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VOICE ARCHIVE

Jonathan Mayer

@jonathanmayer
20 posts
2023-04-22
Since today is the blue check apocalypse, here's a new research paper on Twitter's paid account “verification.” What we learned: 1) Most people don't understand what blue checks now mean. 2) Paid accounts are disproportionately crypto bros, Elon stans, new, and conservative. https://twitter.com/...
2023-04-22 View on X
The Verge

Twitter begins removing blue checkmarks from legacy verified accounts, fulfilling one of Elon Musk's long-stated plans; Musk has called the system “corrupt”

Elon already took away the blue check from some publications like the The New York Times … Caroline Giegerich : The Twitter check shakedown has begun.  Twitter has officially begun...

Since today is the blue check apocalypse, here's a new research paper on Twitter's paid account “verification.” What we learned: 1) Most people don't understand what blue checks now mean. 2) Paid accounts are disproportionately crypto bros, Elon stans, new, and conservative. https://twitter.com/...
2023-04-22 View on X
Mashable

In a campaign called #BlockTheBlue, some Twitter users, including popular ones like @dril, are asking people to block anyone who subscribes to Twitter Blue

After Elon Musk removed legacy verified users' checkmarks, Twitter's biggest users are blocking everyone who pays.

2023-04-21
Since today is the blue check apocalypse, here's a new research paper on Twitter's paid account “verification.” What we learned: 1) Most people don't understand what blue checks now mean. 2) Paid accounts are disproportionately crypto bros, Elon stans, new, and conservative. https://twitter.com/...
2023-04-21 View on X
The Verge

Twitter begins removing blue checkmarks from legacy verified accounts, fulfilling one of Elon Musk's long-stated plans; Musk has called the system “corrupt”

The change is apparent on Twitter accounts for several Verge writers and other journalists like LA Times reporter Matt Pearce …

2022-01-31
Spotify has a serious conflict of interest with Joe Rogan and COVID-19 misinformation. It also has awful platform policies. Here's a comparison... Facebook and Twitter: you can't make false claims about treatments Spotify: you can't encourage drinking bleach, everything else 🤷‍♂️
2022-01-31 View on X
Spotify

Spotify publishes its long-standing Platform Rules and says it is working to add a content advisory to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19

A decade ago, we created Spotify to enable the work of creators around the world to be heard and enjoyed by listeners around the world.

2022-01-25
Today, four attorneys general are suing Google for its shady location privacy settings. A few reasons the litigation is remarkable: this is bipartisan, the complaints invoke dark patterns, and the AGs make new arguments for why dark patterns are unlawful. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
2022-01-25 View on X
Washington Post

District of Columbia, Texas, Washington, and Indiana AGs sue Google for allegedly deceiving users to gain access to their location data from at least 2014

it's actually one of several state lawsuits that all contend Google's privacy settings are purposefully confusing, all under different consumer protection laws https://www.theverge...

2022-01-11
A followup report indicates T-Mobile's blocking may only be for customers who have content filtering affirmatively enabled on their service plan. If that's right, the problem isn't so much a net neutrality issue as a poorly designed and explained feature. https://tmo.report/...
2022-01-11 View on X
9to5Mac

Report: European carriers voice opposition to Apple's Private Relay, as T-Mobile and others begin blocking the VPN-like service in the US and parts of Europe

Earlier today, a report indicated that some European carriers were blocking the Private Relay feature introduced by Apple with iOS 15.

T-Mobile is reportedly blocking iCloud Private Relay for iPhones. If that's right, there's a potential FTC problem. Why? Because T-Mobile publicly promised to not block access to lawful applications. Breaching that promise could be a deceptive practice. https://9to5mac.com/... https://twitter.com/...
2022-01-11 View on X
9to5Mac

Report: European carriers voice opposition to Apple's Private Relay, as T-Mobile and others begin blocking the VPN-like service in the US and parts of Europe

Earlier today, a report indicated that some European carriers were blocking the Private Relay feature introduced by Apple with iOS 15.

2021-08-21
We built an experimental system for detecting child sexual abuse material in encrypted images—and concluded it was dangerous. Then Apple announced a nearly identical system. Thanks to @washingtonpost for letting @anunaykul and me share our perspective. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
2021-08-21 View on X
Washington Post

Researchers who built an Apple-like system to identify CSAM in e2e encrypted online services say they abandoned it due to numerous abuse and misuse concerns

Jonathan Mayer is an assistant professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton University.

2021-08-10
Apple's answer about government demands is difficult to reconcile with its litigation position against FBI & DOJ. Just 5 years ago, Apple swore in court filings that if it built a capability to access encrypted data, that capability would be used far beyond its original context. https://twitter.com/...
2021-08-10 View on X
Stratechery

Apple's plan to find CSAM should have centered around scanning images on iCloud servers, not on users' devices, where there is a greater expectation of privacy

including a number of non-obvious but critical ones. It's also why hypos as a threat assessment tool will only get you so far. https://twitter.com/... Greg Howell / @g_howell : @ma...

Apple's new FAQ on CSAM detection is disappointing. The document uses misleading phrasing to avoid explaining false positives. And the FAQ says little about how Apple will ensure the hashes are only CSAM and the same for all users. This is marketing. https://www.apple.com/...
2021-08-10 View on X
9to5Mac

Apple publishes a CSAM FAQ to address misconceptions and concerns about photo scanning

Apple has responded to misconceptions and concerns about its photo scanning announcements by publishing a CSAM FAQ - answering frequently asked questions about the features. Source...

Apple's answer about government demands is difficult to reconcile with its litigation position against FBI & DOJ. Just 5 years ago, Apple swore in court filings that if it built a capability to access encrypted data, that capability would be used far beyond its original context. https://twitter.com/...
2021-08-10 View on X
9to5Mac

Apple publishes a CSAM FAQ to address misconceptions and concerns about photo scanning

Apple has responded to misconceptions and concerns about its photo scanning announcements by publishing a CSAM FAQ - answering frequently asked questions about the features. Source...

Apple's new FAQ on CSAM detection is disappointing. The document uses misleading phrasing to avoid explaining false positives. And the FAQ says little about how Apple will ensure the hashes are only CSAM and the same for all users. This is marketing. https://www.apple.com/...
2021-08-10 View on X
Stratechery

Apple's plan to find CSAM should have centered around scanning images on iCloud servers, not on users' devices, where there is a greater expectation of privacy

including a number of non-obvious but critical ones. It's also why hypos as a threat assessment tool will only get you so far. https://twitter.com/... Greg Howell / @g_howell : @ma...

2021-08-06
“Had you honored your commitment to contact us in advance, we would have pointed out that the consent decree does not bar Facebook from creating exceptions for good-faith research in the public interest.” Good on @FTC for quickly correcting this nonsense. https://www.ftc.gov/...
2021-08-06 View on X
Washington Post

In a letter to Zuckerberg, the FTC called Facebook's initial claim it cut off NYU researchers' access to comply with an FTC privacy agreement “inaccurate”

The Federal Trade Commission has dismissed as “inaccurate” Facebook's claim that it cut off a group of researchers' access …

2021-08-05
Outrageous: Facebook is shutting down NYU's independent advertising accountability research, on the pretext that the Federal Trade Commission requires that step. Part of a long-running pattern of obstructing academic research and investigative journalism. https://about.fb.com/...
2021-08-05 View on X
Bloomberg

Facebook says it has disabled the accounts, apps, Pages, and access to its APIs for researchers running NYU's Ad Observatory Project, citing TOS violations

whose ads are already public and whose data Facebook stores in a public archive. https://www.protocol.com/... Dell Cameron / @dellcam : NEW: Senate Intel Chair @MarkWarner condemns...

Facebook's position also has concerning free speech implications. This type of crowdsourced research depends on speech: users reporting their own experiences on the platform. Facebook wants to gatekeep how users record and relate what they see on Facebook. https://twitter.com/...
2021-08-05 View on X
Wired

Mozilla's analysis says Facebook's justifications for cutting off access to researchers running NYU's Ad Observatory project “simply do not hold water”

The company says privacy concerns forced it to block access for a team of academics.  Whose privacy, exactly? Source: The Mozilla Blog .

Outrageous: Facebook is shutting down NYU's independent advertising accountability research, on the pretext that the Federal Trade Commission requires that step. Part of a long-running pattern of obstructing academic research and investigative journalism. https://about.fb.com/...
2021-08-05 View on X
Wired

Mozilla's analysis says Facebook's justifications for cutting off access to researchers running NYU's Ad Observatory project “simply do not hold water”

The company says privacy concerns forced it to block access for a team of academics.  Whose privacy, exactly? Source: The Mozilla Blog .

2021-08-04
Outrageous: Facebook is shutting down NYU's independent advertising accountability research, on the pretext that the Federal Trade Commission requires that step. Part of a long-running pattern of obstructing academic research and investigative journalism. https://about.fb.com/...
2021-08-04 View on X
Bloomberg

Facebook says it has disabled the accounts, apps, Pages, and access to its APIs for researchers running NYU's Ad Observatory Project, citing TOS violations

- Company says researchers of political ads were scraping data  — NYU's Ad Observatory got cease-and-desist letter last October Source: About Facebook .

2021-06-26
Quantitative research is essential for understanding tech policy problems and for holding platforms accountable. Here's the problem: methods and data often aren't adequate. @mozilla and my group at @PrincetonCITP are launching an initiative to change that. https://rally.mozilla.org/
2021-06-26 View on X
Engadget

Mozilla launches Rally, a Firefox plugin that lets users share browsing data with researchers studying the web, starting with researchers from Princeton

Big Tech has built its success by exploiting your data.

2019-09-10
Today's 9th Circuit decision in hiQ v. LinkedIn is huge for CFAA reform. It's also huge for tech competition. The panel recognized that firms might establish *affirmative rights* to scrape and repurpose public data from competitors and platforms. http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/ ...
2019-09-10 View on X
Reuters

Federal appeals court rejects LinkedIn's effort to stop hiQ Labs from scraping public profile data, reaffirming a ruling from August 2017

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters :

The panel was rightly sensitive to the competition backdrop. From the opinion: “[G]iving companies like LinkedIn free rein to decide, on any basis, who can collect and use data . . . risks the possible creation of information monopolies that would disserve the public interest.”
2019-09-10 View on X
Reuters

Federal appeals court rejects LinkedIn's effort to stop hiQ Labs from scraping public profile data, reaffirming a ruling from August 2017

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters :