Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
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cobun.bsky.social
Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
@cobun.bsky.social
Privacy, data protection, AI governance. Translating policy to practice. Some friction is good friction. D.C. policy lawyer by day, Colorado forest creature by night. (he / him)
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Finally looks like the AI bubble is reaching its limit. Most AI companies are not profitable, and according to a new MIT report, 95% of companies investing in generative AI are getting zero returns on all that money. www.ft.com/content/3391...
US tech stocks hit by concerns over future of AI boom
Warning from OpenAI’s Sam Altman and MIT paper puncture Wall Street’s enthusiasm
www.ft.com
August 20, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Great news Minnesota: today, we have more rights than we did yesterday. Today, July 31, the Consumer Data Privacy Act (MCDPA) goes into effect to safeguard your personal data and your right to privacy.

To learn more and get started, visit privacymn.com.
August 1, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
looks to me that FTC and Meta are having settlement discussions to end case over FTC's attempt to unilaterally modify the Facebook privacy consent order

cc @jason_kint
July 31, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Beautifully written and fascinating column by @cobun.bsky.social on how coded language has been used to preserve privacy in queer history #Pride

iapp.org/news/a/a-vie...
IAPP
iapp.org
June 25, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
@cobun.bsky.social reported that the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee marked up and advanced COPPA 2.0 today. Clarisse Girot published an OECD's report on age assurance practices of 50 online services used by children (www.oecd.org/en/publicati...).
Age assurance practices of 50 online services used by children
Age assurance refers to approaches for determining the age of online users, and as a result, ensuring that children are offered safe and age-appropriate experiences. Governments, technology companies ...
www.oecd.org
June 25, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Red alert for the big bill blocking state tech laws!

There’s a new draft of the AI moratorium and it’s WORSE. The exceptions narrowed so “generally applicable” laws only survive if they do not create an “undue OR disproportionate burden” on AI. This creates huge uncertainty for which laws survive.
www.blackburn.senate.gov
June 30, 2025 at 1:44 AM
"What does a human slowly going insane look like to a corporation?... It looks like an additional monthly user."

The latest from @kashhill.bsky.social, on patterns of magical thinking among some chatbot users, is essential reading.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/t...
They Asked an A.I. Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling.
www.nytimes.com
June 16, 2025 at 9:19 PM
We can finally settle the debate: "crypto" means cryptozoology!

Greetings from Portland, Maine with @nullset.bsky.social
June 7, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Update: the Trump administration has proposed cutting the National Park System by $900 million, about one third of its budget.
Please read/share if you love your national parks!
New from @pamherd.bsky.social & me: A DOGEr is now running the National Park Service.

They were already short of employees to manage record crowds. DOGE has cut 13% and wants to cut 30%.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/trump-vs-a...
Trump vs. America's National Parks
What a sprained ankle reveals about how badly stretched park workers are
donmoynihan.substack.com
May 3, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
As @cobun.bsky.social has written before, the data security rule is a narrow but significant departure from the U.S.'s historically inviolable approach to the free flow of data. See iapp.org/news/a/a-vie...
April 11, 2025 at 8:55 PM
And save your energy for the next night when everyone will be gathered at the LGBTQ + Allies After Party for a Cause www.lgbtqprivacy.org
April 15, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Next week, are you in town for the Meta antitrust trial, the Google Search Remedy trial, or the IAPP privacy conference?

Lucky you, all the DC tech policy peeps will be gathered Tues eve at CDT Spring Fling - join us!

cdt.org/event/2025-s...
2025 Spring Fling
CDT is pleased to announce our 2025 Spring Fling, a celebration during IAPP’s Global Privacy Summit. Join us on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 8:00–10:30 PM at Dirty Habit in Washington, D.C.—you won’t want...
cdt.org
April 15, 2025 at 3:59 PM
"Librarians warned us" is 🔥🔥🔥
April 15, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
A tricky thing about modern society is that no one has any idea when they don’t die.

Like, the number of lives saved by controlling air pollution in America is probably over 200,000 per year, but the number of people who think their life was saved by controlling air pollution is zero.
April 7, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
This is a great video in the tariffs impacts on a small business. Grounded, direct, and informative.
Andrew Chen, co-founder of one of my favorite denim brands, 3sixteen, breaks down how the tariffs affect his company

IG 3sixteen
April 5, 2025 at 11:53 AM
April 2, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Wall Street Journal editorial board:

"Our worst fears about Mr. Kennedy are coming true..."

www.wsj.com/opinion/rfk-...
Opinion | RFK Jr. Is Already Vindicating His Critics
Shrinking HHS makes sense, but giving power to antivaccine crusader David Geier doesn’t.
www.wsj.com
March 31, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Facial recognition company Clearview attempted to buy Social Security numbers and mugshots for its database.

🔗 www.404media.co/facial-recog...
Facial Recognition Company Clearview Attempted to Buy Social Security Numbers and Mugshots for its Database
Clearview AI spent nearly a million dollars in a bid to purchase “690 million arrest records and 390 million arrest photos” from all 50 states, court records reveal.
www.404media.co
March 19, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Social Security numbers and other private information of more than 200 former congressional staffers and others were made public Tuesday in unredacted files related to the assassination of JFK. Many of these people are still alive and therefore now vulnerable to privacy theft and doxing
Social Security numbers and other private information unmasked in JFK files
The data belongs to more than 200 former congressional staffers and others with connections to decades-old investigations.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 20, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Earlier today, I announced an effort to reform the Privacy Act, the 51-year-old law that protects Americans’ privacy from government abuse.

But I’ll need your help. We’re going to protect our privacy, together.

Let me explain why this effort is so important.
March 18, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
I never use baby talk with the dog. He's not a baby, I talk to him like an adult, with full sentences. If he ever learns to talk I don't want him sounding like a baby, that would be so weird and uncomfortable
March 20, 2025 at 5:37 AM
1 big thing: Cyber council's demise shakes public-private sector trust www.axios.com/2025/03/18/c... #axiosfutureofcybersecurity
DHS terminated a council that oversaw key cyber discussions with companies
CIPAC provided legal cover to discuss sensitive threat information and cyber planning.
www.axios.com
March 18, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Trump is eliminating Wilson Center, a stellar US foreign policy study establishment. Along with it goes the Kennan Institute - one of the best Russia study institutions.
I was fortunate to be a Kennan Fellow in 2017.
Such a loss
Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose.
www.whitehouse.gov
March 15, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Congrats,Tom! Looking forward to seeing the next chapter for the CPPA!
@tomkemp00.bsky.social
March 14, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Another insightful edition of Privacy Papers for Policymakers is underway. Thanks for bringing us together, @futureofprivacy.bsky.social!
March 12, 2025 at 11:02 PM