Digital Privacy, Surveillance and Civil Liberties Lab
Protecting the rights and privacy of citizens across America and around the globe.
When technological advances continue occurring faster than we are able to measure the extent of their impact on our civil liberties, our basic human rights and the protections governing these are placed at risk. Leaps forward in processing capacity, communications infrastructure and knowledge transfer should serve as safeguards to our rights and liberties, not threaten them.
The massive amount of data collected by our so-called “smart” devices – from our phones, to smart speakers, cars, toothbrushes – is used every day to identify, track, influence and direct our habits, purchases, and even our ideas. The speed at which this massive dragnet of data collection is evolving is rapidly outpacing the understanding, legislation and framework necessary to ensure fairness, openness and freedom in knowing how our personal information is being used and shared, bought and sold, and stored for future, as-yet-undetermined purposes.