Kate Ruane
@kateruane.bsky.social
Free expression advocate. Whiskey drinker. Friend of dogs. Views my own
Reposted by Kate Ruane
Hey, remember that time I said that pointing out that AI is giving bad data to ICE is missing the point because ICE doesn't actually care if the data is good? Check out how right I am.
NEW: Records reviewed by WIRED show DHS’s facial recognition app (Mobile Fortify) isn’t designed to actually "verify" identity—despite DHS claims and its agents relying on its matches to support probable cause in the field.
ICE and CBP’s Face-Recognition App Can’t Actually Verify Who People Are
ICE has used Mobile Fortify to identify immigrants and citizens alike over 100,000 times, by one estimate. It wasn't built to work like that—and only got approved after DHS abandoned its own privacy r...
www.wired.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Hey, remember that time I said that pointing out that AI is giving bad data to ICE is missing the point because ICE doesn't actually care if the data is good? Check out how right I am.
Reposted by Kate Ruane
Thank you, Victor. I spent a few weeks on this. As usual, it’s always a negotiation with length. So a few other bon mots:
1. The admin has issued DOJ guidance to challenge state laws that would regulate AI
www.wired.com/story/ai-sup...
1. The admin has issued DOJ guidance to challenge state laws that would regulate AI
www.wired.com/story/ai-sup...
February 3, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Thank you, Victor. I spent a few weeks on this. As usual, it’s always a negotiation with length. So a few other bon mots:
1. The admin has issued DOJ guidance to challenge state laws that would regulate AI
www.wired.com/story/ai-sup...
1. The admin has issued DOJ guidance to challenge state laws that would regulate AI
www.wired.com/story/ai-sup...
Reposted by Kate Ruane
The DOJ’s renewed push for Minnesota’s Medicaid, SNAP & voter roll data isn’t isolated — it builds on a year of federal efforts to consolidate highly sensitive state data. CDT’s Elizabeth Laird, Quinn Anex-Ries & Maddy Dwyer unpack why this moment is so alarming.
DOJ’s Request for Sensitive Data from Minnesota Builds on the Trump Administration’s Unprecedented Effort to Consolidate Personal Data Across the Federal Government
Conclusiony-out-in-minnesota">What’s Different About What We’re Seeing Play Out in Minnesota?en-fraud" href="#reason-3-open-ended-access-to-beneficiary-data-could-actually-worsen-fraud" class="toc-anchor">Reason #3: Open-Ended Access to Beneficiary Data Could Actually Worsen Fraud-greater-risk" href="#reason-2-turning-over-complete-access-to-state-data-puts-data-privacy-at-greater-risk" class="toc-anchor">Reason #2: Turning Over Complete Access to State Data Puts Data Privacy at Greater Riskted-personal-data-with-the-wide-reaching-power-and-force-of-the-federal-government-is-an-unparalleled-threatnbsp" href="#reason-1-the-pairing-of-consolidated-personal-data-with-the-wide-reaching-power-and-force-of-the-federal-government-is-an-unparalleled-threatnbsp" class="toc-anchor">Reason #1: The Pairing of Consolidated Personal Data with the Wide-Reaching Power and Force of the […]
cdt.org
February 2, 2026 at 7:04 PM
The DOJ’s renewed push for Minnesota’s Medicaid, SNAP & voter roll data isn’t isolated — it builds on a year of federal efforts to consolidate highly sensitive state data. CDT’s Elizabeth Laird, Quinn Anex-Ries & Maddy Dwyer unpack why this moment is so alarming.
Reposted by Kate Ruane
It kinda went under the radar (or, worse, was celebrated) last week when @gavinnewsom.bsky.social announced he was investigating TikTok's moderation practices based on a random complaint on X. It was bad when DeSantis & Abbott wanted to do that to Twitter. It's bad when Newsom does it with TikTok.
Hey Gavin Newsom! Investigating TikTok’s Moderation Is Just As Unconstitutional As When Texas & Florida Tried It
We called bullshit when Republicans tried to order websites to carry content. We're calling bullshit now when Democrats are trying to do the same. We spent years explaining to…
We called bullshit when Republicans tried to order websites to carry content. We're calling bullshit now when Democrats are trying to do the same. We spent years explaining to…
Hey Gavin Newsom! Investigating TikTok’s Moderation Is Just As Unconstitutional As When Texas & Florida Tried It
We called bullshit when Republicans tried to order websites to carry content. We're calling bullshit now when Democrats are trying to do the same. We spent years explaining to politicians across both parties why the government can't dictate how private platforms moderate content. During the Biden admin, GOP governors seemed most aggressive about trying to tell platforms they couldn’t moderate. We wrote many thousands of words words about why…
www.techdirt.com
February 2, 2026 at 5:52 PM
It kinda went under the radar (or, worse, was celebrated) last week when @gavinnewsom.bsky.social announced he was investigating TikTok's moderation practices based on a random complaint on X. It was bad when DeSantis & Abbott wanted to do that to Twitter. It's bad when Newsom does it with TikTok.
Reposted by Kate Ruane
I keep seeing pundits describe how the Administration is “deescalating” and “taking the tone down” yet this week they’ve claimed dramatically expanded authority for arrests and argued they can enter your home without a warrant
Scoop: Federal agents were told this week that they have broader power to arrest people without a warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo reviewed by The New York Times.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
ICE Expands Power of Agents to Arrest People Without Warrants
www.nytimes.com
January 31, 2026 at 1:36 AM
I keep seeing pundits describe how the Administration is “deescalating” and “taking the tone down” yet this week they’ve claimed dramatically expanded authority for arrests and argued they can enter your home without a warrant
Reposted by Kate Ruane
Meanwhile X itself notoriously changed its terms, with no user consent, to scrape that EXACT SAME user data to train Grok. X can can scrape your posts to make deepfake porn, but it's censorship if anyone tries to *document* X's behavior using DSA research rights.
5/
www.forbes.com/sites/antoni...
5/
www.forbes.com/sites/antoni...
How To Disable X From Scraping Your Posts To Train Its AI Assistant
The setting can only be disabled from a web browser and is not accessible through X’s mobile app.
www.forbes.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Meanwhile X itself notoriously changed its terms, with no user consent, to scrape that EXACT SAME user data to train Grok. X can can scrape your posts to make deepfake porn, but it's censorship if anyone tries to *document* X's behavior using DSA research rights.
5/
www.forbes.com/sites/antoni...
5/
www.forbes.com/sites/antoni...
Reposted by Kate Ruane
I haven't read the leaked 183-page Commission Decision against X, but I am reading the House Judiciary Committee's X posts about it and the worst stuff they could find is... preposterously weak.
judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
x.com/JudiciaryGOP...
judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
x.com/JudiciaryGOP...
x.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:06 PM
I haven't read the leaked 183-page Commission Decision against X, but I am reading the House Judiciary Committee's X posts about it and the worst stuff they could find is... preposterously weak.
judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
x.com/JudiciaryGOP...
judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
x.com/JudiciaryGOP...
Reposted by Kate Ruane
NEW: Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old who ICE agents in Minneapolis nabbed last week and shipped off to a Texas detention facility with his dad, is now in poor health, his school superintendent told me today www.huffpost.com/entry/liam-c...
5-Year-Old in ICE Detention Is Sick, Says Top School Official
The 5-year-old who was taken by federal agents in Minneapolis is being held behind bars with his father in Texas.
www.huffpost.com
January 28, 2026 at 9:59 PM
NEW: Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old who ICE agents in Minneapolis nabbed last week and shipped off to a Texas detention facility with his dad, is now in poor health, his school superintendent told me today www.huffpost.com/entry/liam-c...
Reposted by Kate Ruane
How *should* age verification technologies balance risks to rights and important child safety goals? Here's what we think: #AgeVerifyFTC
January 28, 2026 at 4:01 PM
How *should* age verification technologies balance risks to rights and important child safety goals? Here's what we think: #AgeVerifyFTC
Reposted by Kate Ruane
FTC Commissioner Meador notes that AI and ML can help online services estimate users' ages using their patterns of use. We've argued that that's experimental at best, and will restrict *many* users from accessing online services and their rights at worst #AgeVerifyFTC: cdt.org/insights/age...
Age Estimation Requires Verification for Many Users
Online services can now guess a user’s age with as little as a selfie or a phone number, according to leading age assurance providers. Age estimation providers in particular claim their processes are ...
cdt.org
January 28, 2026 at 3:57 PM
FTC Commissioner Meador notes that AI and ML can help online services estimate users' ages using their patterns of use. We've argued that that's experimental at best, and will restrict *many* users from accessing online services and their rights at worst #AgeVerifyFTC: cdt.org/insights/age...
👇
This certainly doesn't seem good, especially as the FTC holds a workshop on age verification...
www.404media.co/app-for-quit...
#AgeVerifyFTC
#Privacy
#COPPA
www.404media.co/app-for-quit...
#AgeVerifyFTC
#Privacy
#COPPA
App for Quitting Porn Leaked Users' Masturbation Habits
Hundreds of thousands of users told the app intimate details about their sexual urges, which are now exposed.
www.404media.co
January 28, 2026 at 2:13 PM
👇
Reposted by Kate Ruane
The Good-Pretti Act of 2026
Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code is amended as follows: strike the phrase “of any State or Territory” and replace it with “of the United States or of any State or Territory.”
Passing this should be a prerequisite for any DHS funding compromise.
Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code is amended as follows: strike the phrase “of any State or Territory” and replace it with “of the United States or of any State or Territory.”
Passing this should be a prerequisite for any DHS funding compromise.
January 25, 2026 at 12:06 AM
The Good-Pretti Act of 2026
Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code is amended as follows: strike the phrase “of any State or Territory” and replace it with “of the United States or of any State or Territory.”
Passing this should be a prerequisite for any DHS funding compromise.
Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code is amended as follows: strike the phrase “of any State or Territory” and replace it with “of the United States or of any State or Territory.”
Passing this should be a prerequisite for any DHS funding compromise.
Reposted by Kate Ruane
I am. But there are three things at play here regarding ICE collecting private data. Quick rundown on the issue, why you should be paying attention, and what I'm doing about it:
So which politician is calling for the dismantling of the probably illegal database that ice & this government is collecting biometric data of protesters?
January 27, 2026 at 9:28 PM
I am. But there are three things at play here regarding ICE collecting private data. Quick rundown on the issue, why you should be paying attention, and what I'm doing about it:
People all over the country are sharing information about ICE activities. Anonymity is a safety tool. DHS has been trying to get information on anonymous accounts without sufficient process and really only because they don't like that they are a tool of accountability.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and the Trump administration have been clear that, to them, the problem isn’t ICE agents running amok in American cities; it’s the people documenting ICE activities and posting to social media. But doing so—even anonymously—is protected by law, writes CDT's Kate Ruane.
Americans Have the Right to Be Anonymous Online
Kate Ruane is the Director of Center for Democracy & Technology's Free Expression Project.
www.techpolicy.press
January 27, 2026 at 2:10 PM
People all over the country are sharing information about ICE activities. Anonymity is a safety tool. DHS has been trying to get information on anonymous accounts without sufficient process and really only because they don't like that they are a tool of accountability.
Reposted by Kate Ruane
Lot of conservative dudes out there telling on themselves by being astounded by a level of ”logistics” that the average mom has to manage every fucking day
January 26, 2026 at 12:59 AM
Lot of conservative dudes out there telling on themselves by being astounded by a level of ”logistics” that the average mom has to manage every fucking day
Reposted by Kate Ruane
One thing that irks me: people keep calling the folks on the streets in Minneapolis protestors. They are not generally there to protest, they are there to observe and document. This is the product of organizing and mutual aid. It is telling that these acts of citizenship are seen as protest!
January 24, 2026 at 9:29 PM
One thing that irks me: people keep calling the folks on the streets in Minneapolis protestors. They are not generally there to protest, they are there to observe and document. This is the product of organizing and mutual aid. It is telling that these acts of citizenship are seen as protest!
All you need to do is look at this baby to know he is beloved. Look at his hat, his warm coat, his backpack. This child is cherished - and that love is what they weaponized against him and his family.
"They used a child to appeal to the most innate and essentially human impulse to show care, concern and protect — to capture those who care for him. They weaponized decency, the last incorruptible defense we have against absolute misery and evil"
Column | The abhorrent power of the photograph of a 5-year-old held by ICE
An image like this could once change history. Can one still?
wapo.st
January 23, 2026 at 4:47 PM
All you need to do is look at this baby to know he is beloved. Look at his hat, his warm coat, his backpack. This child is cherished - and that love is what they weaponized against him and his family.
The TikTok deal has improved the privacy of exactly no one and has done nothing to improve national security. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/t...
TikTok Strikes Deal for New U.S. Entity, Ending Long Legal Saga
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 4:15 PM
The TikTok deal has improved the privacy of exactly no one and has done nothing to improve national security. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/t...
Come work with @nullset.bsky.social!
I'm hiring a senior policy analyst/counsel for the privacy & data team at CDT!
"Inquire within"
"Inquire within"
Careers
Current Openingsfind yourself engaged in passionate discussions about privacy policies? Are you yearning to put your expertise to work on internet neutrality legislation? If so, you might be a great f...
cdt.org
January 20, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Come work with @nullset.bsky.social!
Read this!
The U.S.’s withdrawal from dozens of international multistakeholder fora is a serious misstep. In a new Lawfare op-ed, CDT’s Aliya Bhatia & I@isabelalinzer.bsky... warn it undermines human rights, global governance, and U.S. strategic interests. www.lawfaremedia.org...
Isabel Linzer (@isabelalinzer.bsky.social)
Elections & democracy @ CDT. Probably posting about human rights, tech, authoritarianism, transnational repression, etc. Opinions my own.
isabelalinzer.bsky.social
January 16, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Read this!
Reposted by Kate Ruane
It's happening. OpenAI is piloting ads in ChatGPT. openai.com/index/our-ap...
In introducing ads to ChatGPT, OpenAI is starting down a risky path. (1/5)
In introducing ads to ChatGPT, OpenAI is starting down a risky path. (1/5)
January 16, 2026 at 7:50 PM
It's happening. OpenAI is piloting ads in ChatGPT. openai.com/index/our-ap...
In introducing ads to ChatGPT, OpenAI is starting down a risky path. (1/5)
In introducing ads to ChatGPT, OpenAI is starting down a risky path. (1/5)
Flash bangs are dangerous! Just because they aren't "designed" to kill anyone doesn't mean it's ok throw them at cars full of children, protesters, or anyone, really.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/less...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/less...
January 15, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Flash bangs are dangerous! Just because they aren't "designed" to kill anyone doesn't mean it's ok throw them at cars full of children, protesters, or anyone, really.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/less...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/less...
Reposted by Kate Ruane
It absolutely matters.
Reality: Even if every Dem voted "no," it still would have passed. I understand the anger, but it actually doesn't matter.
January 15, 2026 at 12:52 AM
It absolutely matters.
This is very cool.
BREAKING: Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife has made a “transformational” donation to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group. This large gift comes just months after the Trump administration shut down counseling services for queer youth.
My latest for @wired.com:
My latest for @wired.com:
MacKenzie Scott Donates $45 Million to the Trevor Project
Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife has made a donation to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group that the organization calls “transformational.”
www.wired.com
January 13, 2026 at 10:59 AM
This is very cool.
Reposted by Kate Ruane
If the Eagles lose this game Vic Fangio should get to fistfight Kevin Patullo and Nick Sirianni
January 12, 2026 at 12:00 AM
If the Eagles lose this game Vic Fangio should get to fistfight Kevin Patullo and Nick Sirianni