Amy Sample Ward
@amysampleward.bsky.social
they/them | Co-author of "The Tech that Comes Next: How Changemakers, Philanthropists, and Technologists can build an equitable world" with Afua Bruce | CEO at NTEN | Still believe a better world is possible.
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
An article in the NYT today revealed Meta’s plan to take advantage of current political turmoil to sneak facial recognition into their smart glasses without enforcement bodies or privacy advocates noticing. But EPIC has noticed—and is ensuring that enforcers do, too. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:38 PM
An article in the NYT today revealed Meta’s plan to take advantage of current political turmoil to sneak facial recognition into their smart glasses without enforcement bodies or privacy advocates noticing. But EPIC has noticed—and is ensuring that enforcers do, too. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
Joseph Gordon-Levitt made a 12-minute response video to people mad at him supporting mass surveillance and censorship, and somehow got even MORE wrong about Section 230 than his original congressional testimony.
My Response To Joseph Gordon-Levitt
YouTube video by Taylor Lorenz
youtu.be
February 13, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Joseph Gordon-Levitt made a 12-minute response video to people mad at him supporting mass surveillance and censorship, and somehow got even MORE wrong about Section 230 than his original congressional testimony.
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
30 countries use mail voting
February 12, 2026 at 9:21 PM
30 countries use mail voting
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
I brought an actual desk out into the snow and gathered a bunch of my neighbors to sing this anti-ICE protest song.
On the desk is:
-A mug from the North Dakota AFL-CIO I happened to have in my cabinet, containing two (2) pride flags
-A photo of Anne Feeney
-A sign that reads "Abolish ICE"
On the desk is:
-A mug from the North Dakota AFL-CIO I happened to have in my cabinet, containing two (2) pride flags
-A photo of Anne Feeney
-A sign that reads "Abolish ICE"
Evan Greer - "You Will Have to Come Through Us" [Tiny Desk 2026]
YouTube video by Evan Greer
youtu.be
February 11, 2026 at 2:45 AM
I brought an actual desk out into the snow and gathered a bunch of my neighbors to sing this anti-ICE protest song.
On the desk is:
-A mug from the North Dakota AFL-CIO I happened to have in my cabinet, containing two (2) pride flags
-A photo of Anne Feeney
-A sign that reads "Abolish ICE"
On the desk is:
-A mug from the North Dakota AFL-CIO I happened to have in my cabinet, containing two (2) pride flags
-A photo of Anne Feeney
-A sign that reads "Abolish ICE"
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"We build our world. We can build it differently."
"We build our world. We can build it differently."
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"Where are your citations?"
"Where are your citations?"
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"No, you can't leave that here."
"No, you can't leave that here."
February 7, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"We build our world. We can build it differently."
"We build our world. We can build it differently."
Local #PDX area tech + social good friends, there's still time to join us this afternoon to help launch the Portland Nonprofit Tech Club! Come network, help suggest future topics/speakers, and spend some time with good people.
www.nten.org/connect/comm...
www.nten.org/connect/comm...
February 4, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Local #PDX area tech + social good friends, there's still time to join us this afternoon to help launch the Portland Nonprofit Tech Club! Come network, help suggest future topics/speakers, and spend some time with good people.
www.nten.org/connect/comm...
www.nten.org/connect/comm...
Thank you @wyden.senate.gov (see thread) - we need everyone joining these efforts. Surveillance tech is fueling violence across our country and communities. Call on your elected leaders to stop it: www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-f...
January 27, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Thank you @wyden.senate.gov (see thread) - we need everyone joining these efforts. Surveillance tech is fueling violence across our country and communities. Call on your elected leaders to stop it: www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-f...
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
At a time when millions of families are already struggling with the rising cost of living, the FCC should be focused on making connectivity more affordable.
Instead, it is erecting new barriers that risk raising phone and internet bills for the people who can least afford it. 🧵
Instead, it is erecting new barriers that risk raising phone and internet bills for the people who can least afford it. 🧵
January 27, 2026 at 9:04 PM
At a time when millions of families are already struggling with the rising cost of living, the FCC should be focused on making connectivity more affordable.
Instead, it is erecting new barriers that risk raising phone and internet bills for the people who can least afford it. 🧵
Instead, it is erecting new barriers that risk raising phone and internet bills for the people who can least afford it. 🧵
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
Congress claimed it was passing the "TikTok ban" bill to protect American data privacy, but the results from last week's deal to save the US version of the short-form video app show anything but. Read the latest from @publicknowledge.bsky.social Director of Government Affairs Sara Collins:
Congress Picked a Fight With TikTok When It Should Have Fixed Tech Policy
Congress' bipartisan mobilization for the so-called "TikTok ban" was a missed opportunity for American data privacy.
publicknowledge.org
January 26, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Congress claimed it was passing the "TikTok ban" bill to protect American data privacy, but the results from last week's deal to save the US version of the short-form video app show anything but. Read the latest from @publicknowledge.bsky.social Director of Government Affairs Sara Collins:
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
THREAD: 404 Media has been covering ICE and the technology they've been using to surveil and raid "targets", detain people based on a flawed facial recognition app, and lie about violence on the streets.
They have established itself as an agency that cannot be trusted to live in or present reality.
They have established itself as an agency that cannot be trusted to live in or present reality.
DHS Is Lying To You About ICE Shooting a Woman
At least four videos show what really happened when ICE shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday. DHS has established itself as an agency that cannot be trusted to live in or present reality.
www.404media.co
January 25, 2026 at 5:09 PM
THREAD: 404 Media has been covering ICE and the technology they've been using to surveil and raid "targets", detain people based on a flawed facial recognition app, and lie about violence on the streets.
They have established itself as an agency that cannot be trusted to live in or present reality.
They have established itself as an agency that cannot be trusted to live in or present reality.
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
NEW: ICE is asking companies to provide information about “commercial Big Data and Ad Tech” products that could “directly support investigations activities,” reports @carolinehaskins.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/ice-as...
ICE Asks Companies About ‘Ad Tech and Big Data’ Tools It Could Use in Investigations
A new federal filing from ICE demonstrates how commercial tools are increasingly being considered by the government for law enforcement and surveillance.
www.wired.com
January 24, 2026 at 10:31 PM
NEW: ICE is asking companies to provide information about “commercial Big Data and Ad Tech” products that could “directly support investigations activities,” reports @carolinehaskins.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/ice-as...
If you are a techie and not sure what to say, tech is a huge enabler for the violence you are witnessing and you can speak to that.
Here's a calling tool that connects you w/ lawmakers and has a script to follow: fftf.link/ICEfunding
Making change requires all of us trying from the angles we can.
Here's a calling tool that connects you w/ lawmakers and has a script to follow: fftf.link/ICEfunding
Making change requires all of us trying from the angles we can.
January 24, 2026 at 8:32 PM
If you are a techie and not sure what to say, tech is a huge enabler for the violence you are witnessing and you can speak to that.
Here's a calling tool that connects you w/ lawmakers and has a script to follow: fftf.link/ICEfunding
Making change requires all of us trying from the angles we can.
Here's a calling tool that connects you w/ lawmakers and has a script to follow: fftf.link/ICEfunding
Making change requires all of us trying from the angles we can.
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
We’re doing a survey of people who have stayed in homeless shelters. No paywall. Please send to anyone you think has something to say! Or like/re-post to increase the likelihood the right people will see it. THANKS
www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
What is it like to stay in a Portland-area homeless shelter? We want to hear from you
The Oregonian/OregonLive wants to hear directly from people who have used homeless services what works and what doesn't.
www.oregonlive.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:58 PM
We’re doing a survey of people who have stayed in homeless shelters. No paywall. Please send to anyone you think has something to say! Or like/re-post to increase the likelihood the right people will see it. THANKS
www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
On Thursday, 7 yr old Diana Crespo suffered a nosebleed that lasted most of the night. The next morning, Diana's parents took her to urgent care at Portland Adventist Health, but they only made it to the parking lot before they were detained by immigration officers.
www.opb.org/article/2026...
www.opb.org/article/2026...
Gresham family detained by immigration officers while seeking medical care for their 7-year-old
The family’s detainment marks the first confirmed detainment of an entire family in Oregon, advocates say.
www.opb.org
January 23, 2026 at 9:24 PM
On Thursday, 7 yr old Diana Crespo suffered a nosebleed that lasted most of the night. The next morning, Diana's parents took her to urgent care at Portland Adventist Health, but they only made it to the parking lot before they were detained by immigration officers.
www.opb.org/article/2026...
www.opb.org/article/2026...
When it all feels like too much, I ground myself in the directive to do what I can, with what I have, from where I am.
If all of us did just that, each day, we would all be doing enough to change everything.
If all of us did just that, each day, we would all be doing enough to change everything.
January 22, 2026 at 7:28 PM
When it all feels like too much, I ground myself in the directive to do what I can, with what I have, from where I am.
If all of us did just that, each day, we would all be doing enough to change everything.
If all of us did just that, each day, we would all be doing enough to change everything.
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
"Terrible things are happening outside ... poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared." — Anne Frank (Jan 13, 1943)
January 13, 2026 at 6:33 PM
"Terrible things are happening outside ... poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared." — Anne Frank (Jan 13, 1943)
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
‼️CONGRESS VOTES ON ICE FUNDING TOMORROW‼️
📲🚨+1 813-213-3989🚨📲
CALL NOW AND TELL YOUR REPS: NO FUNDING FOR ICE TERROR ‼️‼️
www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-f...
📲🚨+1 813-213-3989🚨📲
CALL NOW AND TELL YOUR REPS: NO FUNDING FOR ICE TERROR ‼️‼️
www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-f...
No Funding for ICE Surveillance Tech!
www.fightforthefuture.org
January 21, 2026 at 8:01 PM
‼️CONGRESS VOTES ON ICE FUNDING TOMORROW‼️
📲🚨+1 813-213-3989🚨📲
CALL NOW AND TELL YOUR REPS: NO FUNDING FOR ICE TERROR ‼️‼️
www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-f...
📲🚨+1 813-213-3989🚨📲
CALL NOW AND TELL YOUR REPS: NO FUNDING FOR ICE TERROR ‼️‼️
www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-f...
NTEN and 40+ other orgs demand Congress vote no on funding that fuels surveillance of our communities by ICE, including automated license plate readers, access to data broker databases, spyware, drones, facial recognition, phone snooping and surveillance, and social media and internet use trackers.
40+ tech and justice orgs including @18millionrising.bsky.social @accessnow.org @stopspyingny.bsky.social and @ultraviolet.bsky.social demand lawmakers take swift action to stem the tide on ICE violence and the tech and data spending that help it spread!
www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2026-01...
www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2026-01...
40+ tech & justice organizations call on Congress to vote NO on funding for ICE’s multi-billion dollar panopticon and to abolish the agency
Citing extraordinary abuse of power and of surveillance technologies, a coalition of over 40 tech and justice organizations has issued an urgent letter calling on Congress to vote NO on all funding fo...
www.fightforthefuture.org
January 21, 2026 at 6:53 PM
NTEN and 40+ other orgs demand Congress vote no on funding that fuels surveillance of our communities by ICE, including automated license plate readers, access to data broker databases, spyware, drones, facial recognition, phone snooping and surveillance, and social media and internet use trackers.
So much is hard or scary or awful across tech topics, so please help me uplift one small spot of light!
The Pizzigati Prize provides $10k to support an open source project helping communities and making positive social impact. Applications are open until Feb 2! www.nten.org/change/pizzi...
#NPTech
The Pizzigati Prize provides $10k to support an open source project helping communities and making positive social impact. Applications are open until Feb 2! www.nten.org/change/pizzi...
#NPTech
The Pizzigati Prize | NTEN
Celebrate software developers who create open source technology for good.
www.nten.org
January 19, 2026 at 5:38 PM
So much is hard or scary or awful across tech topics, so please help me uplift one small spot of light!
The Pizzigati Prize provides $10k to support an open source project helping communities and making positive social impact. Applications are open until Feb 2! www.nten.org/change/pizzi...
#NPTech
The Pizzigati Prize provides $10k to support an open source project helping communities and making positive social impact. Applications are open until Feb 2! www.nten.org/change/pizzi...
#NPTech
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
ICE surveillance sweeps up activists, organizers, journalists, family members, and entire communities. When the government buys access to location data and online histories, everyone’s rights are at risk. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
ICE Is Going on a Surveillance Shopping Spree
We need to have a hard look at the surveillance industry. It is a key enabler of vast and untold violations of human rights and civil liberties, and it continues to be used by aspiring autocrats to
www.eff.org
January 18, 2026 at 11:01 PM
ICE surveillance sweeps up activists, organizers, journalists, family members, and entire communities. When the government buys access to location data and online histories, everyone’s rights are at risk. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
Quick edit- not passed, it’s actually going into effect AND there’s a federal version of this bill you can press lawmakers to support so these protections can be extended NATIONWIDE.
www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/data...
www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/data...
Data Brokers Harm Abuse Survivors, We Need a Law to Stop Them
Data Brokers Harm Abuse Survivors, We Need a Law to Stop Them
www.fightforthefuture.org
January 10, 2026 at 12:22 AM
Quick edit- not passed, it’s actually going into effect AND there’s a federal version of this bill you can press lawmakers to support so these protections can be extended NATIONWIDE.
www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/data...
www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/data...
And can media please stop using the term "nonconsensual deepfakes" - by the very definition, no one is consenting to a deepfake.
Publishing CSAM is unequivocally illegal under federal law.
We don’t need any new laws to address what is happening on X / Grok.
The Trump regime is simply choosing not to enforce the law on a company owned by their political ally.
It’s that simple.
We don’t need any new laws to address what is happening on X / Grok.
The Trump regime is simply choosing not to enforce the law on a company owned by their political ally.
It’s that simple.
January 9, 2026 at 6:27 PM
And can media please stop using the term "nonconsensual deepfakes" - by the very definition, no one is consenting to a deepfake.
Reposted by Amy Sample Ward
Excited to kick off 2026 with @amysampleward.bsky.social and @gtak.bsky.social on #NonprofitRadio! Tune in as they share insights and predictions for the #nonprofit world this year. Don't miss out on what's next! tony.ma/NonprofitRad...
Nonprofit Radio for January 5, 2026: 2026 Outlook | Tony Martignetti
tony.ma
January 6, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Excited to kick off 2026 with @amysampleward.bsky.social and @gtak.bsky.social on #NonprofitRadio! Tune in as they share insights and predictions for the #nonprofit world this year. Don't miss out on what's next! tony.ma/NonprofitRad...
"Instead of designing and using tools to build a society, our society changes to adapt to the demands of our tools." Over and over again. We can make a different choice. henry.codes/writing/a-we...
A Website To End All Websites | Henry From Online
How to win the war for the soul of the internet, and build the Web We Want.
henry.codes
January 3, 2026 at 8:59 PM
"Instead of designing and using tools to build a society, our society changes to adapt to the demands of our tools." Over and over again. We can make a different choice. henry.codes/writing/a-we...