Accountability
Failures and successes of institutional and governmental accountability.
Collection by Charles Baldwin
The New York Times
It’s Time to Break Up Facebook
Summary · 20+ min · · What with data privacy scandals, fake news and Russian interference, Facebook finds itself in the middle of a growing storm. An increasing number of voices in US politics – as well as in economic and legal circles – have started to call for the breakup of the internet giant. Now Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has joined the chorus. He makes his case in a New York Times op-ed, which has become an instant must-read for anybody interested in the debate about the role of government in the social media space. · Shared by 407, including ❤️ Umair, Thomas Power, Adrienne Fichter, Tristan Harris, Molly Wood, Gerd Leonhard, Jeff Bussgang, Stewart Alsop, Mathew Ingram, Chris Messina, mrbrown, Richard Gutjahr, Gabriel Weinberg, John Battelle, rufuspollock, Cory Doctorow @pluralistic@mamot.fr, Azeem Azhar, Rand Fishkin, Matt Navarra, Hannes Grassegger
The New York Times
As Facebook Raised a Privacy Wall, It Carved an Opening for Tech Giants
16+ min · · Internal documents show that the social network gave Microsoft, Amazon, Spotify and others far greater access to people’s data than it has disclosed. · Shared by 303, including Claudia Sommer, Tristan Nitot - nitot chez framapiaf point org, Matt Navarra, anildash.com, Shoshana Zuboff, Oliver Reichenstein, John Battelle, Jane, Richard Gutjahr, NYTimes Communications, Antonio Vieira Santos, zeynep tufekci, MΛRC VIDΛL, Brad Brooks, Mathew Ingram, Azeem Azhar, Mike Butcher, Dan Gillmor is at mastodon.social/@dangillmor, zeldman, massimo mantellini
The New York Times
How McKinsey Has Helped Raise the Stature of Authoritarian Governments
20+ min · · At a time when democracies and their basic values are increasingly under attack, the iconic American company has sometimes served clients in ways that directly counter American interests. · Shared by 302, including Claudia Sommer, andrew chen, David Nagel, Merkstatt@troet.cafe 📯, Nico Luchsinger, Thomas Pleil, Bjorn Larsen, zeldman, Christian P. Stobbe, cecile noemie, Charles Baldwin, Ste Davies, Jochen Burkhard, Boas Ruh, Kelsey D. Atherton, now available on Bluesky, Vincenzo Tremonte, Liv 😷, Clemens M. Schuster
MIT Technology Review
This is how AI bias really happens—and why it’s so hard to fix
10 min · · Bias can creep in at many stages of the deep-learning process, and the standard practices in computer science aren’t designed to detect it. · Shared by 217, including Dave Nussbaum, Aimee Meifeu ✍️⚖️, Hendrik Dietrich, Vikram Dutt, Tom Connor, Charles Baldwin, Damien de France 🌍 🕊️🇺🇦, Michael Carroll, Andreas Staub, Dominik Grolimund, Javi Cantón @javicanton@mas.to, Thomas Power, Carly, Mila D'Antonio, Bernard Furiatti, Antonio Vieira Santos
The Wall Street Journal
Lyrics Site Genius.com Accuses Google of Lifting Its Content
3 min · · Genius Media Group says Google is lifting and republishing on its own platform the hip-hop and pop music lyrics found on Genius.com, resulting in a drop in traffic for the site. · Shared by 201, including Charles Baldwin, Rand Fishkin, Adam Tinworth, Mac McCann, Oliver Reichenstein, Vincenzo Tremonte, Josep M. Ganyet, ɐpuɐʎᴉW ᴉʇɐʍɥǝN, Benedict Evans, Balaji, Tim O'Reilly, Tibor Martini 🇺🇦 @tibor@mastodon.social, AJ Kohn
Guardian Tech
'They don't care': Facebook factchecking in disarray as journalists push to cut ties
7 min · · Journalists hired to help fix Facebook’s fake news problem say they have lost trust in the platform · Shared by 194, including Liliane Ferrari ™, Amber Mac, Mathew Ingram, #MuskOut (not parody), Javi Cantón @javicanton@mas.to, Richard Gutjahr, Christopher Lauer™, Serge K. Keller ❦, Frederic Filloux, Bjorn Larsen, Jörgen Camrath, Trey Tweets Into the Void, anildash.com, luis antónio santos, tante, Ⓓarío Macchi, Allison Arieff, Matt Navarra, Dr. John Grohol 🇺🇦, caroline sinders
The Wall Street Journal
You Give Apps Sensitive Personal Information. Then They Tell Facebook.
13+ min · · Millions of smartphone users confess their most intimate secrets to apps, including personal health information. Unbeknown to most people, in many cases that data is being shared with someone else: Facebook. · Shared by 159, including Liliane Ferrari ™, Mathew Ingram, Clemens M. Schuster, Simon Wüthrich, BrendanEich, MΛRC VIDΛL, @ShannaPeeples@mastodon.nl, Tristan Nitot - nitot chez framapiaf point org, Thomas Power, Massimo Banzi, Aleksandra Wisniewska, Jörgen Camrath, Azeem Azhar, Javi Cantón @javicanton@mas.to, Matt Navarra, DHH, Oliver Reichenstein, ɯoɔ ʇop pןɐʍuɐƃɐɹ uo ǝɯ puıɟ, Marcus Schwarze 🚀, Mark Kaigwa
ProPublica
How the IRS Was Gutted — ProPublica
20+ min · · An eight-year campaign to slash the agency’s budget has left it understaffed, hamstrung and operating with archaic equipment. The result: billions less to fund the government. That’s good news for corporations and the wealthy. · Shared by 156, including Vikram Dutt, Charles Baldwin, Bjorn Larsen, Yehuda Katz, Rand Fishkin, Neil Lewis, Jr., PhD, Dr. John Grohol 🇺🇦, Jeremy Caplan, Kevin M. Kruse, Esther Schindler, Richard Deitsch
WIRED
Google Tracks You Even If Location History's Off. Here's How to Stop It
6 min · · A new report shows that Google still tracks your location even if you thought you opted out. · Shared by 147, including Miguel, 📁𝐦𝐫𝐯𝐧, Javi Cantón @javicanton@mas.to, Yann “不停” Heurtaux ⏚ @shalf@mastodon.social, Kim Dik, Jane, Charles Baldwin, Amber Mac, Brad Brooks, Dominik Grolimund
NBC News
Millions of people uploaded photos to the Ever app. Then the company used them to develop facial recognition tools.
7 min · · “The app developers were not clear about their intentions," one Ever user said. "I believe it’s a huge invasion of privacy.” · Shared by 145, including Joan Lockwood, Azeem Azhar, Aimee Meifeu ✍️⚖️, Merkstatt@troet.cafe 📯, Scott Williams, Oliver Raduner, mastodon.social/@renestalder, Cory Doctorow @pluralistic@mamot.fr, OM, Charles Baldwin, Yvette Dubel, ACLU, Bjorn Larsen, Florian Hanke 🍎, Tobias Kopka, Kashmir Hill, Michael Duergner, Tibor Martini 🇺🇦 @tibor@mastodon.social
The New York Times
Apple Cracks Down on Apps That Fight iPhone Addiction
6 min · · Last year, with much fanfare, the tech giant unveiled a screen-time tracker of its own. Then it quietly began purging competitors from its store. · Shared by 144, including Forbes India, Eric Seufert, Charles Baldwin, Nichole, Oliver Raduner, Aimee Meifeu ✍️⚖️, Luca M. Sergio, Merkstatt@troet.cafe 📯, 📁𝐦𝐫𝐯𝐧, Thomas Pleil, Nir Eyal, dunschtig, DHH, Azeem Azhar, Brian Solis, Dominik Grolimund
The New York Times
Saudis’ Image Makers: A Troll Army and a Twitter Insider
8 min · · The kingdom silences dissent online by sending operatives to swarm critics. It also recruited a Twitter employee suspected of spying on users, interviews show. · Shared by 140, including Florian Hanke 🍎, Thomas Power, George M 🇪🇺, Jean-Patrick, Javi Cantón @javicanton@mas.to, Mark Kaigwa, Dan Gillmor is at mastodon.social/@dangillmor, Merkstatt@troet.cafe 📯, Kim Dik, luis antónio santos, Charles Baldwin, Tibor Martini 🇺🇦 @tibor@mastodon.social, Prof Michael E. Mann
Stratechery
A Regulatory Framework for the Internet
8 min · · Regulators need to stop blindly regulating “the Internet” and instead understand that every part of the Internet stack is different, and only one part is suffering from market failure. · Shared by 127, including Jochen Burkhard, Sylvie Reinhard, Chris Schultz✌️ & ❤️, Dominik Grolimund, Nir Eyal, Charles Baldwin, Wesley Fryer, Ph.D. 🌎🎙🚀 wesfryer.com/after, Mark Kaigwa, Devon ☀️, Chris Messina, Oscar MacDonald
Guardian Tech
I'm an ex-Facebook exec: don't believe what they tell you about ads
6 min · · I believe the social media giant could target ads at depressed teens and countless other demographics. But so what? · Shared by 123, including Liliane Ferrari ™, Guillaume Vendé, Charles Baldwin, Nitin Gupta, Kim Dik, Christian Müller, Matt Navarra, Thomas Pleil, Inurfacesuka Дедечка, Nir Eyal, Thomas Power, Eleanor | The Copywriter, Matthew J. Adams, Natacha Quester-Séméon Salomon, Peter Wennersten, Tris Hussey, Mathew Ingram, Lelio Simi
The Guardian
Revealed: Facebook’s global lobbying against data privacy laws
· Social network targeted legislators around the world, promising or threatening to withhold investment · Shared by 109, including Merkstatt@troet.cafe 📯, Leni "Lee" Krsova ⚔️, Philippe Surber, @grzewap@mastodon.social, Azeem Azhar, Clemens M. Schuster, Charles Baldwin, Thomas Power, Larry Balaclava, Cory Doctorow @pluralistic@mamot.fr, Luca Like, Bjorn Larsen, Richard Gutjahr, Rand Fishkin, Oliver Reichenstein
The New York Times
Opinion | The Poison on Facebook and Twitter Is Still Spreading
5 min · · Social platforms have a responsibility to address misinformation as a systemic problem, instead of reacting to case after case. · Shared by 109, including Ferit (at 🏠) 🌙, Wesley Fryer, Ph.D. 🌎🎙🚀 wesfryer.com/after, Jörgen Camrath, Claudia Sommer, Javi Cantón @javicanton@mas.to, DHH, Liliane Ferrari ™, John Battelle, ⎝Stéphan Lam⎠💬, Thomas Power, Charles Baldwin