Tech Community Engagement
Evidence Gathering
With digital rights increasingly under threat from sophisticated technologies, from machine learning algorithms to intricate data processing practices, identifying and challenging digital rights violations will require a truly interdisciplinary approach spanning law and technology.
Through our project on Tech Community Engagement, we seek to take a careful and intentional approach to bridging gaps between litigators, technologists and activists. This is with a view to building an interdisciplinary community that can work collectively on strategic digital rights litigation.
This is not about finding techno-solutions to social problems; instead, it is about understanding technology better and working together towards technology for the good of human beings and the environment.
Evidence Gathering Final Report
In 2022, we launched a sub-project of technology community engagement focusing on evidence gathering. Many of our strategic litigation efforts go towards holding large technology platforms accountable, and these efforts always benefit from evidence about the inner workings of the technology these platforms use. This project involved both technical and legal stakeholders. You can view the interim report here. In 2023, we produced a report on the role of technologists in evidence gathering for cases and how we can improve the collection, storage, maintenance and sharing of information and evidence. Please download and view the final report below.
Many thanks to Laura Lopez and Berenice Alvarez for their beautiful artwork and graphic design on the report.
In collaboration with Luminate, Reset, and Aspiration, DFF launched an initiative to bring together legal experts and tech-centered activists to work together on platform accountability. While campaigners, litigators, and policy makers have an important role to play in advancing platform accountability work, understanding platforms requires technical evidence gathering. Uncovering the internal workings of these companies and gathering evidence about the harms of platforms involves technical research, understanding, and activism.
Specifically, evidence gathering work involved data, algorithmic insight, and other tech-centric areas. We produced a report on the role of technologists in evidence gathering for cases and how we can improve the collection, storage, maintenance and sharing of information and evidence.
You can view a video on one of the Evidence Gathering Workshops below.
If you are interested in contributing or would simply like to know more, please let us know – we’d be delighted to speak to you. You can reach us at info@digitalfreedomfund.org