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Tech Transparency Project Profile picture
Tech Transparency Project
@TTP_updates
The Tech Transparency Project (TTP) is a research initiative of @Accountable_Org that seeks to hold large technology companies accountable.
Sep 17 • 16 tweets • 8 min read
Meta made a well-publicized announcement today about its “new” efforts to protect teens on Instagram. But there’s little about them that’s new—in fact, there is little about the announcement that is new.

Meta claimed for years to already be implementing these features.

THREAD👇 Private accounts by default: This is not a new feature, but Meta is pushing it as one.

March 17, 2021 - Instagram announced that it would “restrict people over 19 years old from sending private messages to teens who don’t follow them”

about.instagram.com/blog/announcem…
Image
Feb 14 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
NEW: X is providing premium services to the leaders of a U.S.-designated terrorist group and other sanctioned entities, according to new research from TTP.

The arrangement may be a violation of sanctions law.
techtransparencyproject.org/articles/x-pro…
Image Under X’s old system, U.S.-sanctioned individuals & organizations were allowed to have free accounts, some of which were verified. Now, though, these accounts must pay X at least $8/month to keep their blue check.
Nov 30, 2023 • 15 tweets • 5 min read
NEW FROM TTP & @ADL: Hate groups have been fundraising on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and X, where weak enforcement allows them to build audiences and sell merchandise. In some cases, they've even set up "shop" or "donate" buttons. adl.org/resources/blog…
Image First, we identified 55 websites that were A) associated with antisemitic or white supremacist groups and B) used to raise funds or operate an online store. Then, we searched for links to these websites on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X.
Aug 16, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Meta might have policies against ads for knock-off medications, but they aren’t being enforced – or Meta’s screening systems are falling dangerously short. Now, Ozempic "alternatives" are being hawked on Facebook and Instagram. @RolfeWinkler @saraashleyo
wsj.com/articles/knock… 4 months ago, @David_Ingram reported on Meta platform ads that mentioned “semaglutide,” Ozempic’s active ingredient. Not all were ads for fake meds, unlike those uncovered by the WSJ, but thousands were removed by Meta after the article's publication. nbcnews.com/tech/internet/…
Jan 31, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
A new UN report highlights the inequities of climate change. As usual, wealthy populations that produce the most emissions are the least likely to be seriously impacted by extreme weather or food shortages. So where do those emissions come from? One emissions source identified by the report is air travel, which is accessible to many residents of high income countries. The most carbon-intensive way to fly, though, is by private jet – and very few individuals can afford that.
Jan 30, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
“If we tell a child, use the force of your willpower to control how much time you’re spending, you’re pitting a child against the world’s greatest product designers.” - @Surgeon_General on social media & children’s development Product design & recommendation algorithms make it much easier for children to be exposed to harmful content on social media. In one of TTP's experiments, we found that Instagram allowed teens to find a drug dealer in 2 clicks – logging out took 5. techtransparencyproject.org/articles/xanax…
Jul 29, 2022 • 10 tweets • 5 min read
The California militia highlighted in a new piece by @oneunderscore_ and @CASottile is well-known to @TTP_updates – we’ve been tracking their organizing on Facebook for years.

THREAD 👉
The Echo Company of the California State Militia used Facebook to recruit and organize following Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election.
Jul 27, 2022 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
NEW: To learn how online migration misinformation affects real people, TTP had interviewers speak with 200 migrants—half in Guatemala at the start of their journey northward and half in shelters just south of the US-Mexico border.

Here's what they said. techtransparencyproject.org/articles/insid… Interviewers asked migrants about how they accessed information, the sources they used and trusted the most, and how rumors or misinformation affected their lives. The interviewers also asked migrants to name specific social media accounts, pages, or groups that they followed. Image
Jan 4, 2022 • 19 tweets • 11 min read
NEW: Facebook played a key role in radicalizing people who took part in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

TTP's investigation found the platform is still failing to stem the flow of far-right militias and continuing to profit from ads recruiting militia.

THREAD

techtransparencyproject.org/articles/year-… In January 2021, TTP released a report identifying Facebook groups for militia and extremists as a key factor in organizing the January 6 insurrection.

techtransparencyproject.org/articles/capit…
Dec 23, 2021 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
THREAD: Apple is going to face major scrutiny from both shareholders and regulators in 2022 over its use of forced labor in China. Two developments in recent days show how: The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which Biden signed earlier today, requires companies to prove that goods produced in China's Xinjiang, or with laborers from there, are not products of forced labor.
Nov 9, 2021 • 14 tweets • 6 min read
Today, Facebook announced it would remove thousands of ad targeting options that users may perceive as sensitive.

It called this change a “difficult decision,” suggesting the company struggles with putting users ahead of profit.

👇THREAD👇 nytimes.com/2021/11/09/tec… Citied in @nytimes' coverage of today's announcement is TTP's January report which identified ads for body armor, gun holsters and rifle enhancements in far-right militia groups on Facebook after Jan 6. @MikeIsaac @tiffkhsu -- @RMac18 @CraigSilverman techtransparencyproject.org/articles/how-f…
Oct 24, 2021 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
NEW: Today, TTP released a report showing that YouTube’s recommendation algorithm pushes users into ideological filter bubbles that are stronger for viewers of right-wing content. 👇THREAD👇 techtransparencyproject.org/articles/youtu… TTP director Katie Paul joined @CNN’s @brianstelter on @ReliableSources to discuss the report and the role that YouTube plays in exacerbating the country’s growing political polarization.
Oct 23, 2021 • 32 tweets • 20 min read
THREAD: For months, TTP monitored and recorded threats from militia and far-right actors online

In January, we released what we gathered in that time: militia recruiting, threats to public officials, even calls for martyrdom—all posted openly on Facebook

techtransparencyproject.org/articles/capit… All of the content TTP collected illustrate **multiple violations** of Facebook policies implemented to curb threats.

The policies are ineffective in part because Facebook failed to enforce them and it continues to fail at enforcing them.
Aug 20, 2021 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
TTP combed through hundreds of pages of previously undisclosed emails about Apple's state lobbying efforts and worked with @birnbaum_e to shine light on how the iPhone giant is killing legislation that threatens its tight grip on the App Store. politico.com/news/2021/08/2… Apple's lobbyists, along with numerous interest groups it funds as a member—like @CTIA, @appfairness, @TechNetUpdate, and @ElecTranAssoc—barraged Georgia legislators with letters warning of the potential legal and economic consequences if the bills passed.
Aug 5, 2021 • 14 tweets • 8 min read
NEW: TTP investigation finds that Facebook's failures to stem the flow of election conspiracies that led to the Capitol riot.

Now, it’s failing again with misinformation about Arizona’s election ‘audit' — and militia are taking advantage

THREAD

techtransparencyproject.org/articles/false… TTP identified a user who’s been posting nearly identical content about false audits and election misinfo in multiple pro-Trump and far-right groups on a daily basis— a misinfo “superspreader” operating freely on the platform with no apparent intervention by Facebook. Image
Jul 1, 2021 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
NEW: As debate around antitrust reform heats up in Congress, Facebook, Google, and other Big Tech companies are quietly using a hand-picked group of small businesses to amplify their anti-regulatory messages.

THREAD 👇techtransparencyproject.org/articles/big-t… Central to this strategy is @ConnectedCoun (3C), a nonprofit that bills itself as a voice for small businesses but appears to be little more than a front for Big Tech, as we first reported in 2019. techtransparencyproject.org/articles/big-t…
Apr 16, 2021 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
NEW: An investigation by TTP reveals dozens of Facebook pages where human smugglers offer migrants passage across the southern US border.

Despite years of warnings, Facebook has no proactive effort to address human smuggling on its platform.

THREAD👇
techtransparencyproject.org/articles/faceb… TTP’s investigation provides fresh evidence that Facebook continues to be a hub for human smuggling operations.

The research identified dozens of Facebook pages offering passage across the U.S. southern border, simply by searching the site for basic Spanish phrases.
Mar 24, 2021 • 23 tweets • 13 min read
NEW: THREAD Zuckerberg is about to face lawmakers two months after the Capitol riot. But Facebook still hasn’t fixed its militia problem.

TTP found 200+ pages, dozens of groups and profiles for militia despite Facebook's promises to remove such content techtransparencyproject.org/articles/faceb… Facebook is leaving gaping holes in its crackdown on militia groups. TTP's investigation identified 201 militia pages on Facebook as of March 18, more than two months after the Capitol riot.

Roughly 70% (140) of the pages had the word “militia” in their name.
Mar 22, 2021 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: Today, TTP released a report detailing how Big Tech made heavy use of the Trump administration to advance their foreign business interests last year, undeterred by Trump’s escalating promotion of baseless election conspiracy theories. techtransparencyproject.org/articles/trump… Emails obtained by TTP under the Freedom of Information Act show that Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple worked closely with @USTradeRep45 in 2020 to bolster their bottom lines, despite public statements from these companies’ CEOs condemning the result of Trump’s election lies.
Mar 17, 2021 • 10 tweets • 5 min read
THREAD: Today, Facebook announced its new efforts to address the problem of Groups. But its track record on the issue leaves much to be desired.

Over the past year, the Groups feature has been used to organize violence, share bomb making instructions, and recruit militia. First, let's remember that less than two years ago at its annual F8 summit, Facebook announced that it would be pivoting to make the Groups feature a central part of the platform.

buzzfeednews.com/article/nicole…
Feb 2, 2021 • 26 tweets • 16 min read
NEW: Facebook has failed to effectively crack down on militia and election conspiracies. Now, it's accelerating the growth of a new far-right movement.

For months, followers of the “Patriot Party" movement have been organizing and recruiting on Facebook. techtransparencyproject.org/articles/faceb… An investigation by TTP found that months before Trump mentioned the "Patriot Party," his followers had already taken up that mantle on Facebook, forming an extensive array of “Patriot Party” groups and pages used to recruit militia and organize for rallies, including Jan. 6.