Some of society’s most important decisions are being made automatically, and there’s no guarantee they’re being made fairly. The shift to algorithmic decision-making has opened up a new front in the fight for civil rights, one algorithm at a time. Algorithms are choosing who can rent an apartment and whether an accused criminal gets bail, with little accountability for whether those decisions are being made fairly. As police and border agents embrace facial recognition, a simple shift in error rates can result in massive racial disparities in the people getting searched. And in every instance, the agencies responsible will point to automation as a reason why no bias could be present. That push for algorithmic accountability is one of the most important fights in technology today, with implications for nearly every industry and sector of society. This is where we’ll track those fights and try to shine a light on the chilling new threat to civil rights.
Minnesotans who are active in anti-ICE organizing say they’ve spotted drones in their neighborhoods — and in at least one instance, hovering right outside their houses — in recent weeks. The Department of Homeland Security won’t confirm whether the drones are theirs, but ICE has reportedly used license-plate readers and facial recognition technology to surveil activists in Minneapolis.
But locals are organizing to keep each other safe from ICE agents.
The CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) is suing Trump administration officials after they targeted him for deportation from the US because of his online content moderation work.
On Thursday morning, he announced that US District Judge Vernon Broderick granted a TRO and preliminary injunction blocking his arrest or detainment. A hearing has been scheduled for Monday.
[DocumentCloud]
The Trump administration just sanctioned five people, including Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) founder Imran Ahmed, over their work in content moderation and anti-disinformation. On Wednesday he filed a lawsuit (pdf) to stop their “unconstitutional attempt to arrest and expel him.”
Ahmed:
My life’s work is to protect children from the dangers of unregulated social media and AI and fight the spread of antisemitism online. That mission has pitted me against big tech executives – and Elon Musk in particular – multiple times. I am proud to call the United States my home. My wife and daughter are American, and instead of spending Christmas with them, I am fighting to prevent my unlawful deportation from my home country.
The White House has released a national security presidential memorandum on fighting “domestic terrorism,” which apparently includes doxing ICE agents. The document outlines a sweeping strategy to investigate and harass a broad swath of organizations and institutions that the White House claims are anti-American.
There are common recurrent motivations and indicia uniting this pattern of violent and terroristic activities under the umbrella of self-described “anti-fascism.” These movements portray foundational American principles (e.g., support for law enforcement and border control) as “fascist” to justify and encourage acts of violent revolution. This “anti-fascist” lie has become the organizing rallying cry used by domestic terrorists to wage a violent assault against democratic institutions, constitutional rights, and fundamental American liberties. Common threads animating this violent conduct include anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.
[The White House]
The Wall Street Journal’s fuckup while covering Charlie Kirk’s killing needs more than an editor’s note.
Some patriotic reflections on this Independence Day.
Journalist Ken Klippensten obtained an internal memo directing employees to conduct a “social media review” of foreign students applying for visas, and must flag any online posts or screenshots “advocating for, sympathizing with, or persuading others to endorse [or] support” a terrorist organization. The directive is seemingly aimed at students who participated in pro-Palestine – or as the memo specifically characterized it, “pro-Hamas” – campus protests.
According to Forbes reporter David Jeans, the problem isn’t that it’s a facial recognition surveillance company with a database of pictures scraped from social media without permission and representing the end of privacy and drawing attention from regulators. It’s actually the failure to secure government contracts.
Intent is in the eye of the beholder
