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JANUARY U.S. NEWSLETTER 

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The India AI Impact Summit, New AI Developments, and More

As India’s AI Summit approaches next month, new AI products launch and evolve, and policymakers consider bills in states across the country, CDT is still hard at work advocating for responsible, rights-protecting development and deployment of artificial intelligence.

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Alexandra Reeve Givens, wearing a black jacket while testifying in a hearing on "building an AI-ready America."

Earlier this month, CDT President & CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens urged policymakers to pair innovation with safeguards for civil rights, privacy, and human dignity in testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce ([link removed]). She highlighted the importance of ensuring that AI systems are lawful, fit for purpose, and aligned with longstanding U.S. commitments to fairness, accountability, and equal opportunity — and underscored the importance of functioning federal agencies, such as the FTC, EEOC, and Department of Education to help issue guidance and enforce the laws.

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Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra, wearing a black suit and blue tie while standing onstage behind a glass podium. Behind him is a blue screen with the Brookings logo.

On the international level, CDT and Brookings released a new report ([link removed]) on the Hiroshima AI Process Reporting Framework, which was launched at last year’s Paris AI Summit as a governance mechanism for AI companies to voluntarily report on their risk mitigation practices. As the one-year anniversary approaches, our report asks, who is reading companies’ disclosures under the Reporting Framework, and what information are they seeking? Why should companies participate, and what makes their disclosures worthwhile? At the report launch event ([link removed]), an official pre-event for the India Summit, the Indian Ambassador to the United States Vinay Mohan Kwatra spoke about the importance of international cooperation on such governance mechanisms, and experts dove in on how to make it work.

CDT hosted a second official pre-Summit event this week, partnering with the Cornell Global AI Initiative and Masakhane’s African Languages Hub for an event on improving evaluations for multilingual LLMs ([link removed]). Ahead of the Summit, where CDT will be hosting a workshop on this issue with the Center for Communications Governance of National Law University Delhi, we’re working to foster important collaboration and coordination among experts advancing multilingual evaluation and safety in their respective contexts and roles.

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Responding to evolving AI business models and products, we released a new paper, “Risky Business: Advanced AI Companies’ Race for Revenue ([link removed]),” that analyzes the incentives that frontier AI companies’ business models and corporate structures will likely introduce in light of pressure to generate revenue. We highlight how models based on ad revenue incentivize companies to maximize both user engagement and data collection, raising significant questions about privacy protections and responsible design.

The report continues a substantial body of work CDT has led on questions of AI and user privacy, where we underscore the need for companies, users, and policymakers alike to address the significant privacy issues at stake as users share ever more of their lives with AI chatbots and other products. That work was recently featured in the MIT Technology Review, where CDT’s Miranda Bogen and Ruchika Joshi argue that “What AI ‘remembers’ about you is privacy’s next frontier. ([link removed])” 

Privacy issues were also front and center as companies introduced new AI health tools ([link removed]) this month. We highlighted that these tools are typically not covered by HIPAA’s privacy protections, leaving users exposed with few limits on how their data can be collected, shared, and used.

As companies release more AI products, and usage increases, the privacy and other governance issues at stake are becoming more urgent to address. CDT is moving quickly to meet the moment, working directly with companies on best practices, guiding policymakers, and supporting public interest advocates, pushing to advance the interests of individuals whose lives and rights are impacted by AI.  

In Case You Missed It

— CDT CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens spoke out against the violence ([link removed]) perpetrated against Minnesotans in recent days and the urgent threats to Constitutional rights that have arisen.

— CDT joined the National Coalition Against Censorship and leading civil rights and free expression groups in calling on the Trump Administration ([link removed]) to respect the public’s First Amendment right to record law enforcement, including ICE, when they are performing public duties. CDT’s Kate Ruane published a related piece in Tech Policy Press ([link removed]), arguing that as DHS mounts a legal fight against documentation of ICE activities, courts and social media platforms are both obligated to support and protect users' First Amendment right to anonymity online. 

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Graphic image of a white shield with a red padlock and a manila file folder. Reads "Shield Laws in Flux" in black text.

— A new CDT report comprehensively reviews the current landscape for state "shield laws," ([link removed]) which are designed to protect patients, providers, and intermediaries in reproductive and gender-affirming health care from out-of-state investigations and prosecutions post-Dobbs.

— On the same day that organizations around the world marked International Privacy Day this week, the FTC held a workshop on “how to deploy age verification more widely.” CDT encouraged the agency ([link removed]) to conduct an honest and balanced assessment and consider how age verification technologies impact users and their ability to access online services freely and privately. 

— A new CDT brief provides broad guidance to trust and safety engineers and practitioners ([link removed]) on steps they can take to help ensure trust and safety tools work equitably across all users, regardless of the languages they speak.

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Graphic for CDT's Spring Fling. Yellow and pink petals on a gray background with Spring Fling in pixelated green and blue text. 

CDT "In Person"

— Mark your calendars! CDT’s 2026 Spring Fling will take place on Monday, March 30th from 7:00-10:00 pm in Washington, DC. CDT’s Spring Fling brings together over 500 privacy and AI leaders from government, industry, and civil society for a celebratory night alongside IAPP’s Global Summit. Visit our event page to purchase tickets ([link removed]) and learn more about sponsorship options.

— On February 3, CDT and the GovAI Coalition will host an event on how state and local governments can responsibly use and govern AI ([link removed]) in 2026. The panel of experts on responsible AI use and governance — at the state, county, and city levels — will discuss the most important aspects of trustworthy and responsible use of AI in public benefits and services, and how they’ve seen their respective levels of government advance effective AI governance practices.

CDT In the Press

— CDT’s Jake Laperruque appeared on NPR’s 1A ([link removed]) to discuss use of surveillance and data collection tools by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

— CDT’s Kate Ruane was quoted by Ars Technica ([link removed]), discussing government intervention following the scandal over Grok “undressing” images of women and children: “Laws are only as good as their enforcement,” she said. “You need law enforcement at the Federal Trade Commission or at the Department of Justice to be willing to go after these companies if they are in violation of the laws.”

— CDT’s Isabel Linzer and Aliya Bhatia were published in Lawfare ([link removed]), discussing how the U.S.’s withdrawal from international multistakeholder fora undermines human rights, global governance, and U.S. strategic interests.

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Sabrina Shih, smiling wearing a black jacket and white top in front of a city sidewalk background.

Staff Spotlight

Sabrina Shih ([link removed]), AI Governance Fellow

How long have you been working in digital rights?

I have been working in digital rights for around 2 years, with a focus on responsible AI and AI governance! It has been so exciting to work in a new, often pre-paradigmatic field.

What is your proudest moment while here at CDT?

My proudest moment at CDT thus far has been representing CDT at the MIT Policy Hackathon last November. It was fantastic to engage with students as they explored solutions to the AI governance challenges CDT tackles every day.

What is the most recent cultural activity you've been to? 

Most recently, my roommates introduced me to Epiphany Day, an important Catholic holiday, and we all shared a delicious King cake and crowned two kings!

Cats or dogs?

Cats all the way!

#CONNECT WITH CDT

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