Sydney Saubestre
@sydneysaubestre.bsky.social
Working on data and privacy policy at the Open Technology Institute. Views my own, post-structurally speaking.
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
#ICYMI: Last week OTI Senior Policy Analyst @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social took part in a #FOSI2025 panel on how age assurance measures can be effective, practical & responsive to the needs of children, families & industry. Check out the write-up of the day: fosi.org/event/fosi-a...
November 19, 2025 at 7:25 PM
#ICYMI: Last week OTI Senior Policy Analyst @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social took part in a #FOSI2025 panel on how age assurance measures can be effective, practical & responsive to the needs of children, families & industry. Check out the write-up of the day: fosi.org/event/fosi-a...
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
Talking about the tradeoffs between timeliness and accuracy is pretty abstract until you watch the Fed trying to read tea leaves from scraped LinkedIn data and online layoff announcements until the official data comes out
November 18, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Talking about the tradeoffs between timeliness and accuracy is pretty abstract until you watch the Fed trying to read tea leaves from scraped LinkedIn data and online layoff announcements until the official data comes out
A brief that reads like an excellent feature, includes archival research, and uses a specific historical moment to help us understand the U.S. as a whole? Highly recommend.
I have a new brief out today about the Ayers settlement in Mississippi.
Ayers was one of the longest running higher ed desegregation cases in history. When it was settled, MS Black colleges got $503 million over 17 years. But that's only half of the story. www.newamerica.org/education-po...
Ayers was one of the longest running higher ed desegregation cases in history. When it was settled, MS Black colleges got $503 million over 17 years. But that's only half of the story. www.newamerica.org/education-po...
A Rare Power: How Mississippi’s Higher Education Governing Board Stymied a Remedy for Segregation
What happens when equity remedies are delivered without structural reform? A look at a massive settlement at Mississippi Black colleges.
www.newamerica.org
October 22, 2025 at 9:17 PM
A brief that reads like an excellent feature, includes archival research, and uses a specific historical moment to help us understand the U.S. as a whole? Highly recommend.
As one fun data point: only 24% of tenure or tenure-track econ professors are women, so I don’t think these universities have much to worry about. But good to see they’re doubling down just in case.
In response to anti-DEI legislation in the states, universities have started to hire more white male faculty.
This increase starts before bills are signed into law.
Universities appear to be anticipating anti-DEI legislation and preemptively hiring more white men.
This increase starts before bills are signed into law.
Universities appear to be anticipating anti-DEI legislation and preemptively hiring more white men.
October 22, 2025 at 8:34 PM
As one fun data point: only 24% of tenure or tenure-track econ professors are women, so I don’t think these universities have much to worry about. But good to see they’re doubling down just in case.
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
New America experts around the web:
1️⃣ @kevincarey1.bsky.social for @theatlantic.com https://bit.ly/3WeYlJw
2️⃣ @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social quoted in @newsweek.com https://bit.ly/3W8Lgl5
3️⃣ Peter Singer for @defenseone.bsky.social https://bit.ly/4n8TiVW
1️⃣ @kevincarey1.bsky.social for @theatlantic.com https://bit.ly/3WeYlJw
2️⃣ @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social quoted in @newsweek.com https://bit.ly/3W8Lgl5
3️⃣ Peter Singer for @defenseone.bsky.social https://bit.ly/4n8TiVW
October 20, 2025 at 7:58 PM
New America experts around the web:
1️⃣ @kevincarey1.bsky.social for @theatlantic.com https://bit.ly/3WeYlJw
2️⃣ @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social quoted in @newsweek.com https://bit.ly/3W8Lgl5
3️⃣ Peter Singer for @defenseone.bsky.social https://bit.ly/4n8TiVW
1️⃣ @kevincarey1.bsky.social for @theatlantic.com https://bit.ly/3WeYlJw
2️⃣ @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social quoted in @newsweek.com https://bit.ly/3W8Lgl5
3️⃣ Peter Singer for @defenseone.bsky.social https://bit.ly/4n8TiVW
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
OTI Senior Policy Analyst @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social was quoted in @dangooding.bsky.social's new piece in @newsweek.com. She states: "If the government can’t be trusted to respect the limits on how it uses our data, it can’t be trusted to protect our democracy." www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-...
Trump admin accused of violating voters' privacy in search for immigrants
Senators Alex Padilla and Gary Peters allege DHS bypassed Congress with its SAVE program expansion.
www.newsweek.com
October 15, 2025 at 8:58 PM
OTI Senior Policy Analyst @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social was quoted in @dangooding.bsky.social's new piece in @newsweek.com. She states: "If the government can’t be trusted to respect the limits on how it uses our data, it can’t be trusted to protect our democracy." www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-...
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
Nice piece out today in the @nytimes.com that includes some coverage of our recent @pnas.org paper on air pollution and pets.
In a Toxic World, Pets Could Be Vital Health Watchdogs
www.nytimes.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Nice piece out today in the @nytimes.com that includes some coverage of our recent @pnas.org paper on air pollution and pets.
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
OTI's @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social & @premmtrivedi.bsky.social argue in @foreignpolicy.com that the #Trump admin is conducting #data theater—a move with the defining feature of performing objectivity through meaningless data staged to simulate truth. foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/22/u...
When U.S. Data Lies, the World Listens
The Trump administration’s manipulation of statistics is exporting uncertainty into the international system.
foreignpolicy.com
September 22, 2025 at 2:24 PM
OTI's @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social & @premmtrivedi.bsky.social argue in @foreignpolicy.com that the #Trump admin is conducting #data theater—a move with the defining feature of performing objectivity through meaningless data staged to simulate truth. foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/22/u...
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
HAPPENING NOW: @gwlaw.bsky.social's @daniel-solove.bsky.social, one of the world’s leading experts in #privacy law, is sitting down with OTI's @premmtrivedi.bsky.social to discuss privacy and its relationship to power, society and #democracy! bit.ly/4kUZpvQ
💻+🏢 ONLINE & @newamerica.org in D.C.
💻+🏢 ONLINE & @newamerica.org in D.C.
July 24, 2025 at 3:45 PM
HAPPENING NOW: @gwlaw.bsky.social's @daniel-solove.bsky.social, one of the world’s leading experts in #privacy law, is sitting down with OTI's @premmtrivedi.bsky.social to discuss privacy and its relationship to power, society and #democracy! bit.ly/4kUZpvQ
💻+🏢 ONLINE & @newamerica.org in D.C.
💻+🏢 ONLINE & @newamerica.org in D.C.
"Bearing moral witness matters even when it doesn’t automatically produce results, because failing to show up at all cedes ground unnecessarily."
I have a new piece out today in @theguardian.com on Rev. William Barber and the moral movement: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The Rev William Barber’s ‘moral movement’ confronts Trump’s America. Can it work?
In weekly nonviolent protests that channel the civil rights tradition, the faithful rally to end poverty and injustice
www.theguardian.com
July 7, 2025 at 3:54 PM
"Bearing moral witness matters even when it doesn’t automatically produce results, because failing to show up at all cedes ground unnecessarily."
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
I just took a quiz on how much of my personal data DOGE can access. The results aren’t pretty. Take it now to discover how much of your sensitive info is now exposed. #HandsOffMyData www.newamerica.org/oti/briefs/q...
Quiz: What Does DOGE Know About You?
The Department of Government Efficiency has unauthorized access to millions of Americans’ data. Take New America’s quiz to see how much of your data is at risk.
www.newamerica.org
June 25, 2025 at 1:49 PM
I just took a quiz on how much of my personal data DOGE can access. The results aren’t pretty. Take it now to discover how much of your sensitive info is now exposed. #HandsOffMyData www.newamerica.org/oti/briefs/q...
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
Open Technology Institute Senior Policy Analyst @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social breaks down #SCOTUS giving #DOGE access to Americans' Social Security #data. See what personal info of yours may be at risk! www.newamerica.org/the-thread/d...
The Supreme Court Gave DOGE Access to Your Most Sensitive Data
Supreme Court ruling weakens data privacy, giving DOGE access to sensitive Social Security records. Learn what’s at risk—and what you can do.
www.newamerica.org
June 13, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Open Technology Institute Senior Policy Analyst @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social breaks down #SCOTUS giving #DOGE access to Americans' Social Security #data. See what personal info of yours may be at risk! www.newamerica.org/the-thread/d...
I’ve long warned friends against commercial genetic testing — but didn’t expect 23andMe to end up trying to sell people’s DNA in bankruptcy court. Their excuse? “It’s in the privacy policy.” Meaningful consent? That’s a stretch. 🧵 (1/n)
Congress is concerned w/ the future of users’ DNA data when #23andMe gets sold off in bankruptcy court.
The concern's warranted! It's now difficult to exercise #privacy. But we can address this difficulty. Read @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social's piece to learn more: www.newamerica.org/oti/briefs/w...
The concern's warranted! It's now difficult to exercise #privacy. But we can address this difficulty. Read @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social's piece to learn more: www.newamerica.org/oti/briefs/w...
What’s the Value of Privacy?
It’s time to explore systemic frameworks for privacy valuation that reflect the potential costs and benefits of sharing data.
www.newamerica.org
June 11, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I’ve long warned friends against commercial genetic testing — but didn’t expect 23andMe to end up trying to sell people’s DNA in bankruptcy court. Their excuse? “It’s in the privacy policy.” Meaningful consent? That’s a stretch. 🧵 (1/n)
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
What if mad cow, but for the internet.
AI Models Show Signs of Falling Apart as They Ingest More AI-Generated Data
As CEOs trip over themselves to invest in AI, the models are falling apart at the seams and going mad from cannibalism.
futurism.com
May 30, 2025 at 4:13 PM
What if mad cow, but for the internet.
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
In April, @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social joined @davidalruiz.bsky.social on the #LockAndCode podcast to discuss #DOGE’s push for sensitive personal data held by the federal government.
The concerns shared then foreshadowed dissents on #SCOTUS decision to allow DOGE access to Social Security data:
The concerns shared then foreshadowed dissents on #SCOTUS decision to allow DOGE access to Social Security data:
Did DOGE “Breach” Americans’ Data?
Sydney Saubestre on DOGE’s push for data access
bit.ly
June 9, 2025 at 9:28 PM
In April, @sydneysaubestre.bsky.social joined @davidalruiz.bsky.social on the #LockAndCode podcast to discuss #DOGE’s push for sensitive personal data held by the federal government.
The concerns shared then foreshadowed dissents on #SCOTUS decision to allow DOGE access to Social Security data:
The concerns shared then foreshadowed dissents on #SCOTUS decision to allow DOGE access to Social Security data:
The Supreme Court just overrode an injunction blocking #DOGE 's access to Social Security data. Millions of people’s personal records are now exposed before the courts even decide whether that access is even legal.
June 6, 2025 at 11:39 PM
The Supreme Court just overrode an injunction blocking #DOGE 's access to Social Security data. Millions of people’s personal records are now exposed before the courts even decide whether that access is even legal.
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
With #AI, #HigherEd institutions see themselves at a crossroads: Take a leap of faith on innovation, or abstain to ensure autonomy and student #privacy?
The answer, per Sydney Saubestre and Joel Yong: None of the above!
⬇️ Read more in a new brief from @newamerica.org's Open Technology Institute.
The answer, per Sydney Saubestre and Joel Yong: None of the above!
⬇️ Read more in a new brief from @newamerica.org's Open Technology Institute.
All Aboard: The Ethics of Campus AI and Higher Education’s New Trolley Problem
Universities don’t have to choose between a false dichotomy of either ceding control to artificial intelligence or rejecting it entirely.
bit.ly
June 5, 2025 at 8:11 PM
With #AI, #HigherEd institutions see themselves at a crossroads: Take a leap of faith on innovation, or abstain to ensure autonomy and student #privacy?
The answer, per Sydney Saubestre and Joel Yong: None of the above!
⬇️ Read more in a new brief from @newamerica.org's Open Technology Institute.
The answer, per Sydney Saubestre and Joel Yong: None of the above!
⬇️ Read more in a new brief from @newamerica.org's Open Technology Institute.
@adamhsays.com is one of the only people, outside of a Hollywood writer's room, who can make me feel invested in sports. Now a Pop fan.
This piece is a balm—highly recommend.
This piece is a balm—highly recommend.
June 2, 2025 at 8:58 PM
@adamhsays.com is one of the only people, outside of a Hollywood writer's room, who can make me feel invested in sports. Now a Pop fan.
This piece is a balm—highly recommend.
This piece is a balm—highly recommend.
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
everything means the opposite for these people. freedom
means your freedom to obey. the first amendment means their freedom to tell you what you can read and think.
means your freedom to obey. the first amendment means their freedom to tell you what you can read and think.
En banc Fifth Circuit overrules decades of precedent and holds that there is no First Amendment right to receive information in a public library.
May 23, 2025 at 2:53 PM
everything means the opposite for these people. freedom
means your freedom to obey. the first amendment means their freedom to tell you what you can read and think.
means your freedom to obey. the first amendment means their freedom to tell you what you can read and think.
Would this be considered method acting or just immersive theater?
Georgia high school production of "The Crucible" is canceled after parent complaints that it "was demonic and disgusting."
@hesherman.bsky.social: "the play about witch hunts, about the persecution of people out of hysteria...had provoked the same moral persecution it portrayed as unjust."
@hesherman.bsky.social: "the play about witch hunts, about the persecution of people out of hysteria...had provoked the same moral persecution it portrayed as unjust."
» Silencing the Witches in Georgia High School “Crucible” Howard Sherman
hesherman.com
May 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Would this be considered method acting or just immersive theater?
Choice is when you can’t get a vaccine but your cousin can sell raw milk on Facebook. Preventive care? Gatekept. Pseudoscience? Sponsored. Funny how “freedom to choose” always means fewer choices.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/h...
F.D.A. Poised to Restrict Access to Covid Vaccines
www.nytimes.com
May 20, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Choice is when you can’t get a vaccine but your cousin can sell raw milk on Facebook. Preventive care? Gatekept. Pseudoscience? Sponsored. Funny how “freedom to choose” always means fewer choices.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/h...
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
Smartwatch data
The National Institutes of Health will partner with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to create a database of Americans with autism, using insurance claims, medical records and smartwatch data.
RFK Jr. says autism database will use Medicare and Medicaid info
The National Institutes of Health will partner with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to create a database of Americans with autism, using insurance claims, medical records and smartwatch data.
www.npr.org
May 9, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Smartwatch data
Reposted by Sydney Saubestre
OTI Policy Director @premmtrivedi.bsky.social was on @cnn.com this weekend speaking with @kimbrunhuber.bsky.social about age verification online and other measures to improve youth online safety! Watch the clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnAb...
Prem Trivedi on CNN Newsroom: Proposed New Age Verification Rules
YouTube video by New America
www.youtube.com
May 5, 2025 at 4:35 PM
OTI Policy Director @premmtrivedi.bsky.social was on @cnn.com this weekend speaking with @kimbrunhuber.bsky.social about age verification online and other measures to improve youth online safety! Watch the clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnAb...
A really solid thread on the Spain/Portugal power outage, other then no mention of the most obvious cause: tilting at windmills. First instance well documented in 1605. Good graphs, bad grasp of history.
Wow! Huge power outage in Spain/Portugal. Just managed to pull this from the Spanish grid operator's website before it timed out. Demand cratered from 25GW to less than 10GW in an instant. 🔌💡
May 1, 2025 at 3:36 AM
A really solid thread on the Spain/Portugal power outage, other then no mention of the most obvious cause: tilting at windmills. First instance well documented in 1605. Good graphs, bad grasp of history.