter data, CDT, the Leadership Conference’s Center for Civil Rights and Technology, and Protect Democracy developed an explainer that a...

My colleagues and I published this explainer in December - it may answer some of your questions! cdt.org/insights/cdt...

How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are

A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.

We've started! Tune in on YouTube: www.youtube.com/live/glO0_Sw...

"Political Influencers and Democracy in the Digital Age," at the NYU Democracy Project #ELB Isabel Linzer and Becca Branum at the Center for Democracy and Technology write on the under-explored topic of social influencers and democracy, in their essay today at the NYU Democracy Project. Soci...

“Political Influencers and Democracy in the Digital Age,” at the NYU Democracy Project electionlawblog.org?p=153990

What AI “remembers” about you is privacy’s next frontier Agents’ technical underpinnings create the potential for breaches that expose the entire mosaic of your life.

Opinion: The ability to remember you and your preferences is rapidly becoming a big selling point for AI chatbots and agents.

That creates the potential for unprecedented privacy breaches that expose not only isolated data points, but the entire mosaic of people’s lives.

From @isabelalinzer.bsky.social @beccabranum.bsky.social @cdt.org — "Political Influencers and Democracy in the Digital Age"

Political Influencers and Democracy in the Digital Age A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

Next up in our "100 ideas" series — New by @isabelalinzer.bsky.social @beccabranum.bsky.social @cdt.org — "Political Influencers and Democracy in the Digital Age"

Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project's "100 Ideas in 100 Days"

Read the full piece here: democracyproject.org/posts/politi...

Every social theory undergirding Trumpism has been broken on the steel of Minnesotan resolve. The multiracial community in Minneapolis was supposed to shatter. It did not. It held until Bovino was forced out of the Twin Cities with his long coat between his legs. The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone. In Minnesota, all of the ideological cornerstones of MAGA have been proved false at once. Minnesotans, not the armed thugs of ICE and the Border Patrol, are brave. Minnesotans have shown that their community is socially cohesive—because of its diversity and not in spite of it. Minnesotans have found and loved one another in a world atomized by social media, where empty men have tried to fill their lonely soul with lies about their own inherent superiority. Minnesotans have preserved everything worthwhile about “Western civilization,” while armed brutes try to tear it down by force.

Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Americans Have the Right to Be Anonymous Online Kate Ruane is the Director of Center for Democracy & Technology's Free Expression Project.

For anyone with questions about unmasking community watch groups or the claims that taking videos of ICE agents is the *real* threat to safety in US cities, @kateruane.bsky.social clears things up: www.techpolicy.press/americans-ha...

🚨 New report alert! 🚨

Our new study for the European Parliament on transnational repression in the EU is live!

Co-authored with @zecsaky.bsky.social, @emiledirks.bsky.social, and @alexdukalskis.bsky.social: a great team to work with.

CDT, The Leadership Conference, and Protect Democracy Release New Analysis of Federal Efforts to Access Voter Data As the federal government rapidly seeks to gain access to state voter data, CDT, the Leadership Conference’s Center for Civil Rights and Technology, and Protect Democracy developed an explainer that a...

So predictable, in fact, that we @cdt.org worked with our partners to publish an explainer in December about what's happening, the legal landscape, and the impacts (including disenfranchisement!) cdt.org/insights/cdt...

DHS’s Data Grab Is Getting Citizens Kicked Off Voter Rolls, New Complaint Says As states check voter registration against a mashup of federal data, a new complaint says US citizens are getting kicked off state voter rolls as a result.

Predictable: www.wired.com/story/dhs-da...

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...

Come work at CDT!! We just posted two really awesome new jobs: Senior Policy Analyst/Counsel for Privacy & Data and Research Director cdt.org/careers/

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...

I'm hiring a senior policy analyst/counsel for the privacy & data team at CDT!

"Inquire within"

The U.S. Heel Turn on International Cooperation The U.S.’s withdrawal from international multistakeholder fora undermines human rights, global governance, and U.S. strategic interests.

On Jan. 7, the White House announced the United States’s departure from 66 multilateral organizations and treaties. @isabelalinzer.bsky.social and @aliyabhatia.bsky.social explore how the withdrawal will hamper the United States’s ability to advance human rights and civil liberties on and offline.

It's me, I'm Pam

While the piece focuses on tech, especially FOC and Venice Commission, the lessons apply more broadly. A world where the US prioritizes human rights and global governance is a better one, both at home and abroad. That's a terrible thing to lose sight of.

The U.S. Heel Turn on International Cooperation The U.S.’s withdrawal from international multistakeholder fora undermines human rights, global governance, and U.S. strategic interests.

New from @aliyabhatia.bsky.social and me on how the US withdrawal from international organizations puts the globally connected, open internet at risk and threatens human rights worldwide: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

AI to track Bangladeshis, Rohingyas: What's on BJP alliance's Mumbai manifesto "We will free Mumbai of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas," Fadnavis said, “With the help of IIT, we will develop an AI tool to identify Bangladeshi migrants."| India News

In Indian election/surveillance news, a BJP-run coalition is slated to win the municipal elections in Mumbai on a platform of using advanced "Japanese AI technology" to address civic issues including tracking and deporting "Bangladeshis and Rohingya" residents www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/b...

Sean Plankey’s re-nomination to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) comes as election officials urgently need clarity about what role—if any—the agency will play in protecting elections ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Tech sovereignty should not be a subscription model Concern about the loss of jurisdiction and agency to US companies is becoming more pressing for Europeans

The decisions we make now about the true value of sovereignty will determine whether countries retain meaningful autonomy or become clients of foreign imperialism.

A citizen is not a customer and sovereignty is not a service ↘️

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