NEW: @aarp.org bulletin digs into the danger of online scams that are increasingly made worse by the growing role of AI. The article includes an examination of TTP’s research on the prevalence of deepfake scam ads on Meta platforms targeting older Americans.

NEW: Following TTP’s August 2025 report on how Meta funds and uses groups like the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) to help shift the narrative around its products’ impact on kids, the PTA has announced an end to its Meta partnership—citing “heightened public scrutiny.”

NEW: Elon Musk has signaled support for the recent anti-government protests in Iran. But a TTP investigation shows that X appears to be providing premium service to an array of Iranian officials and state-controlled media organizations that have been targeted by U.S. sanctions.

NEW: Online social casinos and sweepstakes casino games can leave users deeply in debt. A new TTP report details how Facebook—a leading platform for these games—helps attract and hook players while collecting a slice of the revenue for itself.

Update: After TTP informed Apple and Google of the dozens of “nudify” apps in their stores, both companies removed many of them. Apple took down 27, Google 31. But the swift takedown—and tacit admission the apps broke store rules—raises serious questions about their approval processes.

After CNBC and @ttp-updates.bsky.social contacted Apple and Google about dozens of nudify apps on their respective app stores, the two companies removed dozens of these services from their platforms, but several remain www.cnbc.com/2026/01/27/a... Check out this report by @lolavkm.bsky.social

NEW: Apple and Google ban apps that create sexualized images. But a new TTP report found dozens of “nudify” apps in the companies’ stores that can digitally remove the clothes from women, rendering them naked or in scant clothing.

As Meta touts a new policy today to keep Teen Accounts safe, let’s not forget that even with its purported tight controls, harmful content still finds its way through. A TTP report last year found that this even included extremely violent fight content.

On Apple and Google’s failure to police their own app store rules, @lopatto.bsky.social notes that Apple’s promise to “protect” users is its basis for justifying its monopolistic control of the store. Yet Apple still fails, as TTP's recent report on apps for sanctioned entities demonstrated.

A judge rejected the appeal of an anti-government extremist who argued that his "boogaloo boi" Facebook activity shouldn't have been used to convict him in the 2020 killing of a federal officer. As TTP research showed, the boogaloo movement is inextricably linked to such activity.

NEW: Apple’s App Store hosts dozens of apps for U.S.-sanctioned entities, including Russian banks propping up Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and a Chinese paramilitary group linked to human rights abuses. TTP also found a smaller number in the Google Play Store (18 vs Apple’s 52).

In a new podcast, @thestar.com reporters Ben Mussett and Omar Mosleh talk about their report into Meta drug ads that led to them receiving cocaine and oxycodone in the mail. TTP’s research has shown the frequency of these ads, and their reporting paints a shocking picture of the real-world harm.

New court filings show that when a former Instagram exec joined the company in 2020, she was shocked at the company’s lax approach to sex trafficking activity and child safety. That same year, a TTP report documented how Facebook was widely used by predators to target children.

These revelations follow a TTP report from last month which showed scammers spending millions on Facebook ads that use deepfake videos of President Trump, AOC, Bernie Sanders, Elon Musk, and other political figures to hawk fake government benefits. www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/met...

NEW: Meta is using a range of influence tactics to counter growing concerns that social media platforms like Instagram can be harmful to teens’ health and safety. www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/ins...

NEW: a TTP report reveals how Google—which at one time spent the most on lobbying of any U.S. corporation—employed an obscure legal strategy that reduced the amount of lobbying spending it discloses under federal law by removing executive lobbying from disclosures.

Crypto miners and data centers got sweetheart energy deals in Texas, premised on the idea that boosted grid capacity could serve the state by being redirected in times of crisis. But now that a new law is set to make some emergency shutoffs mandatory, the industry has concerns.

ICYMI: TTP recently published an update to our Big Tech Funding Database, which serves as a one-stop-shop for information on what third-party groups receive funding from Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple.

NEW: Google has sharply reduced its support for nonprofit groups devoted to diversity, equity, and inclusion, in what appears to be another sign that the company is falling in line with President Trump’s anti-DEI crusade, TTP has found.

Yesterday, @everytown.bsky.social published a new report investigating “YouTube’s New Efforts to Stop Gun Sales.” Before auditing the enforcement of YouTube’s gun sale linking policy, Everytown cites past research into the platform’s promotion of gun content, including a 2023 TTP report.

Recently, TikToker Sarah Palmyra recounted an incident where police stopped her Uber driver, only to reveal he was driving under a false identity. In April, TTP exposed dozens of Facebook groups where users openly bought and rented Uber driver accounts under other people’s IDs.

NEW: Apple and Google’s app stores continue to offer VPNs that are surreptitiously owned by Chinese companies, over 6 weeks after TTP first identified them. The latest findings also show Apple and Google may be profiting from these apps by taking a cut of subscription revenue.

Today, @warren.senate.gov sent a letter to Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent and Sec. of State Marco Rubio asking whether Treasury officials have taken any action after TTP’s recent report revealed that a number of U.S.-sanctioned terrorists appear to have paid, premium accounts on Elon Musk's X.

NEW: TTP found premium blue checkmark accounts for multiple terrorists and others under OFAC-enforced sanctions. Some of these accounts even had an “ID verified” badge, requested tips, and offered subscriptions. 🧵 www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/u.s...

As @ajdellinger.com wrote this week in @gizmodo.com, Bitcoin mining is more expensive than ever. Yet, that doesn't mean some of the biggest mining operators can't still get rich -- thanks, in part, to deals some struck to do nothing more than sell the energy they buy back to the grid at a mark-up.

Notably, two of the lawyers representing Uber are former FTC chair Tim Muris and former FTC commissioner Christine Wilson. This revolving door activity would be shocking, if it wasn't so common. A 2019 @publiccitizen.bsky.social study found *over 3/4* top FTC officials had revolving door conflicts.

A new TTP investigation found dozens of black market Facebook groups where users can buy or rent Uber driver accounts. This illicit trade not only violates Meta’s policies against fraud, but it also puts passengers and customers at risk. www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/for...

In 2022, TTP's Katie Paul wrote in @fastcompany.com that Elon taking over Twitter would lead companies like Meta to copy any content moderation backsliding. With fact-checking now over, and X's Community Notes openly copied, Meta's not even being subtle about it. www.fastcompany.com/90818862/elo...

Apple and Google app stores host VPNs linked to sanctioned Chinese group https://www.ft.com/content/709df467-7a96-4d2a-a9f6-18242fcb0ddf

A new TTP investigation reveals that 1/5 of the top 100 free VPNs in the U.S. Apple App Store in 2024 were surreptitiously owned by Chinese companies—which may be forced to hand over data to their govt. Some traced back to a US-sanctioned firm with links to the Chinese military.

SpaceX reportedly has a secret backdoor for Chinese investment

“Careless People” contains lessons for lawmakers looking to hold Meta accountable, writes @yaeleisenstat.bsky.social of Cybersecurity for Democracy. This is a company that has misled lawmakers at every turn and sacrificed user safety for profit. Transparency is only the first step.

TikTok deleted 25 videos that I flagged were falsely claiming green card holders had been banned from entering or leaving the United States starting on March 21st. The videos had been seen more than 21 million times. fakedup.org/tiktok-has-a...

Remember when Meta built a similar program for civil society organizations to report posts calling for violence? Here's what happened: Meta announced partnerships around the world, took a victory lap, and did nothing.

US-based tech companies are creating a dangerous feedback loop with poorly-moderated LLMs, which are being used to replace real fact-checkers and civil society watchdogs. “It’s so circular, and the errors just keep repeating and amplifying,” @marle.bsky.social tells @eileenguo.bsky.social.

ICYMI: Meta is still working with independent fact-checkers in Australia, but its US lobbyists are working behind the scenes to dismantle global tech regulations. Read more in TTP's latest newsletter, here: techtransparencyproject.substack.com/p/persuasive...

This is insanity. Zuckerberg was set to be deposed for multiple days last week in this lawsuit where he allegedly overpaid FTC (and SEC same day) to the tune of $5B to limit his liability ...and DE Governor is changing laws and briefing Meta senior staff on an emergency Sunday meeting to calm them?

Data centers are guzzling energy from the grid, which can cause problems when they switch to on-site generators in response to small disruptions. In Texas, these shutdowns were responsible for over 30 near-miss grid incidents since 2020, according to a new review of ERCOT filings by Reuters.

After news broke that Meta may pull a Musk and leave Delaware, the state’s Gov. invited Meta corp. secretary, policy director & attorneys to urgent weekend meetings. Two weeks later, Delaware legislators were asked to vote on a bill to overhaul the state’s corporate law. www.cnbc.com/2025/03/19/m...

At least five members of congress have purchased stock in Palantir since the inauguration, @donnydonny.bsky.social reports. Already, the company has positioned itself to benefit from the gutting of federal agencies. For some lawmakers, it looks like a good investment.

These predicted outcomes by Google's researchers are also interesting, given that our reporting into CAI found excesses of pro-anorexia bots + bots claiming to have mental health expertise that encouraged us not to seek human help. futurism.com/ai-chatbots-... futurism.com/character-ai...

Google researchers warned that “persuasive” AI could harm vulnerable users, including children struggling with social isolation. Now, Google won't tell @mharrisondupre.bsky.social if its leaders were aware of this research when they struck a deal with an AI chatbot product linked to teen suicides.

There's a lot going on, but we should not let this slip under the radar—Google and OpenAI are cynically seizing on the Trump admin's hawkish, US-first AI policy instincts to make a play at gutting artists' copyright protections once and for all. www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/openai-and...

REMINDER: TikTok built its time limit tools to “improv[e] public trust in the TikTok platform via media coverage”—not actually reduce the time teens spent on the app. This information was only released due to faulty redactions made by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office.

Meta has become a vocal critic of Chinese influence on tech. But that was only after the Chinese government rejected its offer to build a censored Facebook, hand over user data and shut down dissidents, a whistleblower says. Scoop by @naominix.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

ICYMI: TikTok has announced a new set of tools to help teens “build balanced digital habits.” Of course, the company’s own research (which they’ve been forced to reveal in lawsuits) shows that these interventions have a negligible impact on user behavior.

Meta has approved more advertisements for illicit drugs & firearms lately, despite lawmakers’ increased focus on drug trafficking and the opioid epidemic. Here’s a look at what TTP found this week, starting with an ad for guns that linked to Telegram:

More Speech, Fewer Mistakes: Facebook is selling ads that look like a message notification, with a shortened fb[.]me link that sends people out to some type of malware/phishing scheme.

ICYMI: Peter Thiel’s associates are already working to reshape federal agencies, and their work extends far beyond DOGE. Now, @sooophie.bsky.social and @jamietarabay.bsky.social have published a list of Thiel’s allies in government, which will be updated as more names emerge.