Technology, Data & Democracy

issue

Advanced technologies present opportunities and challenges for our democracy. We seek to harness advanced technologies to fuel democratic renewal while opposing their authoritarian adoption.

why this issue matters

Use it or lose it: democracy must deploy and govern the power of technology for civic good.

Advanced technologies like digital platforms and artificial intelligence, and the data they run on, are critical tools and assets in the twenty-first century. Today, they are being deployed without the guardrails required to protect individuals’ freedoms and privacy and to prevent the consolidation of government power. Anti-democratic actors are proving all-too-adept at using advanced technology to amplify the core tactics in the authoritarian playbook, from the creation and spread of propaganda to tracking and surveilling Americans.

Learn more: How Musk and Trump could build a techno-autocracy: Tech tools could make Trumpism very difficult to dislodge Learn more: How Musk and Trump could build a techno-autocracy: Tech tools could make Trumpism very difficult to dislodge

But technology does not have to be only corrosive to our democracy. Advanced technologies can be used to enhance civic participation and connection as well as government responsiveness and accountability. Whether identifying common ground across diverse constituencies or enabling citizens to engage with and hold their elected representatives accountable, these data-driven tools can and should be deployed to bolster our democracy.

This moment calls for a two-pronged approach to both protect and transform our democracy. We need to mitigate against uses of technology and data that accelerate autocratization, while also promoting uses that foster democratic renewal. In the longer term, we also need to establish balanced governance of technology and data so they, like other forms of power, are deployed within a system of checks and balances.

CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES

Democracy must harness technology in three areas.

Data access & aggregation

Data is a source of power, profit, and innovation. Its consolidation and abuse present acute threats to our democracy and freedom. With balanced guardrails and purposeful privacy protections, however, data can fuel a high-functioning democracy.

Artificial intelligence

We’re in the AI era — whether it’s democracy’s or autocracy’s era remains to be seen. While the weaponization of AI is already entrenching power in the hands of the few, with intentional design and governance, AI could be a force-multiplier for the many.

Social media platforms

Social media platforms are increasingly where Americans get their information. Although they have proven a ready channel to accelerate propaganda and political violence in recent years, they still have the potential to amplify accurate information and balanced discourse.

Learn more about our AI for Democracy Action Lab Learn more about our AI for Democracy Action Lab

our focus

Stopping the administration’s unlawful sweeps of data on millions of Americans.

We have combined litigation and stakeholder mobilization to constrain the second Trump administration’s efforts to seize sensitive data from state governments on their residents.

Developing AI governance regimes that anticipate abuse and abide by core constitutional principles.

We advise state and federal policymakers in crafting and passing meaningful AI policy that respects the First and Fourth Amendments.

Using AI to monitor for election subversion and combat voter suppression.

Our VoteShield platform reviews public voter registration databases to identify anomalies and malicious activity in order to prevent voter disenfranchisement.

Advocating for design interventions that social media and generative AI platforms can adopt to amplify accurate information and curtail the spread of online harms.

We partner with researchers, product designers, and engineers to identify and uplift technically feasible product solutions that safeguard election information online.

featured work

Trump Administration backs off illegal demand for SNAP data

In July 2025, Protect Democracy and partners filed a lawsuit challenging the USDA’s demand for states and third-party vendors to turn over the personal data of tens of millions Americans who receive help buying food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Following our filing, the Trump Administration agreed to pause their demand. We sued to enforce the existing guardrails that protect Americans from risks to their privacy and freedom that come with the aggregation and control of their personal data. The USDA’s demands for sensitive state-level SNAP data are part of a larger effort by the federal government to amass a “panopticon” of data on Americans. By combining voluminous, separately collected data records in a singular, AI-enabled database, the government is creating a sophisticated tool for domestic surveillance — something that previously both parties would have considered unacceptable and illegal.

Wisconsin passes model legislation on generative AI and political ads

In March 2024, Wisconsin passed a law requiring the disclosure of AI-generated audio or visual content in political ads. This uncomplicated policy (AB 664) takes a balanced approach to safeguarding Wisconsin voters’ informed election choices. It went into effect in November 2024 and represents a model for policymakers, especially at the state level, of a logical first step towards oversight of the intersection of AI and elections in the U.S.

Best practices and design levers that technology platforms can use to protect our elections

While it would be impossible to fully address all digital threats surrounding our elections, technology platforms can play a key role in risk mitigation. To that end, we have recommended a set of proactive measures for social media, messaging, and generative AI platforms to prioritize. They include continuing to make sure users can get accurate election information, adequately resourcing their elections teams, and setting caps on how much any individual accounts can post. Adopting these safeguards along the path to scaled production or distribution would meaningfully reduce the volatility the online information environment threatens to inject into elections, while preserving democratic discourse.