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Michael De Dora

U.S. Policy and Advocacy Manager

Michael De Dora is the U.S. Policy and Advocacy Manager at Access Now. He joined Access Now as a Senior Campaigner in September 2022. Prior to joining Access Now, Michael worked at the Committee to Protect Journalists, where he led advocacy with the U.S. government to advance press freedom around the world. Before that, he directed global advocacy for the Center for Inquiry, focused on freedom of conscience and secular government. Michael was twice elected president of the United Nations NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief in New York. He has an MA in Political Science from Brooklyn College and a BA in Rhetoric and Communication from the University at Albany. He started his career as a journalist.

Bigger, bolder: U.S. slaps sanctions on spyware company and executives

Coalition warns Congress: don’t use legislative tricks to reauthorize surveillance abuse

14 Nov 2023
Press Release
Coalition warns Congress: don’t use legislative tricks to reauthorize surveillance abuse
14 Nov 2023
Coalition warns Congress: don’t use legislative tricks to reauthorize surveillance abuse
AI

White House Executive Order on AI: a step forward on civil rights, but Congress must pass privacy law

30 Oct 2023

Access Now calls on the Biden-Harris Administration to protect human rights from bad data practices and algorithmic discrimination.

Press Release
White House Executive Order on AI: a step forward on civil rights, but Congress must pass privacy law
30 Oct 2023
White House Executive Order on AI: a step forward on civil rights, but Congress must pass privacy law
AI

Access Now urges robust civil society participation in Congressional AI policymaking 

25 Oct 2023
Press Release
Access Now urges robust civil society participation in Congressional AI policymaking 
25 Oct 2023
Access Now urges robust civil society participation in Congressional AI policymaking 
Armenia spyware victims: Pegasus hacking in war

U.S. continues aggressive action on spyware, adds more companies to economic blocklist

18 Jul 2023

The inclusion of spyware companies in the U.S. government’s Entity List is a major victory for at-risk people around the world.

Press Release
U.S. continues aggressive action on spyware, adds more companies to economic blocklist
18 Jul 2023
U.S. continues aggressive action on spyware, adds more companies to economic blocklist
Focused View

Scrap Montana’s rights-abusing TikTok ban 

19 May 2023
Press Release
Scrap Montana’s rights-abusing TikTok ban 
19 May 2023
Scrap Montana’s rights-abusing TikTok ban 
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Section 230 survives another challenge: U.S. Supreme Court rulings protect free expression online

18 May 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings today in Twitter v. Taamneh and Gonzalez v. Google, a pair of cases centered on whether social media companies could be held liable for the terrorist content hosted and recommended via algorithm on their platforms, represent a major win for digital rights. 

Press Release
Section 230 survives another challenge: U.S. Supreme Court rulings protect free expression online
18 May 2023
Section 230 survives another challenge: U.S. Supreme Court rulings protect free expression online
civil and human rights

Access Now joins the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

11 May 2023

Access Now has joined the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR), a long-standing coalition of more than 230 organizations committed to advancing and protecting all persons’ civil and human rights in the United States.

Press Release
Access Now joins the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
11 May 2023
Access Now joins the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
U.S. Senate must stop the biggest expansion of surveillance power in 20 years

No to spyware: Biden administration bars U.S. federal government from using rights-abusing tech

28 Mar 2023

In a significant victory for human rights, the U.S. is barring operational use of foreign or domestic commercial spyware by all federal agencies, unless they meet stringent requirements.

Press Release
No to spyware: Biden administration bars U.S. federal government from using rights-abusing tech
28 Mar 2023
No to spyware: Biden administration bars U.S. federal government from using rights-abusing tech

New U.S. Cybersecurity Strategy: a strong step forward, with room for improvement

3 Mar 2023

Access Now commends the U.S.’s National Cybersecurity Strategy that centers “respect for human rights,” but it still falls short on collaboration with stakeholders abroad.

Press Release
New U.S. Cybersecurity Strategy: a strong step forward, with room for improvement
3 Mar 2023
New U.S. Cybersecurity Strategy: a strong step forward, with room for improvement
I Love Digital Rights Social Card

Technology for Democracy at the second U.S. Summit: an update on our progress

23 Feb 2023
Post
Technology for Democracy at the second U.S. Summit: an update on our progress
23 Feb 2023
Technology for Democracy at the second U.S. Summit: an update on our progress