Center for Democracy & Technology

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organisation founded in 1994 that advances civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age. It champions policies, laws and technical designs intended to enable beneficial uses of technology while guarding against invasive, discriminatory and exploitative ones. Its technical domains span AI policy and governance, privacy, online expression and access to information, government surveillance, civic technology, and technology standards and technical design.

CDT operates from two offices, in Washington, D.C. and Brussels, and engages policymakers in the United States and the European Union. Its work sits at the intersection of civil society and digital rights, public policy and advocacy, technology policy, and law and litigation. Activities include original research, advocacy, representation of the public interest in multistakeholder processes and standards bodies, and the filing of amicus briefs in court. The organisation also works with civil society partners and the press, and urges companies to adopt best practices.

The centre's public interest focus is matched by its nonpartisan stance, positioning it as a counterpart to governments, firms and standards bodies on questions of how technology is designed, governed and regulated.