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25 Jun, 6 tweets, 3 min read
This week, the Senate blocked legislation aimed at protecting the right to vote, while Democrats in the House created a Select Committee to investigate January 6. I spoke to @hakeemjefferson on anti-democratic forces in the U.S. and the role of technology:
techpolicy.press/hakeem-jeffers…
Jefferson was one of the leaders of an effort by nearly 1000 political scientists to express concern over democratic backsliding in dozens of states where GOP legislatures are pushing limitations to voting rights in the wake of false claims about 2020: newamerica.org/political-refo…
I was struck by the clarity of his assessment of the January 6 assault, just hours after it happened. fivethirtyeight.com/features/storm…
.@hakeemjefferson says technology executives must engage with experts who understand the white supremacist motivations behind anti-democratic behaviors in the U.S. techpolicy.press/hakeem-jeffers…
You can find links to subscribe to the podcast here: techpolicy.press/podcast/
And CORRECTION, I linked to the statement of concern above to which @hakeemjefferson was a signatory, but the letter of support for the For the People Act is here: polisciforthepeople.com

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Justin Hendrix Profile picture
20 Jun
This week, the 20th episode of the @techpolicypress podcast takes on hard problems: first, we have @daphnehk on the regulation of algorithmic amplification; and second @HalSinger takes us on a tour of five new bills on competition put forward in the House:
techpolicy.press/hard-problems-…
I spoke to @daphnehk, who directs the Program on Platform Regulation at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, about her @knightcolumbia essay, "Amplification and Its Discontents: Why regulating the reach of online content is hard." Read: knightcolumbia.org/content/amplif…
techpolicy.press/hard-problems-…
To take a tour of the five new bills that Rep @davidcicilline and @RepKenBuck announced in the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee this month, I spoke to @HalSinger, Managing Director at Econ One. Hal walked me through each bill and the response to it: techpolicy.press/hard-problems-…
Read 5 tweets
Justin Hendrix Profile picture
18 Jun
"One thing that’s standing in the way of such a debate is fearmongering by tech companies and their allies. They tend to decry anything that might alter how Big Tech operates as somehow helping China win the future." -@ShiraOvide nytimes.com/2021/06/17/tec…
I want to laud this piece for a few reasons. One, I think this line of argument is actually far more prevalent than might be apparent to a typical informed person. It is whispered in meetings way more than it is discussed in the press. And two, it is massive distraction....
And not just from where the focus of the dialogue about tech should be. The overall narrative around China as enemy distracts us from the massive problems we have at home in our democracy. If America stumbles this century I feel confident saying it will NOT be China's fault....
Read 4 tweets
Justin Hendrix Profile picture
17 Jun
More than a dozen researchers at multiple universities who study technology, behavior and complex systems believe questions about the impact of communications technology on collective behavior should be regarded as a "crisis discipline," says a new paper: techpolicy.press/study-of-socia…
Noting "the vulnerability of these systems to misinformation and disinformation poses a dire threat to health, peace, global climate and more," they call on researchers and social media executives to take a Hippocratic oath not to harm to humanity. techpolicy.press/study-of-socia…
Citing challenges such as vaccine refusal, election misinfo, racism and extremism, they say “the structure of our social networks and the patterns of information that flow through them are directed by engineering decisions made to maximize profitability" techpolicy.press/study-of-socia…
Read 4 tweets
Justin Hendrix Profile picture
15 Jun
In a hearing on January 6 insurrection hosted by the House Oversight, @RepMaloney said that “the Committee has obtained documents showing that the social media company Parler sent the FBI evidence of planned violence in Washington DC on January 6." techpolicy.press/parler-warned-…
It was the first confirmation that a social media platform provided the FBI with specific material related to plans by supporters of former President Donald Trump to attack the US Capitol before January 6. techpolicy.press/parler-warned-…
FBI Director Christopher Wray previously did not offer a clear answer as to whether the FBI received specific threats from social media companies in prior testimony when pressed on the matter by @RepSwalwell:
Read 5 tweets
Justin Hendrix Profile picture
15 Jun
The White House says domestic extremism is "a national security threat whose front lines are overwhelmingly private sector online platforms." Is Silicon Valley really willing to join the government in the trenches? techpolicy.press/white-house-st…
Overall, the strategy is a step in the right direction, says @CCDHate's Imran Ahmed. “You can see the whirring of the gears, but it is going to take time for federal agencies to recover from the loss of time that the Trumpian dereliction of duty caused.” techpolicy.press/white-house-st…
But there is reason for skepticism about the role of tech companies. "That is working off a premise that I feel unfortunately hasn't always been true," said @jaredlholt, "that platforms are widely invested in countering extremist content on their services."techpolicy.press/white-house-st…
Read 6 tweets
Justin Hendrix Profile picture
10 Jun
Researchers find Google serves nearly half of all ad traffic on fake news sites- and Amazon is the top retailer advertising on low credibility sites: techpolicy.press/researchers-fi…
A paper to be presented tomorrow at the International University of Michigan School of Information researchers @lia_bozarth and @cerenbudak find that hundreds of fake news sites are “surprisingly dependent on top credible ad firms,” including Google, Outbrain, Yandex et al.
The Amazon finding is in a separate paper by the pair in @journalqd, which finds the online giant joining donaldjtrump dot com, americanexpress dot com and menswearhouse dot com among the top retailers appearing on low credibility sites.
Read 5 tweets

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