Civic Tech Field Guide
Sharing knowledge and productively growing the fieldAdjacent Fields > Ethical tech and responsible tech - (325)
While the first generations of tech-for-good work took a solutionist approach to addressing existing problems with new technology, scholars and activists are driving growing awareness of the problems with technology itself. By exposing the negative consequences, intended or otherwise, of tech, these communities draw attention to issues with tech-centric approaches. Not all of the projects here adopt an ethics lens in their work, but we use it here for simplicity's sake.
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Riseup provides online communication tools for people and groups working on liberatory social change.
Directory of UK Safety Tech Providers
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 🇬🇧A directory of more than 90 UK-based companies which provide technology or solutions which facilitate safer online experiences, and protect users from harmful content, contact or conduct.
FreedomBox Foundation
New York City (NYC / New York, NY)FreedomBox is a private server system that empowers regular people to host their own internet services, like a VPN, a personal website, file sharing, encrypted messengers, a VoIP server, a metasearch engine, and much more.
Omidyar Responsible AI funding
1991 Broadway Street, Suite 200, Redwood City, California 94063$30 million initial investment will bridge gaps between industry, civil society, and policymakers, broadening generative AI infrastructure in service of society
California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
CaliforniaThe California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) is a California state government agency created by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA)
an easy-to-use digital safety checklist
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Washington, DCEPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, DC seeking to protect privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic values in the information age.
Cultural Safety Audit Tools
Australia 🇦🇺The Cultural Safety Audit Tool for Individuals is designed to assess an individual’s level of development in understanding critical elements of cultural safety and working to create culturally safe experiences with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals
Greenhost
AmsterdamGreenhost provides hosting for NGOs and businesses that take ethical issues and sustainability seriously.
The Freedom Online Coalition is a partnership of 38 governments, working to advance Internet freedom.
"[V]ictims of violence or bullying can quietly voice activate to record an incident as it is happening and, if necessary, command the app to call the cops." - GovTech Magazine
Promoting research & capacity building on digital rights in Africa
Guia de Proteção para Defensoras e Defensores de Direitos Humanos
Brazil (Brasil) 🇧🇷A publicação visa colaborar na construção de estratégias de proteção, fomentando oficinas coletivas com defensoras e defensores de direitos humanos (DDHs), movimentos sociais e organizações da sociedade civil.
MariaLab
Brazil (Brasil) 🇧🇷A MariaLab é uma associação sem fins lucrativos, sem vínculo político-partidário e com empresas do setor privado, que atua na intersecção entre política, gênero e suas tecnologias.
Ceno Browser
Montreal, QC, CanadaCeno is a free mobile browser that enables you to access and share web information, even when your internet access has been interrupted or cut off.
![reframe[Tech] – Algorithms for the Common Good](https://ctfg-airtable.s3.amazonaws.com/screenshots/334343.png)
reframe[Tech] – Algorithms for the Common Good
Germany (Deutschland) 🇩🇪In the project “reframe[Tech] – Algorithms for the Common Good”, we are committed to ensuring that efforts to develop and use algorithms and artificial intelligence are more closely aligned with the common good.
Deceptive Patterns
LondonA taxonomy of deceptive design patterns, laws, cases, reading list, hall of shame, and Deceptive Patterns book
The Copenhagen Pledge on Tech for Democracy
CopenhagenA commitment to make digital technologies work for, not against, democracy and human rights. It underlines the joint responsibility of governments, multilateral organizations, civil society, and technology companies to develop and use digital technologies to the benefit of democracy and human rights.
Element
LondonA secure communications platform built around you.
The only FOSS-based service offering Matrix chat server hosting
Mozilla Rise 25
Mountain View, CAHelp us identify and recognize the next 25 game-changers shaping the future of the internet to be more ethical, responsible and inclusive.
An open network for secure, decentralised communication
Global Coalition for Tech Justice
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 🇬🇧The Global Coalition for Tech Justice is a newly formed global movement to ensure Big Tech plays its role in protecting elections and citizens’ rights and freedoms across the world, particularly in the global majority where companies – Meta/Facebook, Google/YouTube, Twitter, TikTok et al – have been negligent in dealing with the impacts of their social media and messaging products.
AI Forensics
Italy (Italia) 🇮🇹AI Forensics is a European non-profit that investigates influential and opaque algorithms. We hold major technology platforms accountable by conducting independent and high-profile technical investigations to uncover and expose the harms caused by their algorithms.
This [Canadian] report includes the following: Importance of ethics in AI and government, Understanding the impacts of AI on society, Balancing AI-driven efficiency with privacy and security concerns, and Cyber-security and digital trust.
Digital Futures Lab is a multidisciplinary research network that examines the complex interactions between technology and society in the global south.
The Future of Privacy Forum
Washington, DCFPF brings together industry, academics, civil society, policymakers, and other stakeholders to explore the challenges posed by emerging technologies and develop privacy protections, ethical norms, and workable best practices in these areas and more.
Future of Privacy Forum Training Program
Washington, DCThe Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) Training Program provides an in-depth understanding of today’s most pressing privacy and data protection topics.
Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP)
Princeton University, Princeton, New JerseyThe Center for Information Technology Policy is a nexus of expertise in technology, engineering, public policy, and the social sciences.
We now bring this decade’s worth of insights and our intellectual capital to scale with our automated audits, and proprietary demographic and geographic database used to ensure the validity (and compliance) of the outputs.
Student Privacy Compass (formerly known as FERPA|Sherpa) is the student privacy resource center website. This site is your tool for finding information, news, and opinions on maintaining student data privacy. Student Privacy Compass is an initiative of the Future of Privacy Forum.
Case studies, blog posts, and Airtables with examples
Beyond Binary Code Builder
New Zealand 🇳🇿Code and other resources to help businesses create more inclusive web forms and collect fewer data in general
Black Tech Agenda and Scorecard
Washington, DCBlack communities need an affirmative vision of technology that protects our civil rights and advances our needs. A campaign nominated for a 2023 Webby Award.
A Brief but Actionable Primer for Founders
In an era of corporate surveillance, artificial intelligence, deep fakes, genetic modification, automation, and more, law often seems to take a back seat to rampant technological change.
We are a non-profit think/do tank supporting founders and the startup ecosystem in building more equitable, world-positive tech companies.
In this groundbreaking work, Haochen Sun analyzes the ethical crisis unfolding at the intersection of technology and the public interest.
Own Your Data Foundation
WyomingWe equip every individual with the tools they need to live a safe, protected, and informed digital life.
Is That Even Legal? A guide for builders experimenting with data governance
Mozilla, East Evelyn Avenue, Mountain View, CAWhat builders in Germany, India, Kenya, and the United States need to know when experimenting with new approaches to data governance
Tech Matters
Palo AltoWe help social change leaders understand what tech can and can’t do, and build the tech solutions behind solving a social problem.
Platform://Democracy
Humboldt-Institut Berlin, Invalidenstraße, Berlin, GermanyThe project "Platform://Democracy: Platform Councils as Tools to Democratize Hybrid Online Orders" examines how the rules of discourse on platforms can be aligned with public values
All Tech Is Human
New York City (NYC / New York, NY)All Tech Is Human is strengthening the Responsible Tech ecosystem with multiple stakeholders, disciplines, and perspectives so we can tackle wicked tech & society problems.
deon is a command line tool that allows you to easily add an ethics checklist to your data science projects. We support creating a new, standalone checklist file or appending a checklist to an existing analysis in many common formats.
All Tech Is Human Slack
New York City (NYC / New York, NY)Our Slack workspace helps individuals in the Responsible Tech ecosystem connect with one another, discuss research, share events, learn about careers and job opportunities, and more. In addition, we have channels for specific locations to allow for people to collaborate based on vicinity.
A 12 hour asynchronous online “base” program to help you launch your practice
Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO)
Washington, DCThe Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), is the world’s first standalone international organization focusing on the digital economy.
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Civic Tech Field Guide