Big week at the @cdt.org free expression factory! On the heels of our new report "Whose Speech is it Anyway," two new pieces on how the First Amendment applies to AI outputs & who pays if we get the law wrong. First up: If AI Outputs Aren't Speech, Who Has to Prove They're Human?🧵

If AI Outputs Aren’t Speech, Who Has to Prove They’re Human?

Denying First Amendment protection to AI outputs sounds like a rule about machines. In practice it could burden human speech online.

lawfaremedia.org

New from @cdt.org: "Whose Speech Is It Anyway? The Constitutional Contours of Chatbot Regulation" on the question suddenly at the center of AI policy: can the gov’t control what a chatbot is allowed to say? Long story short: machines don't have 1A rights, but you and I do.🧵 cdt.org/insights/who...

Whose Speech Is It Anyway? The Constitutional Contours of Chatbot Regulation

Executive Summary Systems that generate text, images, and audio on demand (or “chatbots”) have become both an important medium of communication and a primary target of regulation. Whether, and on what...

cdt.org

Who decides which research questions are worth being asked? Under OMB’s proposed overhaul of federal grant rules, the answer would be political officials — not scientists, not peer reviewers, and not the merit-based system that has powered American research for decades. 🧵 cdt.org/insights/cdt...

CDT Submits Comments to OMB on Threats to Independent Research

Today, CDT submitted comments opposing the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed overhaul of the rules governing federal financial assistance. The proposal would replace independent scientific ju...

cdt.org

All I am saying is try to live your life so you never have to make those nice young men on Pod Save America look visibly miserable trying to rehabilitate you

Remember Balenciaga Pope? A perfectly serene pontiff, an impossibly puffy coat. A low-stakes, harmless joy of the internet. The NO FAKES Act would put a target on Balenciaga Pope and everything like it. Here's how: 🧵 www.gq.com/story/pope-p...

The Pope Francis Puffer Photo Was Real in Our Hearts

That viral image of the Pope wearing a dripped-out white coat may have been AI-generated, but its swag was the real deal.

gq.com

Today, the Center for Democracy & Technology joined FIRE, ACLU, Knight First Amendment Institute, Public Knowledge, and others in endorsing the Justice Against Weaponized Bureaucratic Overreach to Networked Expression, or JAWBONE Act.

CDT Endorses the Cruz-Wyden JAWBONE Act

Today, the Center for Democracy & Technology joined Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), ACLU, Knight First Amendment Institute, Public Knowledge, and others in endorsing the Justice Against Weaponized Bureaucratic Overreach to Networked Expression, or JAWBONE Act. The bipartisan legislation, led by Senators Ted Cruz and Ron Wyden, creates a federal cause of action […]

cdt.org

CDT is grateful to have some of our resources on Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII) reporting processes cited & valued by our partner, Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, in their latest white paper on survivor-centered reporting systems & policies. More from their resource: asml.cyber.harvard.e...

The FCC is asking whether LGBTQ+ identity should be its own "warning" category in TV ratings, flipping a system built to flag what people do into one that signals disfavor toward who they are. Advocates are rightly pushing back. 🧵 www.washingtonblade.com/2026/06/02/a...

Advocates push back on proposed FCC warning labels

New rating system public notice seeking comments issued on April 22

washingtonblade.com

Today, the Senate is marking up the GUARD Act, which treats chatbots as a threat to age-gate rather than tools for expression and inquiry. 🧵 cdt.org/insights/thr...

Three Reasons to Be On Guard about the GUARD Act

Conclusion-invasive-age-checks-that-undermine-privacy">The GUARD Act Would Mandate Invasive Age Checks That Undermine Privacydults-and-minors-alike" href="#the-guard-act-creates-barriers-to-lawful-inf...

cdt.org

in case you're curious about how angry Minnesota is about ICE, it was -20 today

Everything about this story — and the broader phenomenon — is fascinating. “Companion AI” isn’t just about fears of displacement or emotional dependence, but about how people choose to use new technology as an emotional tool, with awareness and choice.

Kashmir Hill@kashhill.bsky.social · 8mo ago

My last story of the year: an update on the woman who fell in love with ChatGPT. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/t...

So excited to share @cdt.org's latest report, marrying my two great loves: free expression and campaign finance regulation! (Kidding - but only a little) cdt.org/insights/arc...

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...

cdt.org

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works and let me know if you have any questions! 🤗

Researchers won’t stand by as their work is cordoned off by inequitable publishing. Gatekeepers need to get on board or be left behind. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Civil Disobedience of Copyright Keeps Science Going

Creating and sharing knowledge are defining traits of humankind, yet copyright law has grown so restrictive that it can require acts of civil disobedience to ensure that students and scholars have

eff.org

🎭 TONIGHT: CDT’s free expression expert @beccabranum.bsky.social joins as a featured speaker at Theater Alliance’s Content with Your Content? — pairing the play Drink in Moderation with a conversation on how to make digital spaces safer. 📍 DC | 7:30 PM ET 🎟 Details: cdt.org/event/social...

VICTORY! In a win for student expression on campus, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals today overruled a lower court's decision, sided with FIRE’s clients, and blocked West Texas A&M University’s unconstitutional ban on drag shows.

The NO FAKES Act is a veritable smorgasbord of platform governance and expression problems. Grateful to have smart thinkers like @daphnek.bsky.social lending their expertise to defend the rights of regular people who would be harmed by the bill. Congress can do better: cdt.org/insights/cdt...

CDT Leads Civil Society Letter Opposing the NO FAKES Act

On Tuesday, CDT led a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing concerns with the NO FAKES Act. Alongside civil society partners including ACLU, Copia Institute, Defending Rights & Dissent, ...

cdt.org

Daphne Keller@daphnek.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Do you ever start reading something, and it's so disturbing that you just KEEP reading it and jotting down some notes and complaining to everyone you talk to and then... the next thing you know you have a whole article about it?? Here is my new article about the NO FAKES bill. 1/

The TAKE IT DOWN ACT is law. Compliance is the floor—platforms must invest the time and effort necessary to protect users and meaningfully respond to image-based sexual abuse, says CDT's Becca Branum.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act Is US Law. Platforms Must Do More Than The Bare Minimum | TechPolicy.Press

Platforms must invest the time and effort necessary to protect users and meaningfully respond to image-based sexual abuse, writes CDT's Becca Branum.

techpolicy.press

I'm excited to share @cdt.org's newest report - Rapid Response: Building Victim-Centered Reporting Processes for Nonconsensual Intimate Imagery cdt.org/insights/rap...

There are more questions than answers about how courts will apply First Amendment precedent to cases involving AI, but I'm glad @cdt.org and @eff.org are lending their expertise to highlight the stakes for users. cdt.org/insights/cdt...

CDT and EFF Urge Court to Carefully Consider Users’ First Amendment Rights in Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc.

On Monday, CDT and EFF sought leave to submit an amicus brief urging the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida to grant an interlocutory appeal to the Eleventh Circuit to ensure adequa...

cdt.org

Had fun chatting with @samleecole.bsky.social about censorship, p*rn, and obscenity for this article. Prosecutors have more important things to do than officiating romcom plots and (no judgment!) egg-themed instagram accounts. Give it a read! www.404media.co/egg-yolk-pop...

The Egg Yolk Principle: Human Sexuality Will Always Outsmart Prudish Algorithms and Hateful Politicians

Anti-porn laws can't stop porn, but they can stop free speech. In the meantime, people will continue to get off to anything and everything.

404media.co

In case you wonder why some people who care about stopping so-called "revenge porn" *aren't* celebrating the passage of TAKE IT DOWN, @beccabranum.bsky.social does a great job of laying it out in this convo with @taylorlorenz.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVve...

The Take It Down Act Is a Free Speech Killer

YouTube video by Taylor Lorenz

youtube.com

"A growing recognition that women's pain should be treated" is one hell of a sentence.

NPR@npr.org · last yr.

A major medical group now recommends pain-blocking treatments for IUD insertion and other procedures amid a growing recognition that women's pain should be treated.

Comments by @cendemtech.bsky.social @beccabranum.bsky.social say it like it is: USCIS social media surveillance plans enable viewpoint-based immigration enforcement and interfere with freedoms of expression and assembly cdt.org/insights/cdt...

CDT Opposes Trump Administration Initiative to Routinely Collect Social Media Identifiers from Applicants for Immigration Benefits

These comments were co-authored by CDT Intern Jacob Smith. Today, CDT submitted comments opposing USCIS’ initiative to routinely collect social media identifiers from applicants for a wide variety of ...

cdt.org

On Lawfare Daily, Renee DiResta spoke to @maryannefranks.bsky.social, @beccabranum.bsky.social, and @adamconner.bsky.social about the TAKE IT DOWN Act, the first U.S. legislation to squarely target non‑consensual intimate imagery, and whether its mandate will protect victims or chill lawful speech.

The Trump Administration's admonishment that visa and green card holders should behave themselves, lest USCIS punish them for "pos[ing] a threat to . . . our way of life" with their lawful speech, is as reprehensible as it is constitutionally indefensible. www.newsweek.com/trump-admini...

Trump administration issues another warning to green card holders

The social media post urged legal permanent residents to remember they are guests in the United States.

newsweek.com

Center for Democracy & Technology@cdt.org · last yr.

Today, USCIS posted on X that visa & green card holders are “guest[s] in our country – act like it” & that USCIS will continue to surveil their speech online. Individuals, regardless of their status, are constitutionally protected. This bullying stands in violation of their First Amendment rights.

For months, CDT has called on Congress to create durable, constitutional, and privacy-enhancing tools to empower victims of nonconsensual intimate imagery (NCII). Instead, Congress will likely pass the TAKE IT DOWN Act today. cdt.org/insights/ndi....

NDII Victims Deserve Help. Let’s Build an Effective Takedown System.

TAKE IT DOWN’s Solvable Problems href="#take-it-downs-risks-to-privacy" class="toc-anchor">TAKE IT DOWN’s Risks to Privacyo-free-expression" href="#take-it-downs-risks-to-free-expression" class="toc-anchor">TAKE IT DOWN’s Risks to Free Expressions-intersection-with-section-230" href="#take-it-downs-ambiguous-intersection-with-section-230" class="toc-anchor">TAKE IT DOWN’s Ambiguous Intersection with Section 230-from-important-provisions" href="#take-it-down-excludes-self-curated-sites-from-important-provisions" class="toc-anchor">TAKE IT DOWN Excludes Self-Curated Sites from Important Provisions#take-it-down-misses-important-threats-posed-by-synthetic-ndii" class="toc-anchor">TAKE IT DOWN Misses Important Threats Posed by Synthetic NDIINetworks (TAKE IT DOWN) Act. The bill […]

cdt.org

Leading us off, CDT CEO @alexreevegivens.bsky.social: “We’re convening this event because the U.S. is facing a crisis moment for the future of free speech."

Center for Democracy & Technology@cdt.org · last yr.

"Who Will Fight for the First Amendment?" is happening now. Tune in LIVE! www.youtube.com/live/Zdczxmq...

Excited to help FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez kick off her First Amendment Tour @cendemtech.bsky.social tomorrow! www.insideradio.com/free/fcc-s-a...

FCC’s Anna Gomez Launches ‘First Amendment Tour’ To Defend Press Freedom.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez is launching a “First Amendment Tour” to spotlight what she sees as growing threats to press freedom under the Trump administration. Partnering with civil society groups,

insideradio.com

From CDT’s @beccabranum.bsky.social: “Research on how technology impacts society is critical to holding powerful tech platforms accountable. Shielding companies from criticism by defunding research is censorship that should trouble all of us.”

Nieman Lab@niemanlab.org · last yr.

Hundreds of researchers funded by the National Science Foundation had their grants and fellowships terminated late Friday afternoon. Disinformation research was among the projects targeted, because it no longer "aligned with NSF priorities.” www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/nati...