New America
Open Technology Institute

OTI Legislative and Regulatory Filings 2023

Legislative and Regulatory Filings
Tirachard Kumtanom from Pexels
Jan. 27, 2023

Note: This page will be regularly updated as we file comments, sign on to coalition letters, and complete other legislative and/or regulatory filings.

View our letters and filings from other years here:

December

October

  • OTI Joins 86 Other Groups in Calling on Congress To Consider Current Harms of AI
    • OTI and a broad coalition of 86 other civil society groups sent a letter to U.S. Senators and Representatives, urging them to “consider the varied ways in which AI is already impacting our economy and society, particularly historically marginalized communities” and “work closely with civil society to pursue legislation that achieves meaningful, rights-respecting AI accountability.”
  • Global Encryption Coalition Urges Governments and Private Sector to Defend Encryption
    • OTI joined supporters of the Global Encryption Coalition in calling on governments and the private sector “to reject efforts to undermine encryption and instead pursue policies that enhance, strengthen, and promote use of strong encryption to protect people everywhere.”

September

  • OTI and 60 Others Sound Alarm on STOP CSAM Act’s Threats to Free Expression and Privacy
    • OTI joined 60 other groups in calling out the Strengthening Transparency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act (STOP CSAM Act), which “would lead apps and websites to surveil every single word, image, and video its users post, censor First Amendment protected speech, and stop offering services that are critical for enabling secure, private conversations.”
  • OTI Calls Out the STOP CSAM Act, EARN IT Act, and Cooper Davis Act’s Threats to Civil Rights
    • OTI and a dozen other groups came together to sound the alarm on the STOP CSAM Act, EARN IT Act, and Cooper Davis Act, which “threaten the civil rights of Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ people, including by undermining encryption technologies and contributing to over-policing and surveillance.”
  • Coalition Statement on PCLOB 702 Report
    • OTI, along with 19 other groups, released a statement on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board’s recently published report on Section 702, emphasizing how important it is for PCLOB to go a step further by addressing the government’s use of data brokers to circumvent legal protections for Americans’ privacy and the use of overseas surveillance to collect Americans’ information without statutory authority or judicial oversight.

July

  • OTI and 16 Other Groups Oppose Overbroad Counter-Drone Bill
    • OTI joined a coalition of 16 other human rights, civil liberties, and civil rights organizations in coming out in opposition to S.1631 (The Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act), a counter-drone bill that “provides overbroad authority for takedowns, inadequately protects First Amendment and press activities, does not include due process protections for improper counter-drone activities, and lacks basic transparency rules to facilitate responsible use.”

June

  • OTI and 40 Other Civil Rights Groups Call on the FTC To Develop Specific, Concrete Civil Rights Protections in Ongoing ANPR
    • OTI joined 40 other civil rights groups in urging the Federal Trade Commission to institute “a specific rule prohibiting discrimination as an unfair practice under the FTC Act” and issue “a specific rule requiring reasonable and appropriate measures to detect and address algorithmic discrimination in sensitive domains” in its ongoing Commercial Surveillance and Data Security Rulemaking (ANPR).
  • OTI and 60+ Other Organizations Urge OMB, DPC, and OSTP To Take Next Steps in Addressing AI
    • OTI joined a coalition of more than 60 civil rights, technology, policy, and research organizations in calling on the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, Domestic Policy Council, and Office of Science and Technology Policy to “take the necessary next steps to advance a whole-of-government approach to addressing the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on people’s rights and opportunities.”
  • OTI and 230+ Others Urge Robust ACP Funding
    • OTI joined more than 230 civil society organizations, municipal governments, and other interest groups in urging members of Congress to push for robust additional funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), noting that a failure to extend the ACP with new funding “could result in the biggest loss of internet connectivity ever.”

May

  • OTI Opposes EARN IT Act on Account of Potential Data Privacy Violations, Censorship, and More
    • OTI joined 132 other groups in expressing serious concerns about the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act of 2023 (EARN IT Act), which would “make it harder for law enforcement to protect children,” result in online censorship that would “disproportionately impact marginalized communities,” and “jeopardize access to encrypted services, undermining a critical foundation of security, confidentiality, and safety on the internet.”
  • OTI Signs Coalition Letter in Support of the Affordable Connectivity Program
    • OTI joined a coalition of 164 civil society organizations, municipal governments, and other interested groups in urging Congressional appropriators to grant robust additional funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

April

  • OTI Joins Call To Strengthen FTC With Increased Funding
    • OTI joined a coalition of 15 other privacy, child, and consumer advocates in asking appropriators to support the Federal Trade Commission’s budget request of $590 million for Fiscal Year 2024, so that the FTC can more effectively protect American consumers and promote competitive markets across the economy.

March

February

  • OTI Urges FTC To Curtail “Junk Fees” for Internet Service
    • OTI filed comments to the Federal Trade Commission noting the prevalence of unnecessary “junk fees” in both wireless and wired internet connections, urging the agency to crack down on fees that provide no value to consumers, make internet prices opaque, impede comparison shopping, and harm competition.
  • OTI Joins Civil Rights Group Letter in Support of Sohn Nomination
    • OTI joined more than 40 other civil rights groups in urging the leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to ensure that Ms. Gigi Sohn’s Federal Communications Commission nomination is considered by the committee as soon as possible and reported favorably to the full Senate.
  • OTI Urges FCC To Strengthen Broadband Nutrition Label
    • OTI filed comments to the Federal Communications Commission, urging the agency to strengthen the new broadband nutrition label by ensuring a multitude of language translations and incorporating additional information on price, performance, network management, and privacy.

January