Ben Lennett
@benlennett.bsky.social
Managing Editor for Tech Policy Press. Opinions are my own.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
Want to understand the nuances of the potential remedies in the Google search antitrust case? Check out the latest @techpolicypress.bsky.social podcast moderated by KGI‘s @alissacooper.bsky.social with experts @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social @kate-brennan.bsky.social and David Dinielli.
December 16, 2024 at 6:45 PM
Want to understand the nuances of the potential remedies in the Google search antitrust case? Check out the latest @techpolicypress.bsky.social podcast moderated by KGI‘s @alissacooper.bsky.social with experts @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social @kate-brennan.bsky.social and David Dinielli.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
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:
Reading the Systemic Risk Assessments for Major Speech Platforms: Notes and Observations | TechPolicy.Press
Tim Bernard is reading a selection of the Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) systemic risk assessments released in late November 2024.
buff.ly
December 17, 2024 at 2:02 PM
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:
Reposted by Ben Lennett
Earlier this year, the European Union enacted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D). Dunstan Allison-Hope & Jason Pielemeier unpack how the CS3D applies to tech companies, including the downstream impacts arising from their operations. www.techpolicy.press/the-most-imp...
The Most Important Piece of Tech Regulation You’ve Never Heard Of | TechPolicy.Press
Dunstan Allison-Hope & Jason Pielemeier explain how Europe's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) applies to tech.
www.techpolicy.press
December 17, 2024 at 4:04 PM
Earlier this year, the European Union enacted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D). Dunstan Allison-Hope & Jason Pielemeier unpack how the CS3D applies to tech companies, including the downstream impacts arising from their operations. www.techpolicy.press/the-most-imp...
Reposted by Ben Lennett
The media startup we need is a legal defense fund for independent journalists. New publications and cooperatives are great and critical but unless there is strong legal protection from what is to come, they will not survive.
December 6, 2024 at 3:46 PM
The media startup we need is a legal defense fund for independent journalists. New publications and cooperatives are great and critical but unless there is strong legal protection from what is to come, they will not survive.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
Access Now executive director Alejandro Mayoral Baños and Article 19 executive director Quinn McKew explain their principled decision not to attend this month's Internet Governance Forum in Riyadh.
www.techpolicy.press/who-wins-fro...
www.techpolicy.press/who-wins-fro...
Who Wins from the IGF? Not Those Locked Up for Speaking Out | TechPolicy.Press
Access Now's Alejandro Mayoral Baños and Article 19's Quinn McKew explain their decision not to attend the Internet Governance Forum in Riyadh.
www.techpolicy.press
December 12, 2024 at 2:37 PM
Access Now executive director Alejandro Mayoral Baños and Article 19 executive director Quinn McKew explain their principled decision not to attend this month's Internet Governance Forum in Riyadh.
www.techpolicy.press/who-wins-fro...
www.techpolicy.press/who-wins-fro...
Reposted by Ben Lennett
The newly minted Canadian AI Safety Institute (CAISI) is an essential building block, writes CIGI’s Matthew da Mota. But questions remain about how it will prioritize safety risks engage in policy and governance work.
Initial Takeaways from the Canadian AI Safety Institute Launch | TechPolicy.Press
Questions remain about whether the Institute will prioritize the most significant safety risks, writes CIGI's Matthew da Mota.
www.techpolicy.press
December 12, 2024 at 2:36 PM
The newly minted Canadian AI Safety Institute (CAISI) is an essential building block, writes CIGI’s Matthew da Mota. But questions remain about how it will prioritize safety risks engage in policy and governance work.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
OpenAI’s #Sora and #Ai tech like it represent a step change in generative video. For @techpolicypress.bsky.social I highlight key risks and fundamental inequitable gaps in access to detection tools. But ... there is time to address this and other threats www.techpolicy.press/openais-sora...
OpenAI's Sora Is Here. There Is Still Time To Prepare For The Threat Such Technologies Pose | TechPolicy.Press
WITNESS executive director Sam Gregory says there are fundamental gaps in access to detection tools that disadvantage journalists and civil society.
www.techpolicy.press
December 12, 2024 at 3:04 PM
OpenAI’s #Sora and #Ai tech like it represent a step change in generative video. For @techpolicypress.bsky.social I highlight key risks and fundamental inequitable gaps in access to detection tools. But ... there is time to address this and other threats www.techpolicy.press/openais-sora...
Reposted by Ben Lennett
NTIA is seeking public input on ethical guidelines for researching online data or "pervasive data." @benlennett.bsky.social covers why it matters, what information the agency is seeking, and how to participate.
NTIA Seeks Approaches to Conduct Ethical Research of Online Services | TechPolicy.Press
NTIA is seeking public input on ethical guidelines for researching online data or "pervasive data."
www.techpolicy.press
December 12, 2024 at 4:19 PM
NTIA is seeking public input on ethical guidelines for researching online data or "pervasive data." @benlennett.bsky.social covers why it matters, what information the agency is seeking, and how to participate.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
Content moderation is a power platforms exercise with consequence at moments of collective vulnerability, such as during elections. Assuming that platforms act for the betterment of all is, at this point, one assumption too many, write Sandra González-Bailón and David Lazer.
The Need to Make Content Moderation Transparent | TechPolicy.Press
Sandra González-Bailón and David Lazer, contemplating results of a recent study on election misinformation, say Big Tech's power must be checked.
www.techpolicy.press
December 11, 2024 at 5:16 PM
Content moderation is a power platforms exercise with consequence at moments of collective vulnerability, such as during elections. Assuming that platforms act for the betterment of all is, at this point, one assumption too many, write Sandra González-Bailón and David Lazer.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
Article 40 of the Digital Services Act should make it possible for researchers to get access to coveted unaggregated, non-public platform data, writes Luca Belli. How does the draft delegated act suggest it will work? www.techpolicy.press/data-sharing...
Data Sharing and the Delegated Act of Europe's DSA | TechPolicy.Press
Researchers will have a chance to get meaningful data of the most precious kind: unaggregated, non-public platform data, writes Luca Belli.
www.techpolicy.press
December 11, 2024 at 6:16 PM
Article 40 of the Digital Services Act should make it possible for researchers to get access to coveted unaggregated, non-public platform data, writes Luca Belli. How does the draft delegated act suggest it will work? www.techpolicy.press/data-sharing...
Reposted by Ben Lennett
The EU's Digital Services Act aims to boost accountability and transparency for some of the world’s largest tech companies. Mark Scott writes that those ambitions are getting their first test with the publication of risk assessments and audits. How can these documents be improved going forward?
5 Things to Know about the Digital Services Act’s First Risk Assessments and Audits | TechPolicy.Press
Mark Scott says going forward there are ways to improve these lengthy, often unwieldy documents.
www.techpolicy.press
December 11, 2024 at 2:29 PM
The EU's Digital Services Act aims to boost accountability and transparency for some of the world’s largest tech companies. Mark Scott writes that those ambitions are getting their first test with the publication of risk assessments and audits. How can these documents be improved going forward?
So interesting to see folks you know from a professional setting having a whole another life and looking so 90s indie rock cool. Kristin and Jenny also made great music.
December 11, 2024 at 3:20 PM
So interesting to see folks you know from a professional setting having a whole another life and looking so 90s indie rock cool. Kristin and Jenny also made great music.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
In the platform economy, algorithms often obscure how platforms extract value from workers, masking the ways workers' efforts translate into profit, writes Atieh Razavi Yekta. www.techpolicy.press/the-flexibil...
The Flexibility Trap: How Algorithms Drive Precarity in Platform Work | TechPolicy.Press
Atieh Razavi Yekta is a sessional lecturer and researcher at the University of British Columbia.
www.techpolicy.press
December 10, 2024 at 2:33 PM
In the platform economy, algorithms often obscure how platforms extract value from workers, masking the ways workers' efforts translate into profit, writes Atieh Razavi Yekta. www.techpolicy.press/the-flexibil...
Reposted by Ben Lennett
Rather than modernizing interception laws, India’s new rules expand state powers significantly, putting citizens’ privacy and digital rights at risk, write Jyoti Panday and Saumya Jain.
Privacy in Peril: India’s Interception Regime | TechPolicy.Press
Rather than modernizing interception laws, India’s new framework puts citizens’ privacy and digital rights at risk, write Jyoti Panday and Saumya Jain.
www.techpolicy.press
December 10, 2024 at 2:36 PM
Rather than modernizing interception laws, India’s new rules expand state powers significantly, putting citizens’ privacy and digital rights at risk, write Jyoti Panday and Saumya Jain.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
"Agency laundering involves distancing human decision-makers from morally questionable actions by attributing them to automated systems or algorithms." ⬇️
In the platform economy, algorithms often obscure how platforms extract value from workers, masking the ways workers' efforts translate into profit, writes Atieh Razavi Yekta. www.techpolicy.press/the-flexibil...
The Flexibility Trap: How Algorithms Drive Precarity in Platform Work | TechPolicy.Press
Atieh Razavi Yekta is a sessional lecturer and researcher at the University of British Columbia.
www.techpolicy.press
December 10, 2024 at 3:13 PM
"Agency laundering involves distancing human decision-makers from morally questionable actions by attributing them to automated systems or algorithms." ⬇️
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A new lawsuit against Character.AI says an AI companion suggested a child should kill his parents. We are just at the beginning of widespread access to companion AI, but soon, if we fail to take action, such events will not be isolated cases, writes Susie Alegre.
www.techpolicy.press/against-the-...
www.techpolicy.press/against-the-...
Against the Corporate Capture of Human Connection | TechPolicy.Press
Susie Alegre is the author of “Human Rights, Robot Wrongs: Being Human in the Age of AI," published by Atlantic Books in September 2024.
www.techpolicy.press
December 10, 2024 at 5:01 PM
A new lawsuit against Character.AI says an AI companion suggested a child should kill his parents. We are just at the beginning of widespread access to companion AI, but soon, if we fail to take action, such events will not be isolated cases, writes Susie Alegre.
www.techpolicy.press/against-the-...
www.techpolicy.press/against-the-...
Reposted by Ben Lennett
New: Texas AG Ken Paxton has subpoenaed 404 Media for confidential reporting about an internal Google privacy incident database we published in June. If Paxton wants the database, he can get it directly from Google. Our lawyers have formally objected to the subpoena:
www.404media.co/404-media-ob...
www.404media.co/404-media-ob...
404 Media Objects to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Subpoena to Access Our Reporting
404 Media's reporting on an internal Google privacy violation database has been subpoenaed by the State of Texas. We are fighting it.
www.404media.co
December 9, 2024 at 4:47 PM
New: Texas AG Ken Paxton has subpoenaed 404 Media for confidential reporting about an internal Google privacy incident database we published in June. If Paxton wants the database, he can get it directly from Google. Our lawyers have formally objected to the subpoena:
www.404media.co/404-media-ob...
www.404media.co/404-media-ob...
In case you missed it over the weekend, Sens. Blackburn (R-TN) and Blumenthal (D-CT) released a new version of KOSA negotiated by X. New version: www.blackburn.senate.gov/services/fil.... For comparison this is what passed the Senate in July: www.congress.gov/amendment/11....
December 9, 2024 at 4:07 PM
In case you missed it over the weekend, Sens. Blackburn (R-TN) and Blumenthal (D-CT) released a new version of KOSA negotiated by X. New version: www.blackburn.senate.gov/services/fil.... For comparison this is what passed the Senate in July: www.congress.gov/amendment/11....
@techpolicypress.bsky.social has two op-eds out this morning on Australia's new law setting an age minimum for teen accessing social media. Check them out:
👉 www.techpolicy.press/australias-o...
👉 www.techpolicy.press/australia-sa...
👉 www.techpolicy.press/australias-o...
👉 www.techpolicy.press/australia-sa...
December 9, 2024 at 3:54 PM
@techpolicypress.bsky.social has two op-eds out this morning on Australia's new law setting an age minimum for teen accessing social media. Check them out:
👉 www.techpolicy.press/australias-o...
👉 www.techpolicy.press/australia-sa...
👉 www.techpolicy.press/australias-o...
👉 www.techpolicy.press/australia-sa...
Published a discussion of TikTok's loss in the Court of Appeals for Tech Policy Press. It covers the court’s decision and what’s next.
TikTok Loses Appeal on Challenge to Law Requiring its Sale | TechPolicy.Press
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia concluded that legislation requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok “survive[s] constitutional scrutiny.”
www.techpolicy.press
December 6, 2024 at 6:48 PM
Published a discussion of TikTok's loss in the Court of Appeals for Tech Policy Press. It covers the court’s decision and what’s next.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
@ulrikeklinger.bsky.social, @dscheykopp.bsky.social and I wrote a piece on the draft delegated act for non-public data access. We argue that for systemic risk mitigation to work, access must be reliable & accessible. The draft is a good start, but doesn't ensure these foundations of risk governance.
The European Commission is accepting feedback on a draft delegated act under the DSA to govern researcher access to platform data. The draft introduces many commendable ideas, but suffers from a limited conception of empirical research, write Lukas Seiling, Ulrike Klinger, and Jakob Ohme.
Non-Public Data Access for Researchers: Challenges in the Draft Delegated Act of the Digital Services Act | TechPolicy.Press
The draft delegated act introduces many commendable clarifications and structures, but suffers from a limited conception of empirical research.
www.techpolicy.press
December 5, 2024 at 8:18 PM
@ulrikeklinger.bsky.social, @dscheykopp.bsky.social and I wrote a piece on the draft delegated act for non-public data access. We argue that for systemic risk mitigation to work, access must be reliable & accessible. The draft is a good start, but doesn't ensure these foundations of risk governance.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
Stephen Wyber sets out 12 questions raised in the written answers and hearings for 9 different members of the European Commission, including those pertinent to tech policy and broader concerns over AI, competition, intellectual property. www.techpolicy.press/learnings-fr...
Learnings from the Hearings: 12 Questions from the Hearings of European Commissioners-Designate | TechPolicy.Press
Stephen Wyber sets out 12 questions raised in the written answers and hearings for 9 different potential members of the Commission.
www.techpolicy.press
December 5, 2024 at 4:06 PM
Stephen Wyber sets out 12 questions raised in the written answers and hearings for 9 different members of the European Commission, including those pertinent to tech policy and broader concerns over AI, competition, intellectual property. www.techpolicy.press/learnings-fr...
Reposted by Ben Lennett
New research shows that social media users share information they know to be false, motivated to signal political loyalty. What does this mean for the effectiveness of fact-checking initiatives? Prithvi Iyer considers the findings.
Researchers Consider the Relationship Between Misinformation, Outrage, and the Sharing of Content on Social Media | TechPolicy.Press
New research shows that social media users share information they know to be false, motivated to signal political loyalty. Prithvi Iyer considers the findings.
buff.ly
December 4, 2024 at 9:55 PM
New research shows that social media users share information they know to be false, motivated to signal political loyalty. What does this mean for the effectiveness of fact-checking initiatives? Prithvi Iyer considers the findings.
Reposted by Ben Lennett
This article about How South African (primarily white) men are changing the course of American democracy lives rent free in my mind... So much of politics are local but we can‘t ignore how history & global politics influence our reality. Some tidbits +
www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024...
www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024...
How SA men are changing the course of American democracy
What do figures like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Joel Pollak and Patrick Soon-Shiong have in common? They are public figures of considerable power and influence in the US – who all spent some...
www.dailymaverick.co.za
December 5, 2024 at 2:19 PM
This article about How South African (primarily white) men are changing the course of American democracy lives rent free in my mind... So much of politics are local but we can‘t ignore how history & global politics influence our reality. Some tidbits +
www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024...
www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024...
Reposted by Ben Lennett
This may be the most important article I've read this year. Too many pithy and insightful descriptions of current generative technology and how we talk about it to list. Just read it yourself.
My piece highlighting Gen AI “myths” in terms of how we talk about the technology, and what purpose those myths serve, is my self-serving contribution (looking to post a bunch from other folks today too). www.techpolicy.press/challenging-...
Challenging The Myths of Generative AI | TechPolicy.Press
Eryk Salvaggio says we must dispense with myths if we are to think more clearly about what AI actually is and does.
www.techpolicy.press
December 4, 2024 at 8:30 PM
This may be the most important article I've read this year. Too many pithy and insightful descriptions of current generative technology and how we talk about it to list. Just read it yourself.