In this report, CDT Research draws on prior work in human-computer interaction and deceptive design disciplines to investigate how established dark patterns documented in other digital technology cont...

Lawmakers risk advancing bills that may not be effective nor in line with what some parents and teens actually want, Michal Luria and Aliya Bhatia write.

Healthy disengagement — not stickiness — should become a core safety feature within AI chatbots.

Advocating with Evidence: Lessons for Tech Researchers in Civil Society November 13, 2025, 10-11am ET online Civil society is struggling to address how technology and the tech industry contribute to e...

In this episode of Tech Talks, we dive into the growing debate over online age verification. While often framed as a way to protect children, these policies carry major implications for how everyone, adults and children alike, accesses the internet. Unlike showing an ID at a bar, online age checks can require the collection and […]

This post was led by CDT Intern Adinawa Adjagbodjou Have you ever struggled to cancel a subscription you didn’t know you were enrolled in? Or have you been invited to join a platform by a friend only to discover that it was the site impersonating someone in your contact list? If so, you’ve encountered a […]

Age verification (AV) is being rolled out by online services to comply with new laws in Europe and across states in the United States. Proposed legislation at the federal level in the U.S., such as the Kids Off Social Media Act and the Kids Online Safety Act, may also result in increased adoption of AV […]

Executive Summary This report summarizes the key discussions and insights from an in-person symposium held in September 2024 on the topic of children’s online safety policy. The event convened academi...