Cybersecurity for Democracy

Cybersecurity for Democracy is a research-based, nonpartisan, and independent effort to expose online threats to our safety, health, democracy and social fabric – and recommend how to counter those threats. We are a multi-university research project of the Center for Cybersecurity at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute at the Northeastern University Khoury College of Computer Sciences.

We conduct cutting-edge cybersecurity research to better understand the distorting effects of algorithms and AI tools on large online networks and work with platforms and regulators to help all parties understand the implications of our findings and develop solutions.  We also help produce machine-learning tools for journalists and policymakers to study these companies themselves.

We focus on these issues because online platforms–such as Instagram, X, YouTube, and TikTok–have an unprecedented effect on public safety, elections and democracy. As research has repeatedly shown, engagement-based recommendation algorithms thrive on polarizing and extreme content, serve harmful content to minors, and contribute to the proliferation of mis- and disinformation. This is all happening at a time when social media companies have retreated from safety efforts, and information sharing between industry, government, and researchers is at an all-time low. It is more critical than ever that we understand and expose how these systems work and find mitigation strategies to ensure the integrity and safety of our online systems.

We champion data transparency and standardization so we can effectively audit online platforms. We provide data we collect to researchers and journalists investigating online systems. Our default is open source whenever possible: we make data and code available for others to use and replicate.

This project was formerly known as the Online Political Transparency Project.