Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 27, 2026 (Prior version)

Tl;dr

CDT makes efforts to minimize the data it collects from your interactions with us, and specifically does not use cookies or other forms of tracking technology for visitors to our website. Consequently, simply visiting or browsing our website will not provide us with any personal information about you.

We may have access to your personal information if you make a donation to CDT, sign up for a newsletter or event, apply for a job with CDT, or fill out a form on our website. In those cases, we will have access to whatever information you submit, but we will never exchange or otherwise share any of that information unless you direct us to, except as necessary to process donation transactions, manage job applications, report malicious attacks, or as required by law. And we will never sell or rent any of your personal information under any circumstances.

Information collected when you browse CDT’s website

CDT’s website uses Simple Analytics, a privacy-friendly web analytics provider. Through Simple Analytics, we use anonymous metrics to understand how people use our website and where our traffic comes from. We use this insight to improve our website and create a better experience for visitors. We do not track you, serve personalized advertising, provide you with personalized content, or sell or share the data to any other entity. You can learn more about Simple Analytics on its website.

Our website contains some third-party tools. We have limited the amount of information that these third-party tools can collect about you on our website.

  • Embedded YouTube Videos. On certain pages on our site, we may embed YouTube videos. Even if you don’t interact with a YouTube video, Google displays the image of the video on our site, and may collect and store log data associated with rendering that image on your device (including IP address and browser configuration). We have configured the YouTube videos we embed to use the “-nocookie” option, so Google will not associate your visit with a Google cookie or account.
  • Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X Buttons. You can share articles and blog posts from our site directly on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Because we host the images for the Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter buttons ourselves, they are not able to log the fact that you visited one of our pages merely because one of their branded buttons is on that page. However, when you click on our site’s sharing buttons, your browser will open a new window linking you to these platforms, and they will receive information about your visit to our site. You can also share selected passages from our website to LinkedIn, Twitter, or directly with your email client.

Information you submit through forms or otherwise provide directly to us

If you make a donation to CDT, sign up for a CDT newsletter or event, apply for a job with CDT, or fill out a form on CDT’s website, we will have access to whatever information you submit through that form. This includes your contact information, such as your name, mailing address, email address, and phone number. We may be required to collect more information from you if you make a donation, register for an in-person event, or apply for a job with CDT. We do not sell or rent your information under any circumstances. We do not exchange or otherwise share any information that we collect unless you direct us to, except as necessary to process donation transactions, manage job applications, report malicious attacks, or as required by law or court order.

Some data we collect from you on our website, including donations, mailing list subscriptions, records of our mass communications, and select emails are stored in our contact relationship management (CRM) database. Donor information will be stored in the CRM database until the donor provides an update or requests deletion.

You have the option to access, correct, update, or delete the information we may have about you. We will endeavor to disclose to you any information we have about you, and we will attempt to comply with your request to the best of our capabilities. Please use the form for “general inquiries” on our Contact page to exercise this option.

Below is additional information on what information we collect, how we use that information, and how we store it for different types of interactions.

Mailing lists

  • To sign up for our mailing lists online, CDT asks for your name, email address, city, state, postal code, and country. Only email address and country are required, so that we can make sure that communications reach the subscriber and are geographically appropriate to the subscriber.
  • If you submit your email address to be added to a mailing list, we will use the email address for the sole purpose of sending you the materials associated with that mailing list. Each email we send will contain information on how to unsubscribe from our mailing list. You can also unsubscribe by going to our Contact page and requesting removal from a specific mailing list.
  • Additionally, we use an email list service to track whether emails sent to our mailing lists have been delivered and opened, and when links within emails have been clicked. We use that information purely internally and for the sole purpose of analyzing how much engagement we receive with our emails. We never share individualized email-open data with anyone outside CDT, although we may analyze and share aggregated data about the frequency with which certain types of emails are opened.
  • How long does CDT retain this information? Email addresses are retained until associated users ask CDT to remove their email from our mailing list. Users can also ask that we delete their information completely by reaching out directly. In the unlikely event that we have technical problems that cause us to revert to a backup copy of a mailing list, our systems may unintentionally restore a previously removed address to a mailing list.

If you make a donation

  • If you make a donation to CDT, we will record the contact information you share with us when making your donation, as well as certain payment information, in our CRM database. We record this information so that we can acknowledge and thank you for your donation, provide tax-exemption receipts to you, contact you with news that may be of interest or for future CDT donation opportunities, and answer any questions you may have about your donation. At the time of your donation, we may also ask whether we should include you on a list of supporters. Should you wish to opt out of future communications, you may do so by following the information about unsubscribing in our communications or by requesting removal at our Contact page.
  • If you choose to use our website to make a donation to CDT, your payment information will be collected and processed by our third-party payment processor. CDT receives the donation amount, date, and Partial Payment Method Information (which we define as the check number if you paid by check, or the card type, last four digits of your card number, and expiration date if you paid by payment card). In the case of a recurring gift, your financial information is kept by the third-party payment processor. CDT can initiate or stop payment based on a donor’s preferences, but we do not have any access to the financial information stored in the third-party payment processor’s system.
  • How long does CDT retain this information? Contact information you provide when making a donation online will be retained indefinitely unless you provide an update or ask us to delete it. The financial record is retained indefinitely for auditing and tax purposes, but we can remove contact information and otherwise make a gift or account anonymous upon request from an individual.

If you apply to work with CDT

  • CDT asks prospective employees, interns, externs, and fellows to provide us with various kinds of basic personal information related to their application. This information might include a cover letter, resume or CV, biographical information, contact information, and references. This information is shared internally with relevant CDT staff and with our service provider for managing job applications.
  • How long does CDT retain this information? CDT retains applicant data for consideration in future job openings, but will delete an applicant’s data upon request. Some applicant information may also be retained in the personnel files of candidates who are engaged by CDT.

If you register for a CDT event

  • CDT asks for your contact information and affiliation when registering for our events, conferences, or working groups. We use this information to allow you to attend those events and to inform you about event changes. We also use this information to contact you about other events in which our staff participate. You have the option to unsubscribe at any time. When you submit information using third-party forms like Eventbrite or Google Forms, data may be collected by those vendors and processed subject to their terms of service.
  • In the case of a financial transaction occurring in conjunction with an event, our third-party payment processor collects all financial information, and CDT receives only the registrant’s name, contact information, affiliation, payment amount, payment date, and Partial Payment Method Information.
  • How long does CDT retain this information? Contact information added to our event lists is retained until the associated users ask for it to be removed from the event’s associated mailing list.

If you interact with us on social media and other platforms or otherwise contact us

  • CDT actively uses social media and other platforms to engage with the public and advance our work. CDT has Facebook and LinkedIn pages, Twitter/X feeds, a Bluesky feed, a Mastodon feed, a YouTube channel, and a SoundCloud profile hosting our podcast, Tech Talks. Information shared on those pages is governed by each platform’s respective privacy policy. We also receive direct messages over social media on occasion.
  • CDT welcomes your feedback and questions. If you choose to contact us, via our website, social media, or the mail, we will not use the information you provide in the course of that outreach for any purpose other than to respond to your inquiry or to act on your suggestion or comment. We will not share your information with others except with your permission or upon your request, or to report abuse. If you would like us to delete any information we collect from you based on that outreach, please send us a request by submitting the form for “general inquiries” on our Contact page.
  • How long does CDT retain this information? We retain direct messages to CDT’s social media accounts and other platforms unless we receive a request to delete as addressed above. Individual employees may retain copies of any direct correspondence to them, including emails sent to individual employees’ CDT email accounts.

How does CDT store and secure your information?

As noted above, CDT collects only anonymous metrics when you visit our website.

For information you provide to us directly, CDT uses industry-standard security measures to protect the information we collect. We use an encrypted (Transport Layer Security (TLS)) connection throughout the CDT website, including when you submit a donation through our donation processor, securing your information at every stage. Donor information, professional contacts made by our staff, and mailing lists are stored in our CRM database. We periodically review, update, and where appropriate, delete information in this CRM database. Donor information will be stored in the CRM database until the donor provides updates or requests deletion.

Does CDT sell or share your information?

CDT does not sell or rent your information in any circumstances. CDT does not exchange or otherwise disclose any information that we collect except as described in this policy. CDT does share information about you to third parties in limited circumstances, including:

  • Legal Requirements: CDT cannot guarantee that your personal information will never be sought by subpoena, search warrant, court order, or other lawful form of legal process. We will comply with lawful requests from government agencies that follow appropriate legal standards and procedures.
    • If we receive a request from a governmental entity to disclose information about you, we will (unless prohibited by law or court order from doing so) attempt to contact you prior to such disclosure so that you can object. If we comply with a disclosure request from a government agency, we will subsequently (unless prohibited by law or court order from doing so) attempt to contact you to inform you that we have disclosed information about you and to tell you what information we have disclosed. We will object to disclosure demands that we believe are improper.
    • If we receive a request from a non-governmental entity (such as a civil litigant) for disclosure of information about your activities on our website, we will insist that the requesting party obtain at least a subpoena, and we will (unless prohibited by law or court order from doing so) attempt to contact you prior to such disclosure so that you can object. If we comply with a non-governmental entity’s disclosure request we will subsequently (unless prohibited by law or court order from doing so) attempt to contact you to inform you that we have disclosed information about you and to tell you what information we have disclosed. Again, we will object to disclosure demands that we believe are improper.
  • To Defend Ourselves from Cyberattacks and Other Malicious Activity: CDT may disclose information to a third party if we reasonably believe that our system has been attacked and the information is necessary to describe the attack. We also reserve the right to affirmatively share or to provide to law enforcement evidence of malicious attacks or other unlawful activity or content.
  • Service Providers and Contractors: CDT shares information we collect to service providers and contractors that provide administrative services and support for us, including for purposes of hosting our website, processing donations, managing job applications, and managing our email and contact databases. While CDT depends on third parties to support some of our services and operations, we strive to select vendors and contractors who have strong privacy and security policies, and who do not use the information we share for their own purposes.

What options do you have? What if you want to know what information we have about you?

You have the option to know, correct, update, or delete the information we may have about you. For example, donors can request to see and make changes to their own personal account profile, which includes contact information, funding history, newsletter subscriptions, and select communication records. Please contact us to request to exercise these options. We will endeavor to disclose to you any information we have about you, and we will attempt to comply with your request to the best of our capabilities. DID YOU KNOW? Children under the age of 13 have special protections under law. While CDT’s content is appropriate for most audiences, our website is not directed to children. If CDT discovers it inadvertently has information about a child under the age of 13, we will promptly delete it.

Changes to our policies

We most recently revised our Privacy Policy in 2026, after we adopted Simple Analytics for our web analytics. Whenever we make substantial changes to our Privacy Policy, we will announce and describe the changes on our blog 30 days in advance of the new policy taking effect. Regardless, information collected under a prior privacy policy will continue to be governed by that prior policy. Changes in privacy policies apply only prospectively.

(Prior versions are here.)

Any questions or concerns?

If you have any questions or concerns about this policy, please contact CDT via our Contact page or call (202) 637-9800.