Felix A. Epp
LightNews LightNews
banner
felix.science
Felix A. Epp
@felix.science
64 followers 220 following 9 posts
Postdoctoral Researcher in Design, HCI, Futures and Social Computing at the University of Helsinki and Aalto University
Current: role of values and ideologies in the design of technologies.
Active at the Research Professionals Union
https://felix.science
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Felix A. Epp
josephcox.bsky.social
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people

www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
Ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee Bennie G. Thompson said in a statement “Mobile Fortify is a dangerous tool in the hands of ICE, and it puts American citizens at risk of detention and even deportation.” He also said “ICE officials have told us that an apparent biometric match by Mobile Fortify is a ‘definitive’ determination of a person’s status and that an ICE officer may ignore evidence of American citizenship—including a birth certificate—if the app says the person is an alien. ICE using a mobile biometrics app in ways its developers at CBP never intended or tested is a frightening, repugnant, and unconstitutional attack on Americans’ rights and freedoms.”
October 29, 2025 at 3:03 PM
felix.science
I'm already in the lovely city of Bergen 🇳🇴 for #CSCW25
If you are interested and around I'll present our work this Wednesday at 9 am:
🗣️ -> programs.sigchi.org/cscw/2025/pr...
Conference Programs
programs.sigchi.org
October 20, 2025 at 3:03 PM
felix.science
But we also found key affordances which don't map to the economic left and right spectrum. For example, left-leaning groups had different attitudes towards user intervention, and groups across the spectrum decided against a personalised newsfeed, instead opting for a classic web forum architecture.
A table listing participant group's stance on four key social media affordances. The participant groups are Group 1 Right-leaning (RL), Group 2 Left-leaning (LL), Group 3 Left-leaning (LL) and Group 4 Mixed (M). For row Popularity-based Visibility: Group 1 RL: Encourage, Group 2 LL: Refuse, Group 3 LL: Discourage, Group 4 M: N.A.. For row Flexible Profile Work: Group 1 RL: Discourage, Group 2 LL: Allow, Group 3 LL: Encourage, Group 4 M: Allow. For row User Intervention: Group 1 RL: Allow, Group 2 LL: N.A., Group 3 LL: Encourage, Group 4 M: Encourage. For row Open Network Interactions: Group 1 RL: Refuse, Group 2 LL: Refuse, Group 3 LL: Encourage, Group 4 M: Refuse.
October 20, 2025 at 3:03 PM
felix.science
We let politicians across the Finnish political spectrum sketch out a social media platform and examine the values their proposals embody.

Our findings suggest that,
📈 the political right prefers visibility based on popularity,
👨🏻‍🎤 while the left supports more flexible self-presentation.
An image split into left and right parts, with screenshots and titles below. On the left, a sketch showing descriptions of a social media profile, including "verified account", "parody account", and a list of political interests above the title "Left prefers flexible profile work". On the right, a sketch of a list of posts with stars in front and the annotation "timely topic, you can still impact" and the title below: "Right prefers popularity-based visibility".
October 20, 2025 at 3:03 PM