Matt Contursi
banner
amiinthegoodplace.bsky.social
Matt Contursi
@amiinthegoodplace.bsky.social
tech+law+privacy | JD / MS / BS | Currently: @UCDavis.bsky.social Legal Fellow | Previously: @futureofprivacy.bsky.social @EPIC.org @AZDHS.gov
Opinions mine own!
Reposted by Matt Contursi
The White House has now confirmed the second boat strike on Sept. 2.
December 1, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
The KOSA hearing is tomorrow. I will be covering it live starting at 10:15 EST
🚨‼️As of yesterday KOSA is at 64 cosponsors with @vanhollen.senate.gov + @kim.senate.gov - who claim to support LGTBQ+ rights but are clearly okay with supporting legislation that’ll censor us off the internet- newly signed on.

You know what to do: www.stopkosa.com
December 1, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
As cloud outages rise, dependence on the concentrated market that provides these services creates systemic fragility, argues Rhea Siers. It’s time for institutions to rethink these digital dependencies and build resilience through accountability, transparency, and an honest assessment of the risk.
How Better Governance Can Mitigate Future Digital Outages | TechPolicy.Press
Rhea Siers examines the risks of concentration in cloud services, and approaches to governance and resilience.
buff.ly
November 29, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
Sooo many folks I’m excited to work with on Mamdani’s technology transition committee. All hands on deck to bring the Affordability Agenda to life: childcare, housing, transportation.

While its easy to get swept up in personality, this is a group focused on peoples real needs. LETS KEEP THE FOCUS.
November 25, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Very excited about Mamdani’s picks on his transition team
Honored to serve on Mayor-elect @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social Transition Committee on Technology. For too long, too many New Yorkers have been left behind. NYC deserves governance that centers affordability, equity, and the public good-looking forward to the work ahead. www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news...
NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announces transition committees
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani​ announced Monday the creation of 17 transition advisory committees made up of more than 400 people.
www.cbsnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
I’ve been running around asking tech execs and academics if language was the same as intelligence for over a year now - and, well, it isn’t. @benjaminjriley.bsky.social explains how the bubble is built on ignoring cutting-edge research into the science of thought www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
November 25, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
Wanna know how bad the Arizona legislator's petition forgeries were? Here's the examples from the Austin Smith indictment.

s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24...
November 24, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
Look, there are plenty of scientists that are individually arrogant and narrow minded, but have enough journalistic responsibility to realize “scientific orthodoxy” in this case is a euphemism for “evidence based treatments that have been proven effective in numerous test cases over decades.”
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 22, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
Absolutely incredible; after shooting Marimar Martinez 5 times and arresting her on claims that she rammed them and pulled a gun, prosecutors have now moved to dismiss ALL criminal charges against her and her codefendant.
New: the govt has moved to dismiss its assault case against Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, two people accused of "box[ing] in" a Border Patrol vehicle in Chicago on Oct. 4.

One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
November 20, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
5th Circuit MAGA Judge Andrew Oldham says Erie was wrongly decided, federal judges should resume "finding" law themselves rather than applying state statutes, and appeals courts should stop certifying questions about state law to state supreme courts. www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...
November 20, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.

He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
The San Jose PD regularly conducts warrantless searches through its massive license plate reader database, allowing it to reconstruct detailed maps of a person’s movements through the City going back as far as a year. This poses a serious threat to communities’ privacy and freedom of movement.
November 18, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
This is the Gig Surveillance Economy: ssrn.com/abstract=388...
November 18, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
“Many of the women say that they were pressured to have unwanted or unnecessary gynecological procedures while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement”
November 15, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
We are so pleased to share the Call for Submissions for the 2026 Privacy Law Scholars Conference. We are introducing so many new elements this year, including a mentorship-focused pre-conference and discussion sessions in addition to our paper workshop sessions.

docs.google.com/document/d/1...
PLSC 2026 CFP
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Privacy Law Scholars Conference 2026 www.privacyscholars.org The Program & Planning Committee of the Privacy Law Scholars Conference invites submissions for the 19th annual con...
docs.google.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
SB 976 regulates engagement-maximizing algorithms that select and organize media for users by surveilling users’ online behavior. EPIC recommended that the California DOJ prioritize privacy- and speech-protective age assurance methods and standards in the rulemaking.
November 12, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
Meta is facing one of the most significant leaves as Meta’s head AI scientist Yann LeCun has announced his departure and is planning to launch his own startup
nypost.com/2025/11/11/b...
Meta’s top AI scientist Yann LeCun to depart as Mark Zuckerberg pushes ‘superintelligence’
Yann LeCun, 65, a Turing Award-winner considered a pioneer in AI development, has told colleagues he will leave Meta in the coming months, according to a report.
nypost.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:09 AM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.

He is a computer safety researcher.

And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.

In under 1600 words.

aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
NEW: Supreme Court rejects long-shot effort to overturn ruling that legalized gay marriage:
www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...
Supreme Court rejects long-shot effort to overturn same-sex marriage ruling
The court turned away an appeal filed by Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky who was sued after refusing to issue a marriage license to a gay couple.
www.nbcnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
Imagination is resistance, @ruha9.bsky.social reminds us that, " we need to reject the gospel that says technology is inevitable, that the train has left the station... In an error of automated bullshit, it’s time to become bullshit detectors,"
#MozFest
November 8, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
LAST CALL! #Sociology Professorships in Copenhagen, Denmark!

We're hiring 2+ open-rank profs (Asst/Assoc/Full). Any area.

Deadline: this Saturday, Nov 15!

Join a leading European sociology department. Please repost!

jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabeli...
Call for two or more open-rank academic positions in Sociology
jobportal.ku.dk
November 9, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
The Supreme Court's decision to let the Trump White House implement its anti-trans passport policy is vile, and I appreciate Jackson going out of her way to include in her dissent, for the record, the administration's language justifying the policy. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
November 6, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
November 6, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by Matt Contursi
Over the years I have read A LOT of damning stories about what Meta executives were saying internally about serious harms on their platforms (most of them written by Reuters’ @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social ). His new story is a blockbuster:
www.reuters.com/investigatio...

sherwood.news/tech/meta-pr...
Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams and banned goods, Reuters reports
The report shows that the company was hesitant to crack down harder on scams, due to the billions in revenue that they were generating for Meta....
sherwood.news
November 6, 2025 at 3:49 PM