Justin Hendrix Profile picture
Concerned with technology, media & democracy. Editor at @techpolicypress. Research & Adjunct Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Opinions mine.
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Jul 14, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
I wrote about the proposed Musk-Zuckerberg cage match, and why it gives me reason for ... optimism?
techpolicy.press/rescuing-the-f… The Musk-Zuckerberg spectacle, while stupid, is clarifying — it reveals the extent to which Silicon Valley has abandoned even the veneer of its purported mission of advancing humanity and solving the pressing challenges of our time. techpolicy.press/rescuing-the-f…
Jun 20, 2023 14 tweets 5 min read
What is Secure? An Analysis of Popular Messaging Apps

A deep dive into the design and technical security of encrypted apps conducted by Cooper Quintin, Caroline Sinders, Leila Wylie Wagner, Tim Bernard, Ami Mehta, and me. Read the 86-page report here:
techpolicy.press/what-is-secure… In a world swept up in a wave of autocratization and erosion of rights, encrypted messaging apps are an increasingly popular—and necessary—way to share information, organize and engage with one another, and do business. techpolicy.press/what-is-secure…
Mar 24, 2023 5 tweets 3 min read
TikTok’s Confidence-Destroying Bold Glamour Filter is the Logical Product of Platforms Built for Consumerism

Rachel Griffin (@rachel_grfn) sees the beauty filter as the obvious endpoint of the underlying structural dynamics of the social media industry.
techpolicy.press/tiktoks-confid… With reference to @KathyCastorFL's comments in yesterday's #TikTok hearing in the House Energy & Commerce Committee:
Mar 13, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
1/ I'm sympathetic to some of the angles on this issue that @jawillick explores here; yet I think talking about misinformation as a singular concept can be misleading. There are forms of mis- and disinformation that are very dangerous...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/… 2/ Is the concern over these issues out of whack with the threat, writ large? Probably. But when you zoom in to particular phenomena, there is plenty to worry about. We have real examples to point to in this country and many others of mis- and disinformation leading to harms.
Mar 11, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
Posts by Ackman, et al may be scare mongering towards a bail out? If all the Silicon Valley gamblers say it at once, it must be true, @JamesSurowiecki. (Looking forward to less... interested perspectives.)
Mar 8, 2023 8 tweets 3 min read
1/ I've covered January 6 fairly closely, including helping with the @just_security January 6 Clearinghouse. I've read thousands of pages of documents and watched dozens if not hundreds of hours of footage from that day and the events that led up to it. justsecurity.org/77022/january-… 2/ I've paid close attention to the dynamics in the media and social media ecosystem as they relate to January 6, writing about related research and producing information and reporting on the subject. While what Fox News and others on the right are doing is abhorrent ...
Mar 4, 2023 4 tweets 4 min read
Of Legislators and Large Language Models

For this episode of the @techpolicypress podcast, I spoke with individuals exploring how tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT change our politics, including:
@kadiagoba, @Mlsif, @ZacharyGraves and @marcidale:
techpolicy.press/of-legislators… Background reading #1: @kadiagoba
in @semafor on the House AI caucus and her recent conversations with members including @RepDonBeyer, Rep. @JayObernolte et al;
semafor.com/article/02/13/…
Mar 3, 2023 5 tweets 3 min read
Stopping Bluetooth Location Trackers From Becoming People Trackers

1/ @CenDemTech's Andrew Crawford and @nnedv's Erica Olsen call out four steps to protect our civil rights and liberties from invasive abuses of location trackers such as Air Tags:
techpolicy.press/stopping-bluet… @CenDemTech @nnedv 2/ First, manufacturers should work in partnership with mobile phone OS developers to ensure that their tracking devices are discoverable. techpolicy.press/stopping-bluet…
Mar 3, 2023 4 tweets 3 min read
A new study of images collected from Facebook pages and groups in the runup to the 2020 US election finds widespread visual misinformation that is highly asymmetric across party lines, with right-leaning images 5X to 8X times more likely to be misleading.
techpolicy.press/on-facebook-vi… The study by @TAMUComm's @yangyunkang, @GWIDDP's @MattHindman and @TowCenter"s Trevor Davis (@counteraction) analyzed nearly 14 million posts from more than 14,000 pages and 11,000 public groups from August through October 2020. techpolicy.press/on-facebook-vi…
Feb 28, 2023 13 tweets 6 min read
Ten Legal and Business Risks of Chatbots and Generative AI

@WilmerHale legal experts @MatthewFFerraro, Natalie Lie, Haixia Lin, and @LouisTompros say businesses should be aware of the following top 10 risks and how to address them:
techpolicy.press/ten-legal-and-… I'm grateful Matthew brought this piece to @techpolicypress. I'm going to do a quick thread on the ten areas of risk that he and his coauthors set out.
Feb 26, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
New podcast: An Exit Interview with a Hill Staffer

Anna Lenhart (@AnnaCLenhart) just came off a stint working on antitrust issues and tech policy with Rep. David Cicilline and Rep. Lori Trahan. We discussed what she learned in her time with Congress: techpolicy.press/an-exit-interv… @AnnaCLenhart We discussed the frustration of not getting many legislative wins on tech policy, despite high profile investigations, hearings, and even (in some cases) bipartisan consensus; and why she's still optimistic that Europe's DSA may spur US action:
techpolicy.press/an-exit-interv…
Feb 21, 2023 13 tweets 9 min read
Covering the oral arguments at the Supreme Court in #GonzalezvGoogle today? Make sure to check out resources on @techpolicypress.

1. This review of key arguments across the dozens of amicus briefs filed in the case by @aaronsfisher and @justin_cole005: techpolicy.press/mapping-the-ke… 2. This week's podcast, a deep dive into the case and expert perspectives on it from Anupam Chander (@AnupamChander), Mary McCord and David Brody (@DBrody): techpolicy.press/a-deep-dive-in…
Feb 17, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
Oh nothing, just Tucker Carlson calling Donald Trump "a demonic force, a destroyer." Maria Bartiromo, a disgrace to journalism.
Feb 15, 2023 7 tweets 2 min read
"A team of Israeli contractors who claim to have manipulated more than 30 elections around the world using hacking, sabotage and automated disinformation on social media has been exposed in a new investigation." theguardian.com/world/2023/feb… "Hanan told the undercover reporters that his services, which others describe as “black ops”, were available to intelligence agencies, political campaigns and private companies that wanted to secretly manipulate public opinion."
amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.thegua…
Feb 12, 2023 6 tweets 6 min read
🎙️There were two hearings on Capitol Hill this week that addressed claims of "censorship" by Republicans animated by the Twitter Files. I discussed the questions raised with Shoshana Weissmann (@senatorshoshana),@DarrenLinvill and Mike Masnick (@mmasnick): techpolicy.press/evaluating-cri… Background reading: @DarrenLinvill and @plwarre in @lawfareblog- Interpreting the ‘Twitter Files’: Lessons About External Influence on Content Moderation lawfareblog.com/interpreting-t…
Feb 6, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
Twitter API Changes Set to Disrupt Public Interest Research

Independent researchers, journalists, NGOs and civil society groups are scrambling to figure out what's next if the API is cut off on Thursday:
techpolicy.press/twitter-api-ch… Concerns in the research community follow an announcement from Twitter last week.
Jan 29, 2023 4 tweets 5 min read
New @techpolicypress podcast! 🎧 !

My conversation with Michael Running Wolf (@Obnoxious_Wolf), a computer scientist and indigenous AI ethicist about the implications of generative AI systems like Stable Diffusion and ChatGPT:
techpolicy.press/an-indigenous-… Background reading: @NoraMabie's profile of @Obnoxious_Wolf in @missoulian: missoulian.com/news/local/mee…
Jan 22, 2023 10 tweets 4 min read
Massive apartment fire in Flatbush, Brooklyn. @FDNY has three ladder trucks up already. @FDNY fire fighters fighting from inside and out.
Jan 22, 2023 5 tweets 3 min read
🎧Podcast! The connection between Facebook and mental health is much studied, but a causal link to negative impacts is difficult to establish.

A new paper from Luca Braghieri, @RoeeLevyZ & @alexeymakarin establishes a causal link that may impact policy:
techpolicy.press/a-causal-link-… Background reading:

Braghieri, Luca, Ro'ee Levy, and Alexey Makarin. 2022. "Social Media and Mental Health." American Economic Review, 112 (11): 3660-93.
aeaweb.org/articles?id=10…
Jan 18, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
Exclusive from @billyperrigo: OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers on Less Than $2 Per Hour to Make ChatGPT Less Toxic time.com/6247678/openai…
Jan 17, 2023 8 tweets 3 min read
I just OCR'd a version of the previously unpublished draft January 6 Committee Social Media Report published by the Post- it's here. Digging in now/
techpolicy.press/wp-content/upl… The Select Committee had moderation logs (!) from TheDonald[.]win, which show how some moderators on the site sought to remove violent content even as others boosted it.