Tech Policy Press

A $3.5 billion deal between Greece and Israel highlights a gap in Europe's rules on AI surveillance tech and weapons: "European human rights conditionality scrutinizes what weapons member states sell to others, but falls silent about purchases," writes Tech Policy Press fellow Petra Molnar. https://lnkd.in/eSpjYG7t

United States Custom and Border Protection's warrantless device searches at the border have nearly doubled since early 2023, writes Tech Policy Press fellow Jake Laperruque, and a new 2nd Circuit ruling keeps in place "an archaic standard ill-suited for the digital age." https://lnkd.in/ekV92wjq

Brussels is cutting digital red tape while proposing new rules like the EU Kids Act. Mark Scott writes that the two competing philosophies playing out in real time are exposing a tension at the heart of Europe's digital agenda. https://lnkd.in/dnAyc9QZ

Why is Pennsylvania ground zero in the fight over AI data centers? Tech Policy Press editor Justin Hendrix asks Data & Society Research Institute researchers Maia Woluchem and Ana Carolina D., authors of "The AI Factory," and organizer Hannah Sassaman People's Tech Project. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/daTVwNBD

Most state attorneys general released Meta from Cambridge Analytica-related claims as part of the child safety settlement. New Mexico wasn't part of that deal, and a jury there just found 26 of 29 past statements about Cambridge Analytica, hate speech and misinformation willfully deceptive. https://lnkd.in/eTF8ysat 

Days before Brazil's election, Meta briefly blocked President Lula's campaign page from running political ads and removed an Instagram profile behind a viral video on Flávio Bolsonaro. Both decisions were reversed, but raised public concerns. Brazilian journalist Laís Martins reports. https://lnkd.in/eVswGkR7

Tech Policy Press rounds up what non-Western governments said about AI at the UN last week, from calls for a greater role in shaping the rules to warnings that slowing AI must not deepen the digital divide. https://lnkd.in/gR8SWMSV

Pleased to have my latest article published today by Tech Policy Press: Tahmina's husband used her digital ID to open a company in her name and rack up debt. She first learned about this when the Danish tax authority sent her a letter, stating she owed it $78,120. Mary's husband secretly used her digital ID to log into her bank account and keep an eye on what she was buying, as well as control how much pocket money he gave her. An economic abuse survivor in the UK had her husband take out a number of debts in her name, including for a luxury car worth over £100,000 ($135,900). She said she “felt unable to refuse because of my partner’s coercive nature." These are just a few examples of a worrying trend I discovered. Every fifth woman in Europe experiences economic abuse, and it's increasingly enabled by digital ID. Yet police officers and policymakers are only just beginning to understand economic abuse to begin with – leaving victims with a long path to justice. Read the article below. This story was first published by Fuller; link to that one in the comments! https://lnkd.in/eWERei2j

With Brazil's presidential election upcoming this weekend, it's a good time to reflect on the ways in which different approaches to platform regulation affect the information ecosystems that influence civic participation. Please take a look at my most recent piece about protecting the public good that is Wikipedia with wonderful co-authors João Alexandre Peschanski (Wikimedia Brasil) and Amalia T. (Wikimedia Foundation) published by Tech Policy Press!