What We Do

The Center for Democracy and Technology is a non-profit public interest organization working to keep the Internet open, innovative, and free. As a civil liberties group with expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT works to enhance free expression and privacy in communications technologies by finding practical and innovative solutions to public policy challenges while protecting civil liberties. CDT is dedicated to building consensus among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and other new communications media. 

Our Events

  Jim Dempsey will be speaking about the need to update standards for government access to communications at the Burton Group Catalyst Conference in San Diego.
July 30, 2010 - 10:00am - 11:00am

San Diego, CA

CDT is sponsoring, and Heather West will be speaking at, pii 2010, a conference on privacy, identity and innovation, in Seattle.
August 19, 2010 - 9:00am - 11:00am

Seattle, WA

Hot Topics

  • Despite all rumors to the contrary, privacy is not dead, it's on its way to a comeback. Facebook responds to deepening user criticism by retooling its privacy policies.

  • The Smart Grid promises great benefits to consumers and the environment. But what about the privacy risks?

  • The proliferation of high-powered mobile devices has spawned a thriving market for location-based services and applications. 

  • Digitial Due Process is a coalition effort to update the rules for government access to email and private files stored in the Internet "cloud."

Recent Media Attention

in The New York Times

A free blogging site, Blogetery.com, went dark less than two weeks ago, and its disappearance is stirring controversy about the obligations of Internet services and threats to free speech on the Web.

in Kotaku

Everyone is entitled to a secret identity, it seems.

That's the lesson that Blizzard learned last week when they unveiled a new set of rules that would have stripped anonymity away from those posting comments in the forums for the developer's popular games like World of Warcraft and the upcoming StarCraft II. Blizzard's Real ID would have forced those posting in the official forums to use their real first and last names.