Rebecca Williams - Rebecca Williams

Classification, Deservedness, & Gatekeeping

If the shadow of every ID check is permission, then the shadow of digital ID systems is the ability to deny permissions in more places, more often, and with less friction.

Jun 17, 2026

Writing public

Digital ID or Democracy?

Rebecca Williams

Co-authored with Cynthia Conti-Cook and published by the Surveillance Resistance Lab, this report examines the technologies, institutions, and incentives driving digital ID expansion and outlines urgent demands needed to protect human dignity.

Jun 8, 2026

Tech Shadow Work public

Welcome to Tech Shadow Work

Rebecca Williams

Tech Shadow Work launches in 2026 as a biweekly newsletter. Each issue uses a recent moment in technology or tech policy to examine its shadow, asking what these decisions reveal about societal power dynamics. Subscribe to receive updates by email.

Jan 7, 2026

Teaching public

INFO 619: Information & Human Rights

Rebecca Williams

Taught at the Pratt School of Information, this seminar introduced students to the foundations of information rights, the harms produced by information systems, and the creative and political strategies communities use to push back.

Nov 26, 2025

Writing public

Mayor-Elect Mamdani Can Build a Tech Agenda for New York and a Model for the Country

Rebecca Williams

Published in Tech Policy Press, this piece shows how Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani can make New York a model for people-centered technology by resisting surveillance and investing in affordability, dignity, and justice.

Nov 5, 2025

Writing public

Who Age Verification Laws Really Benefit & How to Resist

Rebecca Williams

Co-authored with Cynthia Conti-Cook and Pratika Katiyar and published in User Mag, this piece unpacks how age verification laws serve Big Tech profits and political theater while undermining rights for everyone online.

Aug 25, 2025

Teaching public

Burner Phone 101

Rebecca Williams

Hosted by the Brooklyn Public Library, this Burner Phone 101 workshop introduced participants to phone-related risk modeling, privacy-protective smartphone practices, the full spectrum of burner phone options, and when to leave phones behind entirely.

Aug 16, 2025

Writing public

Digital IDs Put Health Care Privacy at Risk

Rebecca Williams

Co-authored with Cynthia Conti-Cook and Sawyeh Esmaili and published in Convergence Magazine, this piece describes how digital IDs (and expanding mDL programs) threaten to expand government power to police people’s movement and reproductive care.

Aug 4, 2025

Writing public

Digital ID Resistance Resources

Rebecca Williams

Published by the Surveillance Resistance Lab, these resources include a live state-by-state status tracker, actionable organizing strategies, and a rights-based framework outlining key demands to resist digital ID systems.

May 29, 2025

Writing public

How Congress Can Delete DOGE

Rebecca Williams

Published in Tech Policy Press, this piece explains how budget loopholes and cybersecurity authorities enabled the rise of DOGE’s parent agency, the U.S. Digital Service. It outlines how Congress could defund DOGE to reclaim oversight.

Feb 26, 2025