Can Big Tech be fixed? Center for Democracy and Technology CEO Nuala O’Connor is "long-term optimistic."

On the latest episode of Recode Decode, Recodes Kara Swisher spoke with Nuala OConnor the president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology about how the group is currently lobbying the government and tech companies.

You can listen to Recode Decode wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and Overcast.

Previously, she worked at companies like Amazon and General Electric and was the chief privacy officer for the US Department of Homeland Security.

The original and its completely transparent, all on our website the original hardy band of internet advocates and internet human rights advocates around the dawn of the commercial internet in 1994, so were celebrating our 25th anniversary. It grew over time both in DC and in Brussels, funded in parts by foundations, by companies, by individuals, by fundraising events.

Their big issues were airport security and screening people at the airports and body scanners and those sorts of things.

Weve got this across the country, funded by the Democracy Fund, a foundation to help Secretaries of State and state election officials get better and do at least, not only the minimum but get to a baseline level of data hygiene and security hygiene so that our country can trust that their vote is counted and that it is counted accurately.

Were doing similar work in education technology and education data, helping state-level officials improve their education data systems, make sure theyre secure, making sure theyre not buying vaporware from external parties.

Thats a big issue, is the transfer of data from the private sector to the public sector and the sale of goods and services that are data-collecting and the use of commercial technologies in the classroom.

Knowing your customer is fine, but are you using the information you have gleaned about them in a way that, yes, furthers your corporate interest, but furthers their needs, and not in a way that is adverse.

Original article