Hey Sam, I'm a professor of tech ethics, and I'll do this job for free, here's my 100% serious recommendation: you can't solve these problems, the whole thing needs to be shut down. Take your billions and go do something else. Honestly. www.theverge.com/news/850537/...

Good news; a judge has blocked the detention of a technology researcher that the State Department had slated to deport. However, this is just the start of what will certainly be a longer-term challenge. What can we do about this? A thread. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/u...

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and hammers up to all who know what’s up!

Hey guys, is punishing human rights activists the government disagrees with good for free speech? Asking for a friend. www.state.gov/releases/off...

The government has broad authority to control admission but courts have held *repeatedly*, over more than half a century, that the First Amendment bars the government from denying visas to foreign citizens simply because it dislikes what they have to say. 1/ www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/b...

For years now, GOP leaders have gone round after round with “censorship industrial complex“ hearings that rehashed the old information and led nowhere, because the First Amendment exists. But now Rubio has the reins and is eager to try abusing immigration law to do what the constitution prohibits.

Four of the five individuals work with NGOs, the fifth — former EU regulator Thierry Breton — is being targeted for his work as an EU regulator and in particular, putting Elon Musk on notice of potential enforcement actions against X/Twitter.

The Trump admin has sanctioned five individuals for being part of the “censorship industrial complex”: the Orwellian misnomer for efforts to combat harassment and disinfo online. It’s an escalation of a clear trend: weaponizing immigration laws to persecute First Amendment-protected activities.

Chilling, sweeping, horrific, distorting of long-held jurisprudence protecting speech of citizens & non-citizens alike. So don't forget -- it's unconstitutional. www.state.gov/releases/off...

This is a serious escalation of the supposed war against “censorship”: in the name of free speech, five people are now having their visas revoked and are facing deportation. This is a narrative Bari Weiss’s Free Press was heavily involved in pushing, too.

Free research question for an enterprising economist!

All the 60 Minutes hooplaaside, I’ve now actually watched the segment that Bari Weiss tried to bury, and here’s what’s clear: The Trump Administration knowingly sent migrants to a concentration camp to be beaten and tortured. Once the drama settles, let us remember that THAT is the story here.

Every so often, the old truisms come true again (broken clocks, etc). Today, (the people of) the internet treated censorship as damage and routed around it.

This is a key dysfunction in the general discourse, which has been so heavily shaped by the way this stuff is marketed. I can’t help but think it’s intentional for sellers. Conflation lets their new tech ride the coattails ML etc & give impression that it is just as reliable but way better.

Across the country, communities are fighting back against Big Tech and preventing construction of power-hungry AI data centers in their backyards. In response, Big Tech is launching an all-out lobbying blitz. https://youtu.be/imtkNL4v2ks?si=OabmXBYpoINwEDPD

“‘My most daring idea is to refuse,’ she said to applause.”

my latest piece for @techpolicypress.bsky.social focuses on how #surveillance tech can chill the first amendment-protected rights of disabled people to engage in protest. protest is a vital check on authoritarianism, and everyone should be able to access it. www.techpolicy.press/surveillance...

This is a surgical dismantling of yet another dumb Matt Yglesias argument by a former clean energy exec and current Representative. This is the sort of thing that should make people stop listening to people like Yglesias. Read the whole thing.

Tech Policy Press Fellow Ariana Aboulafia highlights the perspectives of four professors teaching at the intersection of disability rights and technology on their experiences under the Trump Administration’s policies targeting higher education, including lost research support and chilled classrooms.

What Eric said 👇🏻 Also, TRUMP AMERICA AI Act may be the most preposterous backcronym yet, in a cursed year that has been chock full of preposterous backcronyms. (Don’t get me started on the hearing titles, either.)

The end goal is eugenicist. RFK and his ilk know that this will make vaccines more expensive and time-consuming — and therefore marginalized children are most likely to fall through the cracks. This is about killing kids who aren't born to privilege. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

They think writers can be replaced because they don't understand what writing is effective, yes, but don't discount the desire to cut human labor out of the process entirely, not just for "cost savings" but because the management class and especially the investor class just fucking hate humans.

Our government remains intent on letting American children die of preventable infectious diseases. I’m not sure what they’d be doing differently if they were actively trying to destroy this country.

Eric says it will "mess w/" the internet because he is too polite to say "totally fuck up."

JUST SAY NO Preach, @tressiemcphd.bsky.social

tired: a federal moratorium blocking states from regulating AI wired: local moratoriums blocking tech companies' AI-fueled resource grabs me for @techpolicypress.bsky.social with a big thanks to the folks I talked to and everyone in these fights across the US www.techpolicy.press/the-real-rac...

In partnership with the Wharton School, we have an awesome opening for a Knight Postdoctoral Fellow at UPenn, focused on media, censorship, marketing and tech. Amazing supervisors, data access, a cohort of like-minded scholars, and good pay/benefits. Apply by 1/11: infodem.upenn.edu//wharton-pos...

The Trump promise: a foreign policy you need a massive stroke to appreciate

The University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public is looking to bring on new postdoctoral scholars to join our research community starting in 2026-2027. Come collaborate w/ our amazing, interdisciplinary team working to understand & help people navigate our complex information ecosystem!

"Meta calculated that about 19% of that money – more than $3 billion – was coming from ads for scams, illegal gambling, pornography and other banned content, according to internal Meta documents reviewed by Reuters." www.reuters.com/investigatio...

As protests surge nationwide, AI surveillance tools, biometric identification, and mask bans are creating new barriers for disabled people seeking to safely exercise their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble, argues Tech Policy Press Fellow Ariana Aboulafia.

CDT President & CEO @alexreevegivens.bsky.social: “This executive order is designed to chill state-level action to provide oversight and accountability for the developers and deployers of #AI systems, while doing nothing to address the real and documented harms these systems can create.”

I understand that these things are confusing but I’m begging non-immigration reporters to take some time parsing the details. This piece refers to them both having visas and being green card holders, but those are *not* the same thing. Green cards aren’t visas and it’s a pretty important distinction

this is the dumbest idea I've ever heard and an absolute disservice to the incredible journalists still at The Washington Post

I am convinced that a general anti-big-tech sentiment that developed out of a post-COVID malaise has been subsumed under the banner of fighting AI. It's a little early to call, but for a more general social movement about privacy, labor rights, and community decay, we could probably do worse.

Per usual, @mmasnick.bsky.social offers astute analysis of the Bullshit Industrial Complex’s claims, this time regarding new H1B visa vetting policies. This sentence is 🌟: “This policy censors non-censors for not doing the thing that the White House and MAGA folks are actively doing every day.”

AI skepticism is much, much more widespread among the general public than both the accelerationists and X-risk/“AI safety” crowds (and their deep pockets) would have Dem leaders & staff/consultants believe.

AI is a lack of consent project, and we’ve now entered the lovebombing and smear campaign section of the engagements

Hany Farid, who invented PhotoDNA, was born in Germany to Egyptian parents. This particular development wouldn't affect him, but he's got to be the poster boy for why the current frothing frenzy of anti-immigrant and anti-T&S sentiment are so fucking stupid.

Between this and RFK, Jr.’s war on childhood vaccines, this administration sure seems intent on ensuring as many needless child deaths as possible. To state what should be obvious: Online safety, incl. for kids, requires content moderation/trust & safety.

Very cool and important job for someone in NYC!

Proud non-user of Spotify since forever.

Thrilled to announce the publication of our @rooseveltinstitute.org report that uncovers the policy roots of the current crises facing our news, information & communication systems. We argue that media reform must become central to a US pro-democracy movement. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

No Library Wrapped from us — we don’t track what you read. DCPL protects your privacy because it’s the law and the librarian way. 📚🔒

What is your favorite example of someone navigating our data-saturated world in a way that cares for others? More specifically, who should @jesgilbert.bsky.social and I be interviewing for our new book on #DataKindness?

This is WILD. TL;DR don’t blindly trust pre-prints www.wsj.com/economy/aida...

Dead 💀 Whoever made this please step forward for your award #teslatakedown