Human Rights Data Analysis Group

14h

Congrats to @themarshallproject.org for their recent recognition by @freedom.press for an investigation using public records requests into youth treatment centers causing harm. freedom.press/about/announ...

hrdag.orgWith More Sanctions Should the ICC Trust Big Tech?On Friday, the Trump Administration once again attacked the International Criminal Court (ICC). The announcement essentially prohibits US companies from doing business with the Court. It is one more…

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that any business providing services to the International Criminal Court will be punished. This includes U.S. tech companies like Microsoft, Accenture, etc. This is an obvious attempt to silence and punish the ICC. hrdag.org/2026/10/12/m...

pluralistic.netPluralistic: Post-American compute for a post-American Internet (04 Aug 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory DoctorowPluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Author Cory Doctorow praises our self-hosted data project, the Technology Freedom Cooperative, launched in collaboration with @invisible.institute, @datacivica.bsky.social, Innocence & Justice Louisiana, and Kilómetro Cero. pluralistic.net/2026/08/04/t...

hrdag.orgHuman Rights Organizations Launch Technology Freedom Cooperative to Protect Critical Data and Build Independent AI InfrastructureNew cooperative will provide technical infrastructure for organizations documenting state violence and human rights abuses SAN FRANCISCO — August 4, 2026 — A coalition of human rights, justice, and…

"It's exciting to see Patrick and his colleagues and collaborators taking these decisive steps to begin building the post-American internet and a kind of post-bubble AI." Thanks @doctorow.pluralistic.net! Read more about the project here: hrdag.org/2026/08/04/h...

Big Tech companies will be conscripted to enforce the Trump Administration's economic sanctions against the International Criminal Court. This is why human rights researchers and prosecutors must move crucial data off of U.S. Big Tech servers. hrdag.org/2026/10/12/m...

The Trump Administration has issued new sanctions against the International Criminal Court. U.S. tech companies, including email and cloud storage providers, will participate in this politicized attack on the Court's independence. hrdag.org/2026/10/12/m...

hrdag.orgThe Technology Freedom Cooperative Offers Civil Society New Independence from Big TechIn February 2025, the Trump Administration issued sanctions against the International Criminal Court for its investigations into potential war crimes and humanitarian violations by Israel in Gaza. A…

HRDAG and our partners @invisible.institute, Innocence & Justice Louisiana, @datacivica.bsky.social, and Kilómetro Cero are breaking up with Big Tech by moving our key research to the Technology Freedom Cooperative hrdag.org/2026/08/04/t...

21 Sept

Tomorrow! In person -- or virtual. Register for the virtual option here: aclusocal.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Human Rights Data Analysis Group@hrdag.org

Next Tuesday! 9/22 6pm HRDAG co-sponsors a discussion at Loyola Law School (Los Angeles). Police Decertification + Beyond: Using Police Misconduct Databases. Tarak Shah will give a live demonstration of the Police Records Access Project database. Register: www.eventbrite.com/e/police-dec...

18 Sept

Next Friday 9/25! This virtual meeting of Participatory AI Research Network will feature HRDAG's Tarak Shak, w/ info abt Beneath the Surface, a project examining gender-based violence and policing through complaint records. @invisible.institute Register here: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... 1/3

independenttechresearch.orgBlog: Introducing the Participatory AI Network - Coalition for Independent Technology ResearchParticipatory AI Research Network How can community organizers, journalists, nonprofits, and academics partner with the public to develop evidence to improve people’s digital lives? That’s the motivat...

18 Sept

Here's some info about the Participatory AI Research Network: independenttechresearch.org/introducing-... 2/3

hrdag.orgThe Data are Clear: Public Engagement Improves AI ScienceStructural Zero Issue 06 Here’s what I’ve noticed: a lot of scientists and AI developers think that involving affected communities in AI research is probably the right thing to do, ethically. But they...

18 Sept

And here's how HRDAG is involved: hrdag.org/2025/11/25/t... 3/3

rafto.noThe Collegiate Body of Guardians of the Atrato RiverThe Rafto Prize 2026 is awarded to the Collegiate Body of Guardians of the Atrato River (CCGA) for their courageous fight against environmental destruction and for the protection of human rights in Co...

17 Sept

Our heartfelt congratulations to this year's winner of the Rafto Prize - the Collegiate Body of Guardians of the Atrato River! As a Rafto laureate, HRDAG welcomes you! www.rafto.no/en/the-rafto...

17 Sept

14 Sept

Statistics can be a force for good, but how? In this profile by @amstatnews.bsky.social HRDAG's director of research Patrick Ball shares how he got into human rights work and what advice he has for students who want to use statistics to make a difference. stattrak.amstat.org/2026/09/01/h...

hrdag.orgPodcast: Tech Freedom Coop is Protecting Critical Evidence“How can human rights and social justice advocates and investigators protect their data and technology infrastructure in an age of rising authoritarianism in the United States and abroad?” Justin Hen...

10 Sept

How can human rights advocates protect their data and technology infrastructure in an age of rising authoritarianism in the United States and abroad? Justin Hendrix of @techpolicypress.bsky.social interviews HRDAG's Patrick Ball and @invisible.institute 's Maheen Khan. hrdag.org/2026/09/10/t...

hrdag.orgThe entangled landscape of hardware and softwareI was first introduced to HRDAG when I met Megan at Aspiration’s Nonprofit Software Development conference. At the time I was looking to intern for an organization that combined my interests in social...

8 Sept

Our 2026 Human Rights Intern, Corinne Hess, reflects on her time at HRDAG and her work on infrastructure related to the Technology Freedom Cooperative. #techfreedomcoop hrdag.org/2026/09/08/e...

eventbrite.comPolice Decertification and Beyond: Using Police Misconduct DatabasesPolice Decertification and Beyond: Using Police Misconduct Records Databases to Advance Accountability

2 Sept

Tues, Sept 22, 6pm - HRDAG will co-sponsor a discussion at Loyola Law School (Los Angeles). Police Decertification + Beyond: Using Police Misconduct Databases. Tarak Shah will give a live demonstration of the Police Records Access Project database. Register: www.eventbrite.com/e/police-dec...

techpolicy.press'Technology Freedom Cooperative' To Build Infrastructure for Human Rights and Justice GroupsA conversation with Maheen Khan, director of technology at the Invisible Institute, and Patrick Ball, director of research at HRDAG.

1 Sept

HRDAG's director of research @vm-wylbur.bsky.social on the new #TechFreedomCoop

Tech Policy Press@techpolicypress.bsky.social

How can human rights investigators protect their data amid rising authoritarianism? Justin Hendrix speaks with Maheen Khan from the Invisible Institute and Patrick Ball from HRDAG about the new Technology Freedom Cooperative.

hrdag.orgTech Note on CLEAN: Teaching a small classifier to spend expensive attention wiselyThe Community Law Enforcement Accountability Network (CLEAN) initiative works with millions of pages of records released under California’s police transparency laws. Unfortunately, those pages do not ...

31 Aug

How to spend expensive attention wisely. Produced by the Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic, surfacing insights from the Police Records Access Project to support HRDAG and the Community Law Enforcement Accountability Network. With the UC Berkeley Law Clinical Program. hrdag.org/2026/08/26/t...

connectingcurrent.techCan data and AI help protect human rights and build peace?Community Call #17 in collaboration with IWGIA is about how civil society uses data analysis and machine learning to build peace and defend civic space.

28 Aug

Next Tuesday, Sept 1 -- Megan Price of HRDAG will be a guest on a Community Call about how civil society uses data analysis and machine learning to build peace and defend civic space. connectingcurrent.tech/can-data-and...

The book ON COURAGE quotes HRDAG's Patrick Ball. Here are some of his words.

Next week - September 1 - HRDAG's executive director Megan Price will be on Community Call to discuss how data and AI can build peace and protect human rights. connectingcurrent.tech/can-data-and...

spj.orgSPJ honors 2026 Sunshine Award recipients for advancing open governmentSociety of Professional Journalists, improving and protecting journalism since 1909

Thank you to the Society of Professional Journalists for recognizing the incredible work that went into the Police Records Access Project! www.spj.org/spj-honors-2...

20 Aug

“Civil society cannot depend on big tech companies to stand up to state pressure in defense of this vital data,” – Dr Patrick Ball, Director of Research at HRDAG #TechFreedomCoop

18 Aug

"There's a group in California called the Human Rights Data Analysis Group that build the world's largest human rights database..." Cory Doctorow cites HRDAG work in a conversation about artificial intelligence. www.instagram.com/reels/Da8Rvu...

10 Aug

"Obviously, the non-American world has a digital sovereignty problem..." Terrific post from Cory Doctorow about the new Technology Freedom Cooperative #TechFreedomCoop @doctorow.pluralistic.net pluralistic.net/2026/08/04/t...

6 Aug

Victims statements. Photographs of war crimes. Public records. Where do human rights orgs store these precious, vulnerable data? Learn how the #TechFreedomCoop is building shared tech infrastructure. hrdag.org/2026/08/04/t...

4 Aug

How can we protect sensitive human rights data from corporate interference? From political pressure? Learn how the #TechFreedomCoop is doing it with a decentralized storage network. hrdag.org/2026/08/04/t...

4 Aug

The Technology Freedom Cooperative is creating decentralized data storage to serve the needs of data-driven nonprofit organizations working on accountability and justice. hrdag.org/2026/08/04/h...

3 Aug

Data alone does not create accountability. Accountability comes from careful documentation, rigorous analysis, historical context, and the people courageous enough to insist that violence be counted in the first place.

hrdag.orgHRDAG Welcomes 2026 HRDAG Human Rights Fellow and InternHRDAG is pleased to announce our newest summer intern and fellow: Corinne Hess joins us as a Human Rights Intern, and Larissa Arreola Moreno joins us as a Statistics and Human Rights Fellow. Corinne…

31 July

Welcome to the HRDAG family, Larissa and Corinne! Our movement grows whenever we teach other researchers and statisticians how to work with human rights datasets. hrdag.org/2026/07/09/h...

youtube.comWandering Officer: Activists & Scholars Use Data for Police AccountabilityFor decades, law enforcement agencies across the United States have operated behind walls of secrecy—particularly when officers abuse their power or use lethal force. That opacity has real…

31 July

"What is the role of transparency in advancing police accountability and justice?" asks trina reynolds-tyler of Invisible Institute moderating HRDAG's event in Oakland, CA exploring how we use data about police misconduct to work toward justice. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGaE...

30 July

Human rights data is rarely perfect. But imperfect data can still reveal truth—when we ask careful questions, make uncertainty visible, and stay accountable to the communities behind the numbers.

hrdag.orgNaming Police Officers Who Kill in CaliforniaNew Functionality in the Police Records Access Project Highlights the Names of Individual Police Officers Oakland resident Erik Salgado was 23 years old when he was stopped by the California Highway…

Knowing the names of the officers engaged in violence and egregious use of force is a key part of HRDAG’s larger efforts to support accountability hrdag.org/2026/07/05/n...

Author Cory Doctorow raves about HRDAG in his most recent book, a Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI.

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arstechnica.comHow to burst the AI bubble: Strike at its rootsSci-fi author/tech journalist Cory Doctorow on his new book, The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI.

"They’ve worked on every high-profile war crimes trial in the century." -- Cory @doctorow.pluralistic.net Thank you for the kind words, Cory! arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026...

bookshop.orgThe Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence—Before It's Too LateAN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERNational Indie Bestseller"[Doctorow] resembles the great rock critics of an earlier era, a high-tech Greil Marcus or even a Lester Bangs." —Stephen Marche, The New…

Want to read the book? Order it today from Bookshop: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...?

Author Cory Doctorow raves about HRDAG in his most recent book, a Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI.

"I have a friend, Patrick Ball, who is the best programmer I know, and he founded and works at an NGO called the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG). They’re one of the most important NGOs that no one’s ever heard of...

"What they do is very rigorous statistical extrapolations of information that’s not in the record, about wars, civil wars, coups, oppressive states, and they’re used for truth and reconciliation, human rights tribunals, war crimes trials."

independenttechresearch.orgParticipatory AI Research Network - Coalition for Independent Technology ResearchParticipatory AI Research Network How can community organizers, journalists, nonprofits, and academics partner with the public to develop evidence to improve people’s digital lives? That’s the motivat...

28 July

AI research will shape everyone’s future, so the public should be actively involved. Researchers working on this issue can join a new coalition and help make participation part of the process.

J. Nathan Matias@natematias.bsky.social

From indigenous AI to worker organizing, communities are building evidence to improve lives - alongside journalists, scientists, & civil society. @thecoalition.bsky.social Participatory AI Research Network recently met to discuss our favorites. Join us! independenttechresearch.org/participator...

24 July

There are just a few days left to submit nominations for the 2026 John Maddox Prize. (HRDAG's Patrick Ball won in 2024!) johnmaddoxprize.awardstage.com#!/p0

hrdag.orgHRDAG - Human Rights Data Analysis GroupFrom time to time, we issue our own scientific reports that focus on the statistical aspects of the data analysis we have done in support of our partners. These reports are non-partisan, and they…

23 July

Looking for HRDAG research? Our publications focus on the statistical foundations of human rights data analysis, with advocacy led by our partners. hrdag.org/publications

hrdag.networkforgood.comPut Data Science to Work for Justice and Human RightsHuman Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) We are data scientists for human rights. We are non-partisan and non-profit. We seek opportunities where the debate hinges on a question of fact. Our work…

22 July

HRDAG provides the best scientific analysis of human rights data for our partners seeking justice and accountability in the United States and around the world. Support our work with a donation today: hrdag.networkforgood.com

21 July

HRDAG is pleased to announce our newest summer intern and fellow: Corinne Hess joins us as a Human Rights Intern, and Larissa Arreola Moreno joins us as a Statistics and Human Rights Fellow. hrdag.org/2026/07/09/h...

20 July

Nominations are open for the 2026 John Maddox Prize. Submit your nominations here for someone courageously advancing public discourse with sound science. (HRDAG's Patrick Ball won in 2024!) johnmaddoxprize.awardstage.com#!/p0