New from me: the downsides of data centers are already being reckoned with by lawmakers across the US, even as competition for the biggest tax breaks continues apace.

Just updated my @techpolicypress.bsky.social article on spyware to add the effective legal moves against FinFisher that were initiated by a complaint by NGOs including @netzpolitik.org, @rsf.org & @ecchr.bsky.social.

I thought the TikTok ban was an idiotic moral panic and a gross curtailment of expressive freedom, but I’m at least as uncomfortable about a scenario where a platform with 170m US users exists entirely on the personal sufferance of Donald Trump (or any president).

My latest @techpolicypress.bsky.social article:

There were a couple of new pieces of information out last week about the TikTok ban (remember that?), so we've updated my @techpolicypress.bsky.social timeline. techpolicy.press/a-tiktok-ban...

Really, Alan Turing Institute?

If ever a byline bio needed an asterisk... www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

In a dizzying year, the TikTok ban-or-sale law was passed, challenged, upheld, and halted. Now, as the platform's fate hinges on President Trump's dealmaking, Tim Bernard (@timbernard.me) reviews the twists and turns. A development could come this week, given an April 5 deadline for a deal:

Most researchers don’t believe AGI is coming any time soon. But policy makers are steering policy toward AGI anyway. In this article for Tech Policy Press, a look at the distortions the AGI Frame introduces to policymaking. #ai #criticalai #aipolicy In @techpolicypress.bsky.social

My thoughts on Congress's theory about TikTok and misinformation: I don't think that's how any of this works.

When it comes to the TikTok case, a number of key questions emerge from a review of the petitioners’ and government’s briefs to the Supreme Court, outlined here by @timbernard.bsky.social. How the Justices engage with these questions may give a good indication as to how they will rule.

For Tech Policy Press, Tim Bernard (@timbernard.bsky.social) read a selection of the Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) systemic risk assessments released in late November 2024 in compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), including those for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and X reports.

For those interested in #DSA VLOP systemic risk reports, here is a good summary for some of the big ones. @timbernard.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/reading-the-...

Tim Bernard (@timbernard.bsky.social) is reading a selection of the Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) systemic risk assessments released in late November 2024. Today's update includes TikTok.

Tim Bernard (@timbernard.bsky.social) is reading a selection of the Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) systemic risk assessments released in late November 2024. Today's update includes YouTube. www.techpolicy.press/reading-the-...

"By translating the risks into problem areas that already coincide with its policies, Meta may be missing some aspects and, in effect, putting its thumb on the scale to lead to a conclusion that it is already successfully performing mitigation efforts." - @timbernard.bsky.social

Tim Bernard is reading a selection of the Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) systemic risk assessments released in late November 2024 in compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA). This first installment considers Facebook and Instagram reports:

Sorry for the long explainer, but the fact that we have demonized ads & behavioral advertising is one of the dumbest things to come out of the techlash. It fails to acknowledge advertisings crucial role in media pluralism for ALL OF HISTORY; our overcorrection for it is part of why we're here 5/5

This feed has posts from your followers without any of their retweets.

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We're assembling a starter pack of Tech Policy Press contributors on Bluesky! Follow the folks in our community for perspectives on a range of issues at the intersection of technology and democracy!

If you want to keep track of online safety policy in the UK (and key developments beyond the UK), this newsletter is incredibly useful - and it doesn't hesitate to include commentary that deviates from the org's own perspective.

@techpolicypress.bsky.social, @noupside.bsky.social & I put out an analysis of four major platforms' moderation policies for election day and beyond. Thanks @justinhendrix.bsky.social @timbernard.bsky.social Diane Chang & Gabby Miller!

Pleased to have contributed to this timely research.

DSA speculation: Even big NGOs may prefer to just submit cases to ODS bodies instead of becoming trusted flaggers: similar benefit of forcing platforms to respond but *far* less burdensome (though may be slower) @daphnek.bsky.social @hutko.bsky.social @danielholznagel.bsky.social

For the past nearly four years, researchers from various disciplines have explored the relationship between social media and the January 6, 2021 insurrection in Washington DC. What does their work tell us? Dean Jackson, @justinhendrix.bsky.social, and @timbernard.bsky.social reviewed the findings:

Article 21 of the DSA sets out a mechanism by which tech platform users can resolve disputes over content moderation and other policy decisions through certified “Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement“ (ODS) bodies. The Oversight Board just launched one. @timbernard.bsky.social considers it.

Starter pack: go.bsky.app/UxQCnfV. Should have all 122 in there, but a couple of the handles are misbehaving in search so a chance something is amiss.

A law about political ads with over 80% support amongst both Democrats and Republicans? More on this in my writeup of the new @techpolicypress.bsky.social poll

A trend worth following...

New York's SAFE for Kids Act targets social media addiction. What does the law do, and will it withstand scrutiny in court? @timbernard.bsky.social looks at the details:

My review of Ofcom's most recent consultation package highlights some flaws at the heart of the Online Safety Act, in particular, how the Safety by Design framework, while surely valuable, is ill-suited for imposing through regulation.

I'm reading the new Ofcom guidance, and have a hypothesis that algorithmically demoting content makes complete sense from an internal platform perspective, but is basically incoherent from a regulatory mandate perspective.

@timbernard.bsky.social writes that a report and panel discussion produced by New America's Open Technology Institute advances the debate over age verification and whether it can keep kids safer online.

The American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) has some details that would impact how minors’ data is used, and could affect some state laws. @timbernard.bsky.social looks at the details:

I've been saying for years that this is America's premier culinary contribution

My latest article at @techpolicypress.bsky.social: an in-depth look at yet another state child safety bill that bears close resemblance to other blocked laws.

Excellent suite of test questions for child safety laws from Tim Bernard in Tech Policy Press, including - Is compliance well-defined? - How have similar laws fared? - Are there industry winners? techpolicy.press/eight-questi...

My latest Tech Policy Press piece, with some enduring lessons I learned from the process of analyzing a ton of children's online harms laws.

If you're in T&S or VC, you should definitely read Duco's recent report on investing in the T&S vendor sector; if you want a sense of the report's context and importance, take a look at my latest piece @techpolicypress.bsky.social.

Very happy to share my new white paper for @stanfordcyber.bsky.social's Program on Platform Regulation

If governments are going to require transparency reporting on foundation models, what should those reports look like? With reference to social media transparency reports, a new paper offers guidance, writes Tim Bernard @timbernard.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/constructing...

Americans are more likely than people in any of the other 26 countries we surveyed to say that social media has been more of a 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 for democracy in their country. pewrsr.ch/3SREz4v

Today in "Google your Acronyms before you start using them!"

Generative AI, free speech, and public discourse: speakers at a Columbia event say universities and governments must keep industry in check on AI, writes Tim Bernard @timbernard.bsky.social. With reference to @jameeljaffer.bsky.social, @jtlg.bsky.social, @camillefrancois.bsky.social, et al.

My latest @techpolicypress.bsky.social

A new paper suggests that LLMs can be used to easily develop effectively microtargeted political ads at scale, writes Tim Bernard @timbernard.bsky.social. www.techpolicy.press/study-sugges...

How do US adults use social media? @timbernard.bsky.social extracts a few answers and a big question from Pew Research Center’s Americans’ Social Media Usage Survey: www.techpolicy.press/how-do-us-ad...

Today in "I guess content moderation is harder than I thought."