Cynthia Khoo
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cyn-k.bsky.social
Cynthia Khoo
@cyn-k.bsky.social
2.1K followers 830 following 440 posts
⚖️ Senior Fellow @citizenlab.ca | fmr @cippic.bsky.social | fmr @georgetownprivacy.bsky.social
👩🏻‍💻 Tech & human rights lawyer @ tekhnoslaw.ca
🎓 LLM @cdtsuottawaclts.bsky.social | JD @UVicLaw
🤸🏻‍♀️ Capoeirista
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cyn-k.bsky.social
This is a horror story passed off as child's fable, from Grimm bro.s to colonial violence in residential schools, to universities' use of misogyny, racism & ableism against survivors & those protesting genocide. Chillingly unravelled by @saranahmed.bsky.social : open.substack.com/pub/feminist...
Quote from substack article: "Those who abuse the power given to them by institutions pass themselves off as the arms, as the one’s being beaten by a disciplinary regime. And when those who abuse the power given to them by institutions pass themselves off as the arms, the complainers become the rods, the managers, the police and the prison guards. This helps to explain why some people who complain formally about sexual harassment are called carceral feminists even though complaining within organizations does not involve calling the police or sending people to prison. That the complainer is called a carceral feminist can be a measure of how passing succeeds; the arm and rod have switched places. That it can be hard to tell the difference between the arms and the rods is instrumentalised. Nation-states too speak as if they are the arms, the persecuted, whilst acting as the rods, the persecutors. Genocidal states. Israel. Speak as an arm, act like a rod."
November 23, 2025 at 7:59 PM
cyn-k.bsky.social
Incredible thread. Was also struck by this part of the @deathpanel.bsky.social Tribute to Alice @sfdirewolf.bsky.social and Leslie @leslieleeiii.bsky.social:
Quote from substack article: "And even as she became more widely recognized—a MacArthur Fellow, a world wide media figure, truly a cultural force—she never forgot her core ethic: that visibility without redistribution is meaningless. That platforms are worthless unless they uplift others. That philanthropy is compromised unless it is seized as a wedge for systemic change. That activism isn’t supposed to be comfortable, or palatable, or convenient. She lived that. She lived it while collaborating with us. While fighting the medical industrial complex. She lived in the clarity of her politics in solidarity with Palestinian liberation where she said, plainly, that disabled liberation is inseparable from the liberation of all oppressed peoples. She lived it in her refusal to be apolitical in a world that often demands that disabled people stay silent, grateful, and compliant."
November 22, 2025 at 8:17 PM
cyn-k.bsky.social
Exciting week for @cdtsuottawaclts.bsky.social & @uocommonlaw.bsky.social Law & Tech! For those still in town after the conference (where I'll be speaking on the civil society panel), I'm hosting this on Oct 4—a space for more critical discussion of AI. RSVP to join here: tinyurl.com/criticalAIsalon
Critical AI Breakfast Salon Saturday, Oct 4, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm Métropolitain Brasserie 700 Sussex Dr, Ottawa, ON What Is This? Join us over an informal late morning breakfast for an opportunity to gather, connect, and exchange ideas with colleagues around critical AI studies and critical approaches to AI law and regulation, and what those mean within and for the Canadian technology law and policy landscape. If you are concerned about the state of AI discourse in Canada, namely, the lack of representation of impacted and marginalized communities, or the missing lens of AI as a tool of power, capital, and colonialism, or if you are simply tired of the AI hype cycle and AI boosterism, then this event is for you. Who Is Invited? This event is open to attendees of the CLTS @ 15 / 25 anniversary event of the Centre for Law, Technology, and Society at the University of Ottawa. Please note this salon is organized as an independent side event, hosted and sponsored by Tekhnos Law, and that neither the CLTS nor University of Ottawa are involved. What Should I Know? - Complimentary drinks and light breakfast bites will be provided! - Modified Chatham House Rule will apply (no attribution unless person wishes). - Limited spots are available to allow for more fulsome discussion and engagement by attendees. RSVP fast if you want to attend. - An agenda and discussion questions will be sent to registrants 1-2 days in advance. RSVP: tinyurl.com/criticalAIsalon Questions/Contact: critical.ai@tekhnoslaw.ca
September 29, 2025 at 1:25 PM
cyn-k.bsky.social
Made a tiny but crucial and probably overdue update the other day to my law firm website (with some sadness, but in the spirit of keeping it real... 🥲)
"You love the Internet and want to protect human rights. I can help." You have a love/hate relationship with the Internet and want to protect human rights. I can help.
July 18, 2025 at 5:53 PM
cyn-k.bsky.social
CS closes w/ this quote on the problem of "missing data sets" from Mimi Onuoha: "'Missing data sets' are the blank spots that exist in spaces that are otherwise data-saturated. ... It implies both a lack and an ought: something does not exist, but it should." #sttocon mimionuoha.com/the-library-...
Quote: ""Missing data sets" are the blank spots that exist in spaces that are otherwise data-saturated. Wherever large amounts of data are collected, there are often empty spaces where no data live. The word "missing" is inherently normative. It implies both a lack and an ought: something does not exist, but it should. That which should be somewhere is not in its expected place; an established system is disrupted by distinct absence. That which we ignore reveals more than what we give our attention to. It’s in these things that we find cultural and colloquial hints of what is deemed important. Spots that we've left blank reveal our hidden social biases and indifferences."
June 7, 2025 at 7:26 PM
cyn-k.bsky.social
Maybe one of the coolest things that's happened to me—being illustrated in a zine! (Not that that's the important part 😅) Much thanks to @kristenthomasen.bsky.social, awesome panelists, & @marcngui.bsky.social for capturing our discussion so well. Check it out here: tinyurl.com/rtfzine #WeRobot2025
Screenshot of cover page and back page of zine | Cover text: Resisting Technofascism: A Panel Discussion @ We Robot 2025 (An annual conference on law and policy relating to robotics) | Panellists: Vasanthi Venkatesh, Sara Ghebremusse, Luke Stark, Bianca Wylie | Moderated by Cynthia Khoo | Back page text: To Do: Divest Dismantle Abolish | Whatever we do, we live it together. We don't have to serve the interests of technology and capital, which are human creations and can be human destructions. We can instead serve the collective good. To build: Relationships, Community, Hope
May 23, 2025 at 2:58 PM
cyn-k.bsky.social
#WeRobot2025 Final post to shout out whoever did the graphic design for this conference. It was SO adorable and aesthetically pleasing and friendly/ welcoming! Further helped set the tone @windsorlaw.bsky.social. Thanks to all who followed along! [I reserve the right to tack on addenda later] ☺️
April 5, 2025 at 8:50 PM
cyn-k.bsky.social
#WeRobot2025 If you're interested in reading more on relationality in tech/AI law, have I got a... microblog post from the site which shall not be named... for you :p (i'm SORRY, i KNOW) (Also a We Robot throwback! Even if it is my own) @clarehuntington.bsky.social
Screenshot of two tweets, each with a screenshot of a slide. First tweet says: "RELATIONAL FORESEEABILITY: Relational foreseeability takes into account power dynamics and systemic impacts on marginalized groups and individuals, in assessing what ought to be legally foreseeable by a reasonable person in law." Second tweet says: "My idea of relational foreseeability is directly informed by @CraigCarys 's relational copyright & @ianrkerr 's relational privacy. Foreseeability shd also be intersectional & based on what harms a VULNERABLE reasonable person wd foresee, not a privileged SV tech bro. #WeRobot2020"
April 4, 2025 at 8:28 PM
cyn-k.bsky.social
Been meaning to read more on Australia's <16 social media ban & of course an episode drops right on time. Highlights: SNOW AUSSIES (I think maybe not accurate to desc Cdns but term is so delightful I almost wish it were) and @parismarx.com making basically this point but for social media regulation:
Yellow diamond "baby on board" car sticker but it says in all-caps: "[top line] Adults on Board [bottom line, smaller font size] We want to live too!"
December 6, 2024 at 10:39 PM
cyn-k.bsky.social
Concerns re DSC hv focused on how much power it'll hv. I'm more concerned about how & on whom it'll wield that power. To mitigate, DSC policies, analyses, decisions must meaningfully integrate substantive equality & honest clear-eyed assessmt of sociotech power dynamics. www.leaf.ca/publication/...
Screen-captured paragraph: "The failure to apply substantive equality to distinguish between users’ social locations and power dynamics is what results in regressive situations such as Facebook having a set of rules that formally protected white men, but not Black children, from hate speech. [Footnote 909.] Substantive equality would also be relevant to determining whether someone is being subjected to a coordinated harassment campaign, for example, or is being subjected to an outpouring of legitimate criticism for a valid reason."
December 5, 2024 at 12:35 AM