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KQED
Apr 17, 2025
Google’s Ad Dominance Is Illegal, Federal Judge Rules

“'We’re excited to see such enthusiasm,' said Alison Rice with Accountable Tech, which targets the industry’s surveillance advertising business model. 'The mechanism and the model that Big Tech has been using is taking advantage of the power that they have over this entire ecosystem to leverage nefarious designs and weaponize them in order to drive profits.'”

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In the News
CBS 19 News
Apr 17, 2025
Google has illegal monopoly in ad tech, US judge rules

Nicole Gill, co-founder of advocacy group Accountable Tech, called Brinkema's decision a "massive victory,"

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In the News
Morning Brew
Feb 20, 2025
I Investigate Meta’s Secret Plan to Make Zuckerberg Cool

"In 2020, he had the lowest favorability ratings of any prominent American."

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In the News
Roll Call
Feb 07, 2025
Trump reboots AI policy

Trump’s decision to roll back protections that the Biden administration put in place is likely to hurt Americans, Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of Accountable Tech, a nonprofit that focuses on digital justice, said in a statement.

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In the News
WTOP News
Feb 04, 2025
‘Orwellian overreach’: Social media platforms file lawsuit over Md. law on kids online privacy

“This latest lawsuit — the tenth legal challenge brought by NetChoice against overwhelmingly popular state safety bills — is an affront to the families and young people who fought and advocated for the successful passage of the Maryland Kids Code and to the millions who have borne the brunt of the industry’s toxic business practices,” Gill’s statement said.

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Maryland Matters
Feb 03, 2025
Social media companies head to court, claim Maryland Kids Code is unconstitutional

Accountable Tech Executive Director Nicole Gill said in a statement that the tech firms are using the courts “to achieve what they couldn’t in Annapolis: shielding themselves from any ounce of accountability.”

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In the News
The Hill
Feb 02, 2025
Big Tech on the rise one year after Senate beat-down

“My hope is that kids’ online safety continues to be that bipartisan push. My hope is that this administration looks at it as an issue that they can win on to protect young people online,” Zaman Qureshi, a campaigner for advocacy group Accountable Tech, told The Hill.

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In the News
Washington Post
Jan 29, 2025
Meta will pay $25 million to settle Trump lawsuit alleging censorship

“In the weeks following the 2024 election, Meta has gone out of its way to show fealty to Trump and join his far-right clique,” Accountable Tech co-founder Nicole Gill said in a statement Wednesday. “This settlement is the latest example of that — a signal that Meta is willing to do whatever it takes to appease this administration.”

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NOTUS
Jan 27, 2025
Democrats Are Out on Social Media — But They Know They Can’t Quit

Accountable Tech, a progressive-leaning advocacy organization long at the crux of conversations like this, made a push during Joe Biden’s term for Democrats to increase regulation of social media. It warned against data mining and algorithms that work to keep users’ attention with more controversial, extreme and often just plain incorrect content. “These platforms are all just monopolies,” Nicole Gill, the group’s co-founder, told NOTUS. She pointed to the attendance by platform owners at Trump’s inauguration. “All of these sites have a bent, and I think we’re going to see more and more of that come through as they do away with all their already limited content moderation guidelines and fact-checking.”

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The Information
Jan 22, 2025
Instagram Goes After TikTokers; TikTok’s MAGA Moment

Instagram and other rivals are also turning to paid ads to boost their services. While Meta has run ads on TikTok for years, it has been increasing the number of ads it's running on the app over the past 24 hours, according to tech watch dog and nonprofit Accountable Tech.

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In the News
Tech Policy Press
Jan 18, 2025
Reactions to the US Supreme Court’s TikTok Ruling

Nicole Gill, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Accountable Tech: "Although social media is a tool for connection, community, and exploration, it is also a weapon for mass disinformation, manipulation, and addiction. For years now, China has had this weapon pointed at millions of Americans through TikTok, with profound power to collect vast amounts of data and potentially exploit how Americans receive information. But they are not alone: Meta and other U.S. companies use similar tactics to addict and exploit their users – including young people – in this country and around the world."

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In the News
The Hill
Jan 14, 2025
Meta’s fact-checking changes stoke disinformation concerns

“Four years ago this week, Facebook banned Donald Trump for inciting a violent insurrection that resulted in the deaths of 5 people and disrupted our democracy,” Nicole Gill, the co-founder and executive director of tech advocacy group Accountable Tech said of the announcement last week.

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In the News
Washington Post
Jan 11, 2025
Trump vilified tech giants. Now they’re giving him millions.

“These companies have flourished because of a lack of regulation, and these leaders are now making choices that can insulate them down the road,” said Nicole Gill, director of Accountable Tech. She compared Zuckerberg to a school kid who befriends the class bully: “He is willing to do whatever he thinks it will take to stay afloat.”

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In the News
Daily Kos
Jan 10, 2025
The War of the Rich Against the Rest of Us: Social Media Edition

Misinformation researchers said Meta’s decision to end fact-checking was deeply concerning. Nicole Gill, a founder and the executive director of the digital watchdog organization Accountable Tech, said Zuckerberg was “reopening the floodgates to the exact same surge of hate, disinformation, and conspiracy theories that caused Jan. 6 -- and that continue to spur real-world violence.”

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In the News
Sydney Morning Herald
Jan 10, 2025
Zuckerberg has turbo-boosted enshittification, and we’re all going to pay

Zuckerberg’s decision received a mixed response. It was enthusiastically welcomed by fellow billionaire social media owner Elon Musk and US president-elect Donald Trump but widely condemned by others, including executive director of Accountable Tech Nicole Gill, who told The New York Times Meta was welcoming a “surge of hate, disinformation and conspiracy theories”.

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In the News
Democracy Now!
Jan 09, 2025
Zuckerberg Goes “Full MAGA” as Meta Ends Fact-Checking in U.S. & Paves Way for More Hate Speech

Nicole Gill, the head of Accountable Tech, called Meta’s move a, quote, “gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world.” The decision comes weeks after Zuckerberg dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and after Meta donated a million dollars to Trump’s inauguration. On Tuesday, Meta also appointed a close Trump ally, Dana White, to the company’s board. White is the CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship. Trump praised the new Meta policies.

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In the News
The Weekly List
Jan 08, 2025
Week 9 – The Return

Digital rights groups condemned the change. Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, called it “a gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world.”

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In the News
Democracy Now!
Jan 08, 2025
Meta to End Fact-Checking on Facebook, Instagram and Threads

Nicole Gill, the head of Accountable Tech, called Meta’s move a “gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world.

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In the News
Katie Couric Media
Jan 08, 2025
Facebook and Instagram Say Goodbye To Fact-Checking

Trump praised the news, while others decried this reversal. Digital rights group Accountable Tech called it “a gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world,” while the advocacy group Free Press said Zuckerberg is “saying yes to more lies, yes to more harassment, yes to more hate.”

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In the News
Poynter
Jan 08, 2025
With Trump on his way back to the White House, Meta drops its fact-checking program

Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, called the news “a gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world.”

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In the News
Colitco
Jan 08, 2025
Meta’s Major Changes: Zuckerberg Fires Fact-Checkers and Partners with Trump

The Accountable Tech lobby group also condemned the move. “Meta is re-opening the floodgates to the exact same surge of hate, disinformation and conspiracy theories that caused January 6th,” the group stated.

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In the News
Barrons
Jan 08, 2025
Facebook Moderation Move Is a Mistake. Why Zuckerberg Shouldn’t Copy Musk With Meta and 5 Other Things to Know Today.

Accountable Tech co-founder Nicole Gill said the move appeases Trump by upending safety policies regarding the spread of disinformation and conspiracy theories.

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In the News
t2
Jan 07, 2025
Explainer: How does the end of Meta’s fact-checking programme affect you?

Several digital rights groups are criticising Meta’s reversal of its fact-checking programme. Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, said in a statement that the decision is “a gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world”.

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In the News
WIRED
Jan 07, 2025
Meta Follows Elon Musk’s Lead, Moves Staffers to Billionaire-Friendly Texas

“They're obviously following Elon Musk's lead,” says Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech. “Just by the signal [sent by] moving their base of operations from what is perceived to be a liberally biased state—it's not—to what’s perceived to be a Republican or conservative-coded state.”

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In the News
ABC Australia
Jan 07, 2025
Meta scraps fact-checking on platforms ahead of Trump presidency

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta has announced it would be effectively ending its fact-checking program across its social media apps. The company's platforms will now rely on users to add notes to posts that may contain false or misleading information, similar to the process used by X. GUEST: Nicole Gill, Co-founder and Executive Director of Accountable Tech

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In the News
Newsweek
Jan 07, 2025
Mark Zuckerberg Ends Meta Fact-Checking as Donald Trump Takes Office

Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, called Meta's decision "a gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world." In a statement, released today, she warned that Meta was inviting "the exact same surge of hate, disinformation and conspiracy theories" that fueled the Jan. 6 attack.

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In the News
New York Times
Jan 07, 2025
Tech Watchdogs Warn Meta’s Decision Could Cause Surge in Disinformation

Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, said in a statement that the decision was “a gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world.” Meta, she cautioned, was inviting “the exact same surge of hate, disinformation and conspiracy theories” that fueled the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

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In the News
ABC Australia
Jan 07, 2025
After Trump’s election win, Meta is firing fact checkers and making big changes

The Accountable Tech lobby group said Meta was "re-opening the floodgates to the exact same surge of hate, disinformation and conspiracy theories that caused January 6th".

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In the News
SFist
Jan 07, 2025
Saying Its Content Moderation Has ‘Gone Too Far,’ Meta Now Set to Become Hotbed of Transphobia and Conspiracies

Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, said that this was "a gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world," and would usher in a new era of more conspiracy theories and general insanity around the world.

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In the News
Deadline
Jan 07, 2025
In Another Bow To Donald Trump, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg Says It Will End Fact Checking On Facebook And Instagram

Accountable Tech, a public interest group that has pushed for tech giants to take greater steps to police content on its platforms, condemned Zuckerberg’s announcement. Its executive director Nicole Gill called it “preemptive capitulation.” “It would be cringey if it weren’t so calculated,” she said. “Extremism is foundational to Meta’s business model, which depends on engagement to drive business revenue.”

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In the News
The Seattle Times
Jan 07, 2025
Meta moves to end fact-checking program in shift before Trump term

Misinformation researchers said Meta’s decision to end fact-checking was deeply concerning. Nicole Gill, a founder and the executive director of the digital watchdog organization Accountable Tech, said Zuckerberg was “reopening the floodgates to the exact same surge of hate, disinformation and conspiracy theories that caused Jan. 6 — and that continue to spur real-world violence.”

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In the News
New York Times
Jan 07, 2025
Meta Says It Will End Its Fact-Checking Program on Social Media Posts

Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, said in a statement that the decision was “a gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world.” Meta, she cautioned, was inviting “the exact same surge of hate, disinformation and conspiracy theories” that fueled the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

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In the News
Politico
Jan 07, 2025
Meta kneels to Trump? Think again.

Liberals were horrified, with Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, calling it in a statement “a gift to Donald Trump and extremists around the world.”

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In the News
Folha de S.Paulo
Jan 07, 2025
Meta elimina checagem e ataca decisões secretas de tribunais da América Latina

Em comunicado, a Accountable Tech, que defende a responsabilização das big techs pela desinformação, disse que a decisão é "um presente para Donald Trump e extremistas ao redor do mundo". Já a Free Press disse que Zuckerberg está "dizendo sim a mais mentiras, a mais assédio, a mais ódio".

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In the News
El Periódico Mediterráneo
Jan 07, 2025
Meta elimina de Facebook e Instagram su programa de verificación de datos y se acerca a Trump con el modelo de Musk

Aunque Trump y varios republicanos ha aplaudido la decisión de Meta diversos grupos especializados en derechos digitales han lanzado voces de alerta sobre los cambios. “Es un regalo para Donald Trump y para extremistas en todo el mundo”, ha dicho en un comunicado Nicole Gill, directora de Accountable Tech.

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In the News
Politico
Dec 06, 2024
Future Pulse Newsletter: Do it for the kids

On Tuesday, a range of advocacy groups will host a holiday-themed rally that features parents who have lost children to online bullying, drug sales and other exploitative content. Groups include the Eating Disorder Coalition for Research, Policy and Action; Fairplay; ParentsTogether; Accountable Tech; and Design It For Us.

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In the News
Byline Times
Nov 21, 2024
The Deal With the Devil that Paved the Way for Trump’s Oligarchy

At the time, Nicole Gill, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Accountable Tech, emphasised to Byline Times the crucial role Lina Khan was playing in the battle against online disinformation: “Lina Khan has proved to be a powerhouse, taking on Big Tech monopolies while corporate accountability measures have stalled in Congress. She has used the tools at her disposal to take action, while legislators have struggled to keep up with the latest threats posed by the industry – making her a key figure at the federal level to ensure we are keeping Big Tech’s power in check. Khan’s continued tenure at the FTC is crucial not only to break up Big Tech’s undue power and influence over our lives, but to the antitrust movement writ large.”

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In the News
Columbia Chronicle
Nov 01, 2024
Meta’s content preferences raise concerns amid upcoming 2024 election with recommended political content default settings

In response to the political filter, Accountable Tech, a nonprofit organization that advocates for structural reform to make the internet safer, conducted a study on algorithms for five prominent accounts, including Democrat Hillary Clinton, that regularly post about political or social topics. “There was a reduced reach of a considerable amount, over 50% decline in reach over about a three month period while this policy was going into effect,” said Zach Praiss, the campaigns director at Accountable Tech.

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In the News
Engadget
Oct 31, 2024
Apple urged TikTok to increase its age recommendations, redacted documents show

Yet, there's plenty of evidence in these momentarily not-redacted documents about TikTok being not so age appropriate. In fact, outsiders and TikTok's own employees found issue with what the company did to reduce content like profanity and eating disorders. The former was found in one out of every 50 pop-up alerts that minors in the US and UK received within a month's time. Advocacy group Accountable Tech found the inadvertently public information and shared it with The Post.

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In the News
Pluribus News
Oct 31, 2024
Officials issue warnings about AI-generated deepfakes ahead of Election Day

Other examples compiled by Accountable Tech include Elon Musk reposting to X an AI-doctored version of a Vice President Kamala Harris campaign video. And an ad from U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) that initially failed to include a required disclosure that some of the images were AI-generated. The disclosure was later added.

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In the News
Washington Post
Oct 31, 2024
Apple told TikTok it’s unfit for young teens, new lawsuit details allege

Accountable Tech campaign associate Zamaan Qureshi said the evidence “should worry every parent, young person, lawmaker and regulator in the United States.” Without more legislative action on child online safety, he said, lawsuits like the one by South Carolina have become effectively “the only accountability measures left to learn what these companies know about their products and know what kind of harm these products are causing young people.”

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In the News
WIRED
Oct 29, 2024
Election Fraud Conspiracy Theories Are Already Thriving Online

“This has created an environment where anyone can find content online that proves their beliefs to be true, no matter if it’s rooted in reality or not,” says Nicole Gill, the co-founder and executive director of Accountable Tech. “The public has fewer options to anchor themselves in truth and reality, and there’s no denying that Big Tech absolutely played a role in that.”

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In the News
Inside Telecom
Oct 21, 2024
Adopting Social Media Election Campaigns Affects 2024 Presidential Race

Following a study by Accountable Tech, engagement with political content on Instagram decreased 65 percent after Meta announced its intention to stop recommending political posts.

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In the News
Washington Post
Oct 16, 2024
Don’t say ‘vote’: How Instagram hides your political posts

Consider a wider study by the advocacy group Accountable Tech, which quantified the audience drop from five prominent liberal Instagram accounts, including the Human Rights Campaign and Feminist, that post almost entirely about politics. Over 10 weeks this spring, their average audiences fell 65 percent.

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In the News
Associated Press
Oct 07, 2024
Sustainable Media Center Welcomes Eight New Members to its Advisory Board

A seasoned political strategist and communications expert, Robbie Dornbush is currently Chief of Staff at Accountable Tech. With a background that includes high-impact issue advocacy campaigns and a role as Chief of Staff and Special Assistant to the Press Secretary at the White House, Robbie brings extensive political and strategic experience to the Center.

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In the News
The Hill
Oct 02, 2024
Newsom throws AI regulation fight into uncertainty with veto

“[SB 1047] was the first of its kind legislation that went and put real safeguards in place for some of the biggest and scariest unknown potential uses of AI — which, particularly given the rapid advancement of the technology, is really important for us to have those guardrails in place moving forward,” Kaili Lambe, the policy and advocacy director for Accountable Tech, told The Hill.

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In the News
The Eagle
Oct 01, 2024
Youth-led coalition encourages responsible technology use by students

“I grew up online, I’m only 23, and so I feel like I’ve seen the way these platforms really transform,” Ellisya Lindsey, the communications associate at Accountable Tech, said. “I remember when I was younger, it was posting pictures of One Direction, and it has spiraled into something that is much more addictive and harmful.”

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In the News
Sep 30, 2024
California AI bill veto could allow smaller devs, models to ‘flourish’

Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of the non-profit Accountable Tech, said in a statement that Newsom’s decision “is a massive giveaway to Big Tech companies and an affront to all Americans who are currently the uncontested guinea pigs” of the AI industry.

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In the News
AXIOS
Sep 30, 2024
Newsom vetoes controversial California AI bill

Nonprofit Accountable Tech in an emailed statement Sunday called Newsom's veto "a massive giveaway to Big Tech companies and an affront to all Americans who are currently the unconsenting guinea pigs of an unregulated and untested" AI industry.

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In the News
The Hill
Sep 29, 2024
Newsom vetoes bill for stricter AI regulations

Accountable Tech, an advocacy nonprofit, said the veto is a “massive giveaway to Big Tech companies and an affront to all Americans who are currently the unconsenting guinea pigs of an unregulated and untested AI industry.”

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In the News
Mother Jones
Sep 25, 2024
Big Tech Would Be Key to Delivering Project 2025’s Anti-Abortion Plans

The signatories—which include Accountable Tech, GLAAD, and The Tech Oversight Project—warn that Project 2025’s anti-abortion policies would lead to “heightened surveillance and an increase in the trend of law enforcement using criminal subpoenas to weaponize the consumer data your companies collect and store.”

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In the News
19th News
Sep 24, 2024
Will Big Tech be held accountable when it comes to violence against women?

The nonprofit Accountable Tech has published several reports showing big tech companies don’t necessarily keep promises about privacy and safety made in their news releases. Their research showed that Google was retaining location data on visits to abortion clinics despite saying that information would be deleted.

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In the News
Roll Call
Sep 24, 2024
Teen group, tech critics push for stronger online safety measure

Qureshi’s coalition, along with Accountable Tech, another group that favors restrictions on tech platforms, brought dozens of young people to Capitol Hill last week to lobby for tougher measures.

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In the News
Global News
Sep 21, 2024
Accountable Tech on Instagram’s new teen account

Instagram has introduced a so-called ‘teen account' with enhanced security measures. Global News Morning speaks with Accountable Tech co-founder Nicole Gil about how far the measures go toward protecting kids and teens from online harm.

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In the News
CBC Canada
Sep 18, 2024
How Instagram is now different for teen users

Nicole Gill the co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Accountable Tech, said Instagram is trying to show it can self-regulate to avoid others stepping in to regulate.

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In the News
Associated Press
Sep 18, 2024
Instagram makes teen accounts private as pressure mounts on the app to protect children

Nicole Gill, the co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Accountable Tech, called Instagram’s announcement the “latest attempt to avoid actual independent oversight and regulation and instead continue to self-regulate, jeopardizing the health, safety, and privacy of young people...”

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In the News
Motherly
Sep 18, 2024
Meta attempts to ‘prioritize teen safety’ by making Instagram accounts private—but is it enough?

Nicole Gill, the co-founder and executive director of Accountable Tech, called the move “yet another hollow policy announcement” by the company, adding, “Meta has known since at least 2019 that teens reported an increase in body image issues from using Instagram, along with increases in the rates of anxiety and depression, yet the company executives including Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri did nothing. … Today’s PR exercise falls short of the safety by design and accountability that young people and their parents deserve and only meaningful policy action can guarantee.”

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In the News
NBC News
Sep 17, 2024
Instagram to automatically put teens into private accounts with increased restrictions and parental controls

"Today’s PR exercise falls short of the safety by design and accountability that young people and their parents deserve and only meaningful policy action can guarantee," Nicole Gill, cofounder and executive director of Accountable Tech, wrote in a statement. "Meta’s business model is built on addicting its users and mining their data for profit; no amount of parental and teen controls Meta is proposing will change that.”

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In the News
Pluribus News
Sep 16, 2024
The tech group challenging state efforts to protect kids online

Nicole Gill, executive director and co-founder of Accountable Tech, accused NetChoice of engaging in a “larger agenda … to overturn tech regulation policies nationwide in an effort to protect Big Tech’s profits and influence.”

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In the News
Global Village Space
Aug 30, 2024
OpenAI and Anthropic Partner with US AI Safety Institute for AI Model Safety Research

While the agreement between the U.S. AI Safety Institute, OpenAI, and Anthropic is seen as a step in the right direction by groups focused on AI safety, concerns remain about the vague nature of the term “safety” and the lack of clear regulations in the field. Nicole Gill, Executive Director and Co-founder of Accountable Tech, emphasizes the importance of AI companies following through with their promises and commitments. Regulators must gain insight into the rapid development of AI to ensure better and safer products.

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In the News
Venture Beat
Aug 30, 2024
OpenAI and Anthropic agree to send models to US government for safety evaluations

Groups looking at AI safety said the agreement is a “step in the right direction,” but Nicole Gill, executive director and co-founder of Accountable Tech said AI companies have to follow through with their promises. “The more insight regulators can gain into the rapid development of AI, the better and safer the products will be.”

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In the News
Yahoo! News
Aug 19, 2024
Trump shares doctored images showing Taylor Swift support

"No one is immune to AI's harms, not even Taylor Swift," said the campaign group Accountable Tech. "Without urgent intervention, it'll only get worse."

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In the News
NPR
Aug 16, 2024
X’s chatbot can now generate AI images. A lack of guardrails raises election concerns

“This is still part of the same pattern we've seen from Elon Musk. In assuming ownership of this platform, he has continually rolled out sweeping and significant changes with little to no regard for the safety testing,” says Praiss.

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In the News
Popular Information
Aug 15, 2024
Facebook suppresses political content

A study by Accountable Tech released earlier this week found that "progressive Instagram accounts saw their reach decline by 65%" since the policy change. The study looked at accounts for Hillary Clinton, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, and others. (The group also sought the participation of conservative accounts, but none agreed.) Accountable Tech said that its study shows that Meta has "systematically remove[d] trustworthy 'political' content from their recommendation surfaces."

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In the News
Tech Policy Press
Aug 13, 2024
Report Finds Meta’s Approach to Political Content Reduces Reach for Activist Accounts

Accountable Tech analyzed data from five prominent Instagram accounts, each with over 10,000 followers. The accounts included former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton; Feminist, a women-led non-profit media company; Human Rights Campaign; non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD; and Field Team 6, a Democratic volunteer group focused on voter registration in key battleground states

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In the News
Cyber News
Aug 13, 2024
Instagram accounts hit hard by Meta’s political content rules

“Amidst several elections worldwide, this new default setting compromises the way we share and receive thoughtful and accurate information, which has ripple effects on democratic processes, social justice, and human rights,” said Nicole Gill, executive director at Accountable Tech.

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In the News
Washington Post
Aug 13, 2024
Democrats flip social media ‘censorship’ complaints on Musk, GOP

Bianca Recto, communications director for the liberal watchdog group Accountable Tech, said social media platforms have “outsize influence to tip the scales one way or another” in an election. And when an owner like Musk makes it “clear that he’s going to use his social platform to support one side,” she said, “the playing field isn’t level.”

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In the News
Bloomberg
Aug 12, 2024
Instagram Views for Major Accounts Drop With Meta Shunning Politics

A new study found that several prominent, progressive Instagram accounts saw their reach decline by 65% on average in the months following Meta Platforms Inc.’s move to subdue political content on the app. Over a roughly three-month period following the policy’s rollout in early March, researchers at Accountable Tech, a social media integrity nonprofit, gathered viewership data for five prominent Instagram accounts with a collective following of 13.5 million people.

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In the News
CyberScoop
Aug 06, 2024
Tech giants reveal plans to combat AI-fueled election antics

A mobile billboard, deployed by Accountable Tech, is seen outside the Meta headquarters on Jan. 17, 2023, in Menlo Park, Calif.

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In the News
TechTarget
Aug 06, 2024
Judge will face remedy challenge in Google antitrust case

Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of digital justice advocacy group Accountable Tech, said in a statement that the court's decision marked a "major victory for the antitrust movement" by challenging Google's business practices and scrutinizing those of other big tech companies.

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In the News
Politico
Jul 28, 2024
The unlikely alliance bringing the tech giants to heel

An alliance of little-known advocacy groups has convinced five states to pass laws to protect kids online and is now making inroads in Washington. The nonpartisan coalition has done it by delivering parents’ and kids’ stories about bullying and exploitative content on Facebook, TikTok and other platforms. By focusing on the harms to kids’ health, these organizations have helped enact laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland and New York meant to regulate social media for minors.

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In the News
The MarkUp
Jul 26, 2024
Department of Education Sued Following Markup Investigation Into FAFSA Data Shared with Facebook

Almost immediately following The Markup’s investigation, the nonprofit organizations National Student Legal Defense Network (Student Defense), which provides legal defense for higher education students, and Accountable Tech, which advocates against online surveillance practices, asked lawmakers to investigate the trackers on the FAFSA website, and requested documents from the Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act. The groups asked the Department of Education to provide any communications between government officials and Facebook. Their request also asked for any reports or other documents about data being sent to the company through the Meta Pixel.

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In the News
Washington Post
Jul 09, 2024
Biden’s tech and telecom enforcers to face a hostile House GOP

Zamaan Qureshi, previously of the “Real Facebook Oversight Board” advocacy group, is joining Accountable Tech as a campaigns associate. He will remain as co-chair of the youth-led advocacy group Design It For Us.

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In the News
Tech Policy Press
Jun 27, 2024
Reactions to the Supreme Court’s 6-3 Decision in Murthy v Missouri

Nicole Gill, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Accountable Tech: “The lawsuits brought by Missouri and Louisiana were meritless and based on inaccuracies intended to weaponize the First Amendment, which would have undermined the government’s ability to defend the U.S. against election interference and disinformation campaigns, particularly in a critical election year. Cooperation between the government and platforms about foreign influence campaigns, election integrity and public health emergencies is essential to preserving public safety and a healthy democracy.”

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In the News
New York Times
Jun 26, 2024
Instagram fixes an ‘error’ over political content ahead of the debate.

Nicole Gill, a founder of Accountable Tech, a group that seeks stronger oversight of major technology companies, said Meta should be held responsible for the changes and answer questions about how the error was made and how many users were affected.

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In the News
Bloomberg
Jun 26, 2024
Supreme Court Backs White House on Social Media Post Removal

Some election experts said the court’s decision will enable the government and platforms to work more closely together to prevent foreign influence campaigns during the election season. Nicole Gill, executive director of tech watchdog group Accountable Tech, said cooperation is “essential to preserving public safety and a healthy democracy.”

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In the News
CyberScoop
Jun 26, 2024
Supreme Court rejects effort to limit government communication on misinformation

Nicole Gill, executive director and founder of Accountable Tech, a nonprofit focused on reining in the power of big tech companies, called cooperation between the government and platforms around foreign influence campaigns, election integrity and public health emergencies “essential to preserving public safety and a healthy democracy.”

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In the News
France24
Jun 26, 2024
US top court declines to curb govt contact with social media firms

The lawsuits intended to "weaponize" the First Amendment, which would have undermined the government's ability to defend the United States against election interference and disinformation campaigns, watchdog group Accountable Tech said as it welcomed Wednesday's ruling. "Cooperation between the government and platforms about foreign influence campaigns, election integrity and public health emergencies is essential to preserving public safety and a healthy democracy," the group said.

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Fast Company
Jun 26, 2024
The Supreme Court sides with Biden administration in social media ‘jawboning’ case

“Cooperation between the government and platforms about foreign influence campaigns, election integrity and public health emergencies is essential to preserving public safety and a healthy democracy,” Nicole Gill, executive director of the advocacy group Accountable Tech, said in a statement.

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The Hill
Jun 26, 2024
Instagram accidentally activates setting to limit political content ahead of first Biden-Trump debate

Tech advocacy group Accountable Tech urged Meta to give users and creators details about the error and how long the setting was affected. Nicole Gill, executive director and co-founder of Accountable Tech, underscored the potential impact of the error based on the timing of the presidential debate.

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Route Fifty
Jun 25, 2024
How AI can help and hurt the environment

“One of the many unknowns about AI is its impact on the environment,” Kaili Lambe, policy and advocacy director at nonprofit Accountable Tech, said in a statement. “As rapid advances have led to increasingly widespread use of LLMs and other data-intensive AI systems, it’s imperative that we understand and take steps to mitigate unintended harm, including the potential for environmental degradation. Too often transparency takes a backseat when it comes to Big Tech innovation.”

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AXIOS
Jun 13, 2024
Exclusive: Civil society groups push Big Tech to combat disinformation

Accountable Tech, All Voting is Local, and groups focused on Asian, Black, and Hispanic people also are among the signatories.

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Washington Post
Jun 12, 2024
Meta says it won’t support suit against major child safety law

In February, the left-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech launched a digital ad campaign calling on the two companies to leave NetChoice and “stop funding Big Tech’s lobbying against bipartisan legislation to protect kids online.”

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In the News
Jun 12, 2024
Tech Groups Call On US DoJ To Investigate YouTube Monopoly

The letter was penned by groups including Accountable Tech; American Economic Liberties Project; Blue Future; Demand Progress Education Fund; Institute for Local Self-Reliance; Main Street Alliance; NextGen Competition; Other 98%; Progress America; Social Security Works; and Tech Oversight Project.

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Forbes
Jun 04, 2024
Is Artificial Intelligence Worth The Craze For Luxury Brands?

Mobile billboard is seen near the U.S. Capitol on September 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. NGOs highlight artificial intelligence (AI)’s dangers to climate change.

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Vanity Fair
May 16, 2024
Why Congress’s AI Plan Was Doomed From the Start

The AI roadmap is “but another proof point of Big Tech’s profound and pervasive power to shape the policymaking process,” as Accountable Tech Co-Founder and Executive Director Nicole Gillput it Wednesday. “Lawmakers must move quickly to enact AI legislation that centers the public interest and addresses the damage AI is currently causing in communities all across the country.”

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The Hill
May 16, 2024
Advocates warn Schumer’s AI ‘roadmap’ doesn’t go far enough

Accountable Tech co-founder and executive director Nicole Gill said the report is “but another proof point of Big Tech’s profound and pervasive power to shape the policymaking process” and called the forums a “dream scenario for the tech industry.”

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Tech Policy Press
May 16, 2024
US Senate AI Report Meets Mostly Disappointment, Condemnation

Nicole Gill, Accountable Tech Co-Founder and Executive Director: "The AI roadmap released today by Sen. Schumer is but another proof point of Big Tech’s profound and pervasive power to shape the policymaking process. The last year of closed-door ‘Insight Forums’ has been a dream scenario for the tech industry, who played an outsized role in developing this roadmap and delaying legislation."

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Fast Company
May 15, 2024
‘I feel betrayed’: Schumer’s much-awaited AI road map gets panned by watchdogs

Other groups, including the AI Now Institute, Accountable Tech, and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, have also criticized the road map’s lack of attention to AI harms.

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Data for Progress
May 10, 2024
Voters Want Social Media Companies to Protect Minors From Harmful Online Content

New polling from Data for Progress and Accountable Tech examined voters’ attitudes toward requiring platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to ensure minors are protected from harmful online content, and finds that voters overwhelmingly support such protections.

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Tech Policy Press
May 10, 2024
Maryland Kids Code Signed Into Law, But May Face Legal Challenges

At a Wednesday press briefing hosted by the Maryland Kids Code Coalition, which includes groups like Fairplay, 5Rights Foundation, and Accountable Tech, some of the bill’s sponsors criticized the tech industry for failing to cooperate with lawmakers’ efforts to protect children online.

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Inc.
May 09, 2024
New Mexico’s Top Prosecutor Blames Meta for Online Predators

Attorney General of New Mexico Raúl Torrez speaks during a rally organized by Accountable Tech and Design It For Us to hold tech and social media companies accountable for taking steps to protect kids and teens online on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC.

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Bloomberg Law
Apr 30, 2024
State Bills Copy California Youth Online Privacy Law: Explained

Leading the charge is 5Rights U.S., which was instrumental in shaping California Age Appropriate Design Code. 5Rights is a member of the Kids Code Coalition, which includes tech critics and child-safety organizations such as Common Sense Media and Accountable Tech.

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In the News
Tech Policy Press
Apr 22, 2024
Meta’s New Default Limits on “Political Content” Weaken Free Expression Online

In response, on behalf of 200+ creators, Accountable Tech and GLAAD sent an open letter to Meta speaking out against the changes, which have several implications for free expression, especially during an election year in the US and globally.

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The Hill
Apr 18, 2024
Instagram’s shift away from political content raises questions about what counts as ‘political’

GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy group that organized the open letter from creators alongside Accountable Tech, called the decision to include social topics as part of political content an “appalling move.”

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The Guardian
Apr 15, 2024
Battle lines drawn as US states take on big tech with online child safety bills

Carl Szabo, vice-president and general counsel of the tech trade association NetChoice, spoke against the Maryland bill at a state senate finance committee meeting in mid-2023 as a “lifelong Maryland resident, parent, [spouse] of a child therapist” [as shown in a tweet from Accountable Tech].

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The Up and Up
Apr 12, 2024
Creators to Meta: Adjust your political content policy!

In turn, more than 200 creators signed onto a letter — organized by Accountable Tech, a nonprofit big tech reform advocacy organization, and GLAAD, a nonprofit LGBTQ advocacy organization — sent to Meta that called on the tech giant to adjust its policy.

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The Independent
Apr 12, 2024
Hundreds of creators plead with Instagram to stop hiding political content

Now a letter – signed by more than 200 creators, and launched by LGBTQ organisation GLAAD and activists Accountable Tech – has urged Meta to reverse that change. Users should have to opt into the ban if they want to mute political content, they argue.

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The Nation
Apr 11, 2024
Social Media Companies Are Having a Bad Moment

Zamaan Qureshi speaks during a rally organized by Accountable Tech and Design It For Us to hold social media companies accountable for protecting kids and teens online on January 31, 2024, in Washington, DC.

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Forbes
Apr 10, 2024
Creators Say Meta Shouldn’t Curb ‘Political Content’ In Policy Change Backlash

The letter, first reported on by the Washington Post, was organized by the groups Accountable Tech—a nonprofit that advocates for better regulation of Big Tech companies—and the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD, and includes the handles of more than 200 accounts, including popular accounts like the @feminist account, with which has 6 million followers on Instagram.

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Washington Post
Apr 10, 2024
Content creators ask Meta to reverse politics limits on Instagram, Threads

The letter was organized by Accountable Tech, a nonprofit that says its mission is “to curb the societal harms driven by Big Tech’s toxic business practices,” and GLAAD, an LGBTQ rights organization. LGBTQ creators have been particularly concerned by the limitations because they were imposed as some states were placing restrictions on medical treatments for transgender youths.

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TechCrunch
Apr 10, 2024
Hundreds of creators sign letter slamming Meta’s limit on political content

Hundreds of creators, convened by GLAAD and Accountable Tech, have signed an open letter demanding that Instagram make the political content limit an opt-in feature, rather than on by default.

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The Verge
Apr 08, 2024
A new bill would try to make tools like Zoom and Teams work together securely

The bill has gained the backing of groups, including Accountable Tech, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, and encrypted email and cloud storage provider Proton. Digital rights activist Cory Doctorow also voiced his support, sharing in a statement through Wyden’s office that “Interoperability — the ability to plug something new into a technology, with or without permission from the manufacturer — is the key to defeating Big Tech.”

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New York Post
Mar 20, 2024
Parent groups urge Schumer to quickly move on bill to place safety restrictions on all social platforms

KOSA has been endorsed by a broad cross-section of groups including: Common Sense Media, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Compass, Eating Disorders Coalition, Fairplay, Mental Health America, and Digital Progress Institute. An organizer, Accountable Tech, is paying to have the letter sent to Schumer appear as an ad in the New York Times, sources said.

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CNN
Mar 09, 2024
He prosecuted child sex predators. Now, he’s going after Meta for allegedly enabling them

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez speaks during a rally organized by Accountable Tech and Design It For Us to hold tech and social media companies accountable for protecting teens on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC.

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The Hill
Feb 13, 2024
Wyden urges FTC to safeguard abortion clinic visitors’ location data

Shortly after the Dobbs decision, Google committed to deleting the location data of consumers visiting reproductive clinics. Subsequent investigations, however, have uncovered that Google continues to retain location data for people visiting abortion clinics. A study conducted by Accountable Tech and released last month found that Google retains location data history in these cases about 50 percent of the time.

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CNN
Feb 02, 2024
Deepfakes, Robocalls and AI, Oh My!

It's hard to know who to trust in politics these days. Can we even trust ourselves? Artificial intelligence has already made its presence felt in this year’s election, from AI-generated ads to fake Biden robocalls, and it can be very hard to tell what’s real. Nicole Gill founded Accountable Tech four years ago to monitor AI’s increasing impact on politics. She talks to CNN Political Director David Chalian about the biggest threats it presents, and how lawmakers are responding in real time.

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AXIOS
Jan 31, 2024
Tech execs prepare to defend child-safety records

Accountable Tech and Design it for Us will hold a rally outside the Capitol following the hearing. Design it for Us is more focused on the harms it says are posed by Meta, Snap and TikTok. But it added in a statement, "That certainly doesn't excuse Discord and X."

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The Hill
Jan 19, 2024
Congress urged to increase DOJ funds to take on tech giants’ power

The letter, signed by groups including The Tech Oversight Project, American Economic Liberties Project and Accountable Tech, touts the passage of the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act in 2022 to increase funding for the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission.

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Bloomberg
Jan 18, 2024
Google Tracking of Abortion Clinic Visits Spurs Complaint to FTC

The complaint was also signed by the nonprofit tech watchdog project Accountable Tech, which found in November 2023 that in eight experiments across the country, Google retained abortion seekers’ location data about half of the time. The findings, first reported by The Guardian, followed a similar Accountable Tech analysis in 2022 finding that Google was still retaining the data weeks after the announced policy change. The complaint says that practice puts Google afoul of its 2011 FTC Consent order agreeing to not misrepresent how it maintains and protects the privacy of data including physical location.

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Gizmodo
Jan 18, 2024
Google Breaks Another Promise About Tracking Your Location History

Google pledged to stop tracking user visits to abortion clinics shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, which killed off the United States’ largest federal abortion protection...Roughly 18 months later, Google has not followed through on its promise, according to a new study from Accountable Tech, and the company still tracks visits to abortion clinics.

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NPR
Jan 17, 2024
AI’s influence on election 2024

"It is offering new ways of spreading disinformation, like the audio and video content, especially, but it's mostly just turbocharging existing efforts and making it a lot cheaper and easier," Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director at the watchdog group Accountable Tech, says.

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The Guardian
Jan 17, 2024
Google promised to delete location data on abortion clinic visits. It didn’t, study says

In its newest study, which the Guardian reviewed exclusively, Accountable Tech found that the company still wasn’t deleting location history in all cases as promised, though Google’s rate of retention improved slightly. The rate of retention of location information decreased from 60% of tested cases, a measurement taken five months after Google’s pledge, to 50% of tested cases in the most recent experiment. The director of product of Google Maps, Marlo McGriff, disputed the findings of the study.

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The Messenger
Dec 27, 2023
Experts Expect ‘Tsunami of Misinformation’ Amid AI Surge Ahead of Election

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a nonprofit watchdog group, told the AP that Twitter used to be one of the "most responsible" platforms. “Obviously now they’re on the exact other end of the spectrum,” he said.

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CBS News
Dec 26, 2023
As guardrails fade and AI deepfakes go mainstream, experts warn of election impacts

Twitter used to be one of the "most responsible" platforms, showing a willingness to test features that might reduce misinformation even at the expense of engagement, said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a nonprofit watchdog group. "Obviously now they're on the exact other end of the spectrum."

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Bloomberg
Dec 14, 2023
Transcript: A Poll on X Isn’t ‘Super Scientific’

"We've found in reporting supported by a nonprofit digital rights group, Accountable Tech, that with less than a hundred dollars, you can buy tens of thousands of votes for a Twitter poll easily."

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Washington Post
Dec 14, 2023
Google is rolling out new protections for our location data

“In July 2022, Google promised to delete sensitive location data to protect people seeking abortion care in a post-Roe America, but in the past year and a half, [it] has fallen short,” said Nicole Gill, executive director of the advocacy group Accountable Tech. “We are encouraged by their latest announcement to better protect the privacy of the millions of people who use their products every day.”

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The Messenger
Dec 11, 2023
Democratic Hopefuls Spending Big on X Political Ads

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of the left-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech and former spokesperson for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, told the Post that X, formerly known as Twitter, “will continue playing a key role in shaping political discourse so long as it remains the platform of choice for reporters.”

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Washington Post
Dec 11, 2023
As advertisers flee Musk’s X, Democrats splurge on political ads

The platform “will continue playing a key role in shaping political discourse so long as it remains the platform of choice for reporters,” said Jesse Lehrich, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and co-founder of the left-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech.

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The Hill
Dec 06, 2023
Biden pressed to address AI impact on climate change

Climate and tech advocacy groups are pressing the Biden administration to address concerns about the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on climate change...The letter was signed by 17 groups, including Friends of the Earth, Accountable Tech and the Center for Countering Digital Hate.

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The Verge
Dec 06, 2023
Climate groups say Biden AI order doesn’t address AI’s climate impact

The groups sent a letter to the White House urging the Biden administration, including national climate advisor Ali Zaidi, to add more climate-centered policies in its AI executive order released earlier in October. Seventeen groups signed the letter, including Accountable Tech.

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Politico
Nov 28, 2023
Biden campaign: Twitter, er X, is ‘an increasingly hostile place’

“Given the stakes of this election, I just think that you have to be part of the conversation wherever it’s playing out, even if in the long run you would like to see platforms that facilitate healthier political discourse,” said Jesse Lehrich, a spokesperson for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and cofounder of Accountable Tech. “When democracy is on the line, you don’t want to lose democracy for the sake of taking a principled stand.”

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Fast Company
Nov 21, 2023
Misinformation research is under attack. So what’s the plan for 2024?

Academics and government officials aren’t the only ones shifting strategy. Jesse Lehrich, cofounder of the advocacy group Accountable Tech, says the last year has also required his organization to “adapt to the realities of the moment.”

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The Messenger
Nov 20, 2023
Meta Whistleblower Just Proved Why Young People Like Me Don’t Feel Safe Online

A whopping 86% of voters support congressional action, and 82% believe social media platforms should be required to take concrete steps to protect young people online, according to a poll by Accountable Tech.

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WIRED
Oct 27, 2023
Inside Elon Musk’s First Election Crisis—a Day After He ‘Freed’ the Bird

In addition to the trust and safety personnel layoffs, “they’ve rolled back basic features of the platform that helped deal with things that will obviously pose threats to the integrity of elections around the world,” says Jesse Lehrich, cofounder of the advocacy group Accountable Tech. This includes “removing labels on government officials and state-run media accounts, and obviously Twitter Blue has been a total disaster,” he says, noting that the platform’s new revenue-sharing model could add to the chaos. “There’s a financial incentive to post outrageous or sensational content to go viral and potentially profit from it.”

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Tech Policy Press
Oct 25, 2023
State Attorneys General Sue Meta Over Harms to Children and Teens

Various civil society groups issued statements in support of the bipartisan lawsuit against Meta. Accountable Tech executive director Nicole Gill applauded the state attorneys general’s effort to “curb Big Tech’s unchecked power over our daily lives” as Meta operates “without any regard for their role in the youth mental health crisis, focusing solely on maximizing their profits by creating addictive design features.”

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The Hill
Oct 24, 2023
Schumer urged to prioritize worker rights in AI policy

The letter was signed by 20 groups, including the Athena Coalition, Public Citizen, Accountable Tech and the Open Markets Institute. As Congress drafts regulations, the groups urged lawmakers to prioritize the heath, safety and wages of data workers that develop and train AI.

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Washington Post
Oct 24, 2023
These lawmakers want you to know when you’re talking to AI

The lawmakers first introduced the AI Labeling Act in July and on Tuesday are unveiling a list of supporters backing the effort, including consumer groups like Common Sense Media, Public Citizen and Accountable Tech.

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In the News
Pluribus News
Oct 20, 2023
Tech industry plays defense as states push new regulations

Aditi Ramesh, policy manager at nonprofit watchdog Accountable Tech, said she hopes there is a "domino effect" as more states consider new rules of the road for tech with the end-goal of "putting increased pressure on Congress to create a more unified approach to tech regulation."

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In the News
Pluribus News
Sep 29, 2023
Software industry preps for ‘wave’ of AI legislation in states

Accountable Tech, Al Now and the Electronic Privacy Information Center put forth an Al governance framework in August that accused Al companies of calling for regulation while 'privately lobbying against meaningful accountability measures. "Given the monumental stakes, blind trust in their benevolence is not an option," the groups wrote.

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Tech Policy Press
Sep 28, 2023
Concerns Mount Over Social Media and 2024 Elections

So far, a coalition of ten civil society groups, including Accountable Tech, the Center for American Progress (CAP), and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) have all signed onto the framework.

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In the News
WIRED
Sep 28, 2023
X Fires Its Election Team Before a Huge Election Year

“With authoritarianism on the rise, and dozens of countries set to hold high-stakes elections next year, democracy is facing an existential threat,” says Jesse Lehrich, cofounder of the nonprofit Accountable Tech. “And Elon Musk continues to tip the scales in the wrong direction."

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Washington Post
Sep 14, 2023
Musk expected to meet with Netanyahu as antisemitism controversy rages

While X executives blame the ADL in particular for the advertising boycott, numerous civil rights and advocacy groups had been part of the campaign, including GLAAD, Media Matters for America, Free Press, Accountable Tech and Color of Change. They used the hashtag #StopToxicTwitter.

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The Messenger
Sep 14, 2023
Congress Has Found A New Silicon Valley Bogeyman: Artificial Intelligence

Clearly, Facebook and Twitter no longer seem like the scariest bogeymen around town, with D.C. conversation around artificial intelligence, “sucking up all of the oxygen,” conceded Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a tech watchdog group. “The fact that just this week—even with a government shutdown looming—you’ve got three separate Congressional hearings…really underscores the extent to which AI has consumed Capitol Hill.”

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The Guardian
Sep 12, 2023
Microsoft president and Nvidia chief scientist testify in Senate AI hearings

“Big tech has shown us what ‘self-regulation’ looks like, and it looks a lot like their own self-interest,” said Bianca Recto, communications director for Accountable Tech. “Senators must go into this week’s AI hearings with their eyes wide open – or risk once again getting fooled by savvy PR at the expense of our safety.”

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NBC News
Sep 06, 2023
Civil rights groups attacked by Elon Musk are mounting a counteroffensive

Kaili Lambe, director of policy and advocacy at Accountable Tech, another coalition leader, said Musk’s tactics are bad for X and bad for the internet as a whole.

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Tech Policy Press
Sep 01, 2023
August 2023 U.S. Tech Policy Roundup

Accountable Tech, AI Now, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) released the Zero Trust AI Governance Framework in response to self-regulatory approaches popular among top AI companies. The framework laid out overarching principles for future regulation. These included a call for policymakers to apply existing laws to the industry such as anti-discrimination, consumer protection, and competition laws alongside clarifying Section 230’s limits. The framework also suggested establishing clearly defined policies without room for subjectivity such as prohibiting facial recognition used for mass surveillance and fully automated hiring processes. Finally, the framework placed the burden on AI companies to prove that their systems are not harmful with systems subject to pre- and post-deployment harm mitigation requirements.

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Washington Post
Aug 25, 2023
Donald Trump marks return to X, formerly Twitter, with mug shot tweet

A recent report by Accountable Tech, a nonprofit that advocates for better security and integrity in big tech, found that 360 of Trump’s posts on Truth Social would be in violation of Facebook’s Community Standards, dozens contained election-related disinformation and more than 100 posts amplify followers or supporters of QAnon.

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In the News
The Verge
Aug 14, 2023
AI companies must prove their AI is safe, says nonprofit group

Nonprofits Accountable Tech, AI Now, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) released policy proposals that seek to limit how much power big AI companies have on regulation that could also expand the power of government agencies against some uses of generative AI.

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In the News
Tech Policy Press
Aug 11, 2023
Advocates Call for White House Action on AI Harms

The Center for American Progress (CAP), a progressive DC-based think tank, and a group of civil society groups that includes Accountable Tech, AI Now Institute, and EPIC, released their respective priorities to coincide with the AI Cyber Challenge kickoff.

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In the News
Gizmodo
Aug 10, 2023
Maybe Facebook’s Ruthless Ascent Didn’t Make the World More Depressed, Study Says

Accountable Tech Co-Founder Jesse Lehrich who’s previously led campings calling on Meta to do more to remove harmful content from its platforms, echoed those concerns, calling the OII research as almost comically overbroad.

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In the News
Politico
Jul 27, 2023
New studies: Facebook doesn’t make people more partisan

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, an advocacy group focused on information controls for social media, said it was “a little bit absurd” to draw conclusions from studies that altered a single facet of a user’s social media experience over a three-month period.

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In the News
Politico
Jul 27, 2023
Score one for ‘the algorithm’

Social media critics — many of whom have spent years sounding the alarm about the ways it has changed American politics — suggested the studies were too limited, and too close to Meta itself, to be persuasive, including Frances Haugen, the former Facebook executive who leaked internal company files in 2021, and Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, an advocacy group focused on information controls for social media.

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In the News
The Verge
Jul 27, 2023
Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to build a new agency to police Big Tech

“An independent regulatory commission tasked with challenging the monopolistic power of Big Tech companies will not only provide the additional oversight needed to keep the industry in check, but also complement the work of our existing regulatory bodies,” Nicole Gill, Accountable Tech executive director and co-founder, said in a statement to The Verge on Wednesday.

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In the News
The Messenger
Jul 25, 2023
Congress Wants To Fight Online Drug Dealing — But Doing So Could Injure The Internet

It could possibly prompt tech companies to cut back encrypted message features just as they’re continuing to grow in use and popularity, said Jesse Lehrich, a co-founder of Accountable Tech, a civil society organization working to bring about long-term structural reform regarding surveillance and social media companies. “The last thing we should be doing in this moment is killing end-to-end encryption,” he said, “and deputizing Big Tech with massive new surveillance mandates.”

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In the News
Business Insider
Jul 14, 2023
Mark Zuckerberg needs to better moderate Threads or it’ll ‘become as toxic as Twitter,’ civil rights groups warn

The letter — led by Free Press, Accountable Tech, and Media Matters for America — says the groups have already seen indications that "new users have been testing the boundaries of the platform's moderation and enforcement."

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In the News
CNBC
Jul 11, 2023
As Twitter continues to implode, advertisers pin their hopes on Threads

Media Matters and other groups including Free Press and Accountable Tech urged advertisers to stop spending on Twitter when Musk took over last fall, citing an increase in hate speech and other concerns.

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In the News
The Register
Jun 27, 2023
One year after Roe v Wade overturned and ‘uterus surveillance’ looks grim

As recently as May, however, two investigations, one by advocacy group Accountable Tech and the other by the Washington Post, found Google continued to track and store location history for trips to abortion clinics.

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In the News
Reuters
Jun 22, 2023
FEATURE-My body, my data: US fight for abortion access turns digital

Right now, protecting personal data is a zipcode lottery given the "patchwork of state laws", said Kaili Lambe of Accountable Tech, an advocacy group pressuring tech companies to stop collecting data on pregnancy and abortion-interest online.

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In the News
Washington Post
Jun 12, 2023
Trump charges will test social media rules on violent rhetoric

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of the left-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech and a former spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, said that tech companies are “much more comfortable inviting widespread societal unrest than pissing off conservatives.”

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In the News
Gizmodo
Jun 05, 2023
Instagram Bans, Unbans Facebook Critic, and It Won’t Say Why

Accountable Tech Co-Founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill agreed with that sentiment and told Gizmodo Meta’s “willingness to silence” its critics reinforced the critics of abuse and monopoly power lodged against them in the first place.

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In the News
Forbes
May 25, 2023
ChatGPT Could Leave Europe, OpenAI CEO Warns, Days After Urging U.S. Congress For AI Regulations

Nicole Gill, the executive director and co-founder of the group Accountable Tech, penned an op-ed for Fast Company last week where she compared Altman to Meta’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg writing: “Lawmakers appear poised to trust Altman to self-regulate under the guise of ‘innovation,’ even as the speed of AI is ringing alarm bells for technologists, academics, civil society, and yes, even lawmakers.”

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In the News
Washington Post
May 25, 2023
Musk gives DeSantis a Twitter boost, breaking another tech norm

Nicole Gill, executive director of the left-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech, said in a statement that Musk’s “full-throated embrace of Ron DeSantis … is a new low for what was once one of the world’s most important communication platforms.”

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In the News
The Verge
May 24, 2023
Elon Musk fails to launch Ron DeSantis in disastrous Twitter Space

“Elon Musk has already turned Twitter into a hellscape of hate and conspiracy. But his full-throated embrace of Ron DeSantis – only weeks after Tucker Carlson announced he would revive his Fox News show on Twitter – is a new low for what was once one of the world’s most important communication platforms,” said Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director for Accountable Tech, in a statement Wednesday.

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In the News
Washington Post
May 24, 2023
Google is failing to uphold post-Roe privacy pledge, Democrats say

A separate review by the left-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech generated similar findings, with Google failing to delete location data in more than half of their visits. “No one should be tracked or targeted for their personal health decisions. But that’s exactly what Big Tech’s business model of surveillance advertising right now is designed to do,” Accountable Tech policy manager Aditi Ramesh told Geoffrey.

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In the News
Politico
May 18, 2023
Big Tech carves loopholes out of state kids’ safety laws

Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of tech watchdog group Accountable Tech, said companies are running a two-track campaign. She said they’re making design changes that may make minor safety improvements for kids, “while at the same time, their government relations teams — up to their CEOs — are directly lobbying Congress and state legislatures to do absolutely nothing to regulate them.”

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In the News
Associated Press
May 18, 2023
False claims of a stolen election thrive unchecked on Twitter even as Musk promises otherwise

But since he took over, Musk has reinstated notorious election deniers, overhauled Twitter’s verification system and gutted much of the staff that had been responsible for moderating posts. Those choices have allowed falsehoods to flourish, said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a nonprofit watchdog group.

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NPR
May 17, 2023
Teens say social media is stressing them out. Here’s how to help them

"I have an anxiety disorder, and I have OCD," Lembke told Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in March 2022, during a roundtable hosted by the nonprofit Accountable Tech. "I was never warned that entering these online platforms would only amplify the things that I already struggle with."

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The Messenger
May 15, 2023
Congress Is Falling Behind on AI

Congress’s slowness to deal with those and other major issues related to Big Tech “certainly undermines our ability to now grapple with something like generative AI, which is moving at such a rapid pace,” said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder and senior advisor at Accountable Tech, a tech watchdog group.

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Politico
May 11, 2023
The Covid passport expires

Critics’ say: Nicole Gill, executive director of tech watchdog group Accountable Tech, said the companies “are directly lobbying Congress and state legislatures to do absolutely nothing to regulate them.”

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In the News
Gizmodo
May 10, 2023
Advertising on Twitter Means You Support Tucker Carlson Now

In the climate Musk and Tucker built for themselves, tying your ad money to their projects could generate public condemnation. Representatives from the advocacy groups Free Press, Media Matters, Accountable Tech, and the Center For Countering Digital Hate all told Gizmodo that Carlson’s new show will be even worse for the reputation of any brand that chooses to advertise on Twitter.

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Washington Post
May 09, 2023
Google promised to delete sensitive data. It logged my abortion clinic visit.

I’m not the only one who’s spotted Google’s failure. Aditi Ramesh, a policy manager with the advocacy group Accountable Tech, has been doing her own version of this test over the last several months and found similar results. In about 60 percent of her tests, Google failed to delete location data.

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Washington Post
May 02, 2023
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/02/ai-driven-political-ads-are-here-this-lawmaker-is-sounding-alarm/

Left-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech has hired five new staff members: Robbie Dornbush as its chief of staff, who previously served as chief of staff and special assistant to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Bianca Recto as its communications director, who previously served as communications director for media start-up More Perfect Union. Nash Alam as its senior aampaign manager, who previous was a digital organizer for Groundwork Collaborative. Alison Rice as its campaign manager for youth initiatives, who previously worked with the Hub Project and NextGen America. Alyssa Sanchez as its operations manager, who previously worked with Oregon Futures Lab.

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In the News
Time
Apr 27, 2023
A Brief History of Elon Musk Saying One Thing and Doing Another at Twitter

“Throughout his career, Musk has had an almost pathological need to promise grand visions and make himself the center of attention,” says Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, an advocacy group. “He’s very Trumpian in his need to capture media attention with constantly-shifting promises, which everyone in the media covers, and then it never happens.”

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In the News
Digiday
Apr 17, 2023
The fate of Black Twitter remains unclear after Elon Musk’s platform takeover

Even civil rights leaders, from organizations like Media Matters, Free Press, Accountable Tech and Color of Change, called on advertisers last fall to stop spending on the platform in response to increased hate and offensive speech and other changes since Musk’s takeover, per reports. (By December, ad spend fell on Twitter by over 70%, per Reuters — Musk blamed activist group pressure on advertisers.)

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In the News
KOLO ABC 8
Apr 05, 2023
Bill hoping to protect children online debated in State Legislature

“The data has shown us, time and again, that various online platforms, such as social media, contribute to a myriad of issues including depression and anxiety and are highly addicting,” said Nicole Gill with Accountable Tech. “We firmly believe that a child’s safety should be paramount and that platforms should enact the highest privacy protections when designing, developing and providing that feature. Through the passage of AB 320 in Nevada, we hope to see that belief become a reality. "

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In the News
Tech Policy Press
Mar 31, 2023
March 2023 U.S. Tech Policy Roundup

Advocacy organizations Accountable Tech and LOG OFF conducted a poll with 912 American teenagers to understand social media usage habits. They found that:

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CNBC
Mar 29, 2023
Donald Trump is back on social media, and nobody knows what happens next

The companies that punished Trump for his prior antics have little reason to believe his behavior will change. His Truth Social posts are littered with examples to the contrary. Advocacy group Accountable Tech wrote in a recent report that it found over 350 Trump posts on Truth Social that would violate Facebook’s safety rules.

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Politico
Mar 23, 2023
Google hires Costello

“No parent should have to deal with the horrific reality of losing a child to online bullying, illegal or harmful substances sold over social media, or from falling prey to dangerous online communities,” the groups wrote. Tech Oversight Project, Accountable Tech, the Center for Digital Democracy, Fairplay, Parents Together, Common Sense Media, Tech Transparency Project, Eating Disorders Coalition and Friends of the Earth.

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In the News
Mashable
Mar 17, 2023
Donald Trump is back on YouTube and using Facebook again

"The very same day Trump released a video calling the 2020 election ‘stolen’ and [demanded] January 6th insurrectionists be released from prison, YouTube decided to let him back on their platform," Nicole Gill, executive director of the advocacy group Accountable Tech said in a statement provided to Mashable.

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Reuters
Mar 17, 2023
Trump returns to Facebook

More than 350 of his Truth Social posts would have violated Facebook's rules, including posts amplifying the conspiracy theory QAnon and pushing false claims of election fraud, liberal advocacy group Accountable Tech said in a December report.

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In the News
NPR
Mar 17, 2023
‘I’M BACK!’ Trump posts on Facebook, YouTube for first time in two years

Advocacy group Accountable Tech found that hundreds of Trump's posts on Truth Social would violate most social media companies' community standards. The group said Trump released a video on the site on Friday that falsely alleges the 2020 election was stolen and that the Jan. 6 insurrectionists should be released from prison.

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In the News
Pluribus News
Mar 14, 2023
Youth digital privacy battles spark in states

Besides 5Rights and Accountable Tech, the coalition backing the age-appropriate design bills also includes Parents Together and Design It For Us. Advocates insist the law is needed to better protect children from harmful online content and to block features like Autoplay that encourage youth to spend hours online.

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Gizmodo
Mar 10, 2023
House Republicans Just Passed a Tech Censorship Bill That’s Pure Nonsense

Others, like Ohio Democratic Rep. ​​Greg Landsman, feared the bill would make it even more difficult to spot and remove disinformation posts attempting to spread foreign propaganda. Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of tech advocacy group Accountable Tech, similarly said the GOP bill appears to solve problems already handled by the First Amendment right to speech.

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Mashable
Feb 25, 2023
Meta allows Trump back on Facebook and Instagram

"Today, Meta chose to put its own profits above American democracy and the real-world safety of its users," said Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of the advocacy nonprofit Accountable Tech in a statement provided to Mashable. "I want to be very clear: there is absolutely no justification for allowing Donald Trump back on Facebook...This is a man who used the platform to incite a deadly insurrection against the United States – and whose behavior has only gotten more dangerous in the years since. Trump has repeatedly used Truth Social to fuel violence, spread election lies, and promote domestic terrorist organizations like QAnon."

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NBC News
Feb 14, 2023
Congress has had a hands-off approach to Big Tech. Will the AI arms race be any different?

“The rapid escalation of the AI arms race that ChatGPT has catalyzed really underscores how far behind Congress is when it comes to regulating technology and the cost of their failure,” said Jesse Lehrich, a co-founder of the left-leaning watchdog Accountable Tech and a former aide to Hillary Clinton.

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In the News
VOX
Feb 09, 2023
It’s official. Trump is back on Facebook and Instagram.

If and when Trump starts posting again on Facebook and Instagram, prepare to see more of what he’s been sharing on Truth Social: From April 28 through October 8, Trump shared 116 posts amplifying “followers and sympathizers of QAnon,” and 239 posts containing “harmful election-related disinformation,” according to the tech watchdog group Accountable Tech. He’s also made comments promoting election fraud conspiracy theories that critics say encouraged harassment of election workers, such as threats of hanging, firing squads, torture, and bomb blasts.

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CNN
Jan 25, 2023
Meta says it won’t punish Trump for attacking the 2020 election results. But the 2024 vote is a different story

It’s nothing unusual for Trump. A research report published earlier this month by the watchdog group Accountable Tech found that Trump had written more than 200 posts containing “harmful election-related disinformation” since he was banished from Meta’s platforms.

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NBC News
Jan 25, 2023
Facebook and Instagram to end Trump’s suspension from platforms

A mobile billboard, deployed by Accountable Tech, outside the Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on Jan. 17.

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Politico
Jan 25, 2023
Meta to reinstate Donald Trump’s Facebook account

Watchdog group Accountable Tech criticized Facebook for prioritizing its bottom line. “Today, Meta chose to put its own profits above American democracy and the real-world safety of its users,” said Nicole Gill, the group’s executive director, in a statement.

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In the News
The Daily Beast
Jan 25, 2023
Meta to Reinstate Trump on Facebook and Instagram ‘In the Coming Weeks’

“I want to be very clear: there is absolutely no justification for allowing Donald Trump back on Facebook,” said Nicole Gill, co-founder of the tech-focused advocacy group Accountable Tech. “Two years ago, Meta said it would only reinstate Trump if his presence on the platform no longer carried a threat of violence. Today’s decision reveals that promise for what it was: another empty publicity stunt by a company more concerned with making money than with democracy, safety, or even internal consistency.”

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NPR
Jan 25, 2023
Meta allows Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram

The advocacy groups Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America estimated last month that more than 350 of Trump's Truth Social posts would directly violate Facebook's rules against QAnon content, false election claims and harassment of marginalized groups.

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In the News
The Hill
Jan 09, 2023
Meta weighing decision on Trump ban

Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America last month launched a “Keep Trump off Facebook” ad campaign along with a report highlighting hundreds of Trump’s posts on Truth Social they said would violate Facebook’s rules. The posts amplified followers and sympathizers of the QAnon conspiracy theory and contained “harmful” election-related disinformation.

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Washington Post
Jan 09, 2023
Two years after Jan. 6, Facebook mulls if Trump is still a threat

“Is [Trump’s rhetoric] safer, or is it that it wasn’t being broadcast to hundreds of millions of people on Facebook that kept it safer?” said Accountable Tech’s executive director, Nicole Gill, whose anti-Big Tech advocacy group has run digital and television advertisements urging the company not to reinstate Trump. “The absence of violence after the midterms is not at all reason to let him back on.”

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Forbes
Jan 08, 2023
Trump Campaign Urges Facebook To Remove Block On His Account As He Gears Up For Presidential Run

The tech watchdog nonprofit Accountable Tech is advocating for Meta to continue its ban on Trump’s accounts and has launched a billboard campaign outside of Facebook offices in Washington, Menlo Park, Calif., and New York City. "If Facebook looks at what Trump has been putting out publicly in the past few years, it is clear he is not a reduced threat to safety, If anything, he has gotten more emboldened,” Executive Director Nicole Gill told The Financial Times.

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AXIOS
Jan 04, 2023
Meta expected to decide soon on fate of Trump accounts

Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America released a six-figure digital and TV ad buy last month for a "Keep Trump Off Facebook" campaign.

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In the News
Forbes
Jan 04, 2023
Meta Weighs Reinstating Trump’s Facebook Account After 2-Year Ban—Here’s How It Will Work

A study published last month by left-wing free speech advocacy group Accountable Tech suggested that more than 350 of Trump’s posts on Truth Social would have violated Facebook’s policies, including his baseless election denial allegations, his promotion of far-right conspiracy group QAnon, as well as posts that would violate Facebook’s harassment against marginalized groups policy.

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In the News
Business Insider
Dec 24, 2022
Pressure builds to keep Donald Trump off Facebook ahead of his possible reinstatement

Nearly half of Trump's posts and reposts on Truth Social in the week after the 2022 midterm elections pushed claims of election fraud and amplified QAnon accounts or content, according to December research from Media Matters. Another study by Accountable Tech found more than 350 of Trump's Truth Social posts would violate Facebook's safety guidelines.

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Politico
Nov 22, 2022
Musk’s Twitter gets weird and wild, but Washington is sticking around

Nicole Gill, executive director of tech watchdog group Accountable Tech, said Musk’s reinstatements “are actively threatening the safety of Twitter users.”

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CNBC
Nov 21, 2022
Civil rights leaders condemn Musk decision to lift Trump Twitter ban

“Unless and until Musk can be trusted to enforce Twitter’s prior community standards, the platform is not safe for users or advertisers,” the #StopToxicTwitter coalition led by Accountable Tech, Free Press and Media Matters for America said in a statement. “For those still advertising on Twitter right now: know that you are contributing directly to an erratic billionaire’s decimation of Twitter and its rapid devolution into utter chaos.”

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CNN
Nov 10, 2022
Elon Musk’s Twitter faces its ‘Titanic’ moment as executives and advertisers flee while trolls run rampant

Maybe Twitter will find a path forward. But the road ahead looks quite arduous. As the non-profit watchdog Accountable Tech put it Thursday evening: “This hellscape is going to get more hellish. More hate speech and harassment. More deception and impersonation. More privacy and security risks for all of us. We would once again tell advertisers to jump ship, but at this point, no CMO in their right mind needs that advice.”

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In the News
Nov 07, 2022
Elon Musk Just Told ‘Independent-Minded’ Followers Which Way To Vote. Why That Matters

“He’s a man who now has incredible unilateral power to shape our information system and how information is shared,” Nicole Gill, executive director of the nonprofit Accountable Tech, tells TIME. “He controls the dials that determine whose voices are heard in what he fashions is the modern public square, and now he’s openly putting his thumb on the scale and elections.”

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In the News
New York Times
Nov 04, 2022
Twitter’s Advertisers Pull Back as Layoffs Sweep Through Company

“We are witnessing the real-time destruction of one of the world’s most powerful communications platforms,” said Nicole Gill, the executive director of the nonprofit group Accountable Tech, on the call. “Unless and until Musk can robustly enforce Twitter’s existing community standards, the platform is not safe for users or for advertisers.”

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In the News
Huffington Post
Nov 04, 2022
Elon Musk Accuses Activists Of ‘Trying To Destroy Free Speech’ As Advertisers Flee

“We are witnessing the real-time destruction of one of the world’s most powerful communication systems,” Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, one of the groups in the coalition, said in a statement. “Elon Musk is an erratic billionaire who’s dangerously unqualified to run Twitter.”

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New York Times
Nov 03, 2022
Elon Musk Begins Layoffs at Twitter

Jesse Lehrich, a founder of Accountable Tech, an industry advocacy organization, said the layoffs amounted to an arbitrary purge just days before the midterm elections on Tuesday.

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NBC News
Nov 01, 2022
Congress will want to hear from Elon Musk and Twitter — whichever party wins the midterms

“I had every reason to believe that this would be problematic: Elon taking over one of the world’s most influential global communications platforms,” said a former Clinton foreign policy aide, Jesse Lehrich, a co-founder of the left-leaning watchdog Accountable Tech. “But I didn’t expect him to be tweeting insane conspiracy theories at Hillary Clinton about Paul Pelosi as the speaker survives an assassination attempt within the first 72 hours.”

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Business Insider
Oct 29, 2022
Under Elon Musk’s leadership, Twitter could become a ‘supercharged engine of radicalization,’ critics warn

Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of watchdog nonprofit Accountable Tech, said Musk's firing of Vijaya Gadde — a top Twitter legal and policy executive who headed the team that decided to remove Trump from the platform — was a "long-term catastrophe," calling Gadde the company's "moral compass," Politico reported.

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Salon
Oct 28, 2022
“Dangerous for us all”: Elon Musk’s business past offers worrying signs for Twitter’s future

"Elon Musk's plans for Twitter will make it an even more hate-filled cesspool, leading to irreparable real-world harm," said the Stop the Deal Coalition, an alliance of groups that includes Accountable Tech, Friends of the Earth, Public Citizen, and the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. The coalition has urged Congress to investigate Musk's acquisition of Twitter. (The purchase is reportedly already facing an investigation by federal regulators.)

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NPR
Oct 28, 2022
After many delays, Elon Musk is now the proud owner of Twitter

The watchdog group Accountable Tech said Musk's erratic behavior and tweets about Ukraine and Russia make this acquisition a national security threat. It wants Congress to investigate.

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In the News
AXIOS
Oct 22, 2022
Groups demand crackdown on online misinformation ahead of midterms

Concurrently, watchdog group Accountable Tech placed a $250,000 national television and digital ad buy starting this week, criticizing Meta for what the group describes as rolling back election integrity safeguards prior to the midterms.

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AXIOS
Sep 16, 2022
California’s new age rules for sites and apps raise a ruckus

"The bill focuses on establishing a floor of safety and security for young people," Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of Accountable Tech, which supports the legislation, told Axios.

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CNN
Sep 15, 2022
California Gov. Newsom signs landmark legislation aimed at boosting children’s safety online

Accountable Tech, an advocacy group that has criticized large tech platforms, called the bill’s signing “a monumental win.” “This new law will upend the status quo and take real steps to stop pervasive surveillance, profiling, and manipulation of kids online,” said Nicole Gill, the group’s executive director. “It also will serve as a transformative model for other states and countries, so that every child is protected from Big Tech’s abuse and exploitation – not just those in California.”

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CNBC
Aug 30, 2022
California passes bill aimed at making the internet safer for kids

Accountable Tech, a group that has backed federal antitrust legislation targeting Big Tech platforms, also lauded the news. “If signed into law, this historic legislation would represent a seismic shift in the fight for online privacy,” co-founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill said in a statement.

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In the News
New York Times
Aug 23, 2022
To Fight Election Falsehoods, Social Media Companies Ready a Familiar Playbook

“I think they’ve just come to the conclusion that this is not really a problem that they can tackle at this point,” said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a nonprofit focused on technology and democracy.

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In the News
New York Post
Aug 09, 2022
Facebook gave teen’s private messages about alleged abortion to Nebraska police

“These tech giants have accumulated an unfathomable amount of sensitive data on each and every one of us,” Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, told The Post. “They are going to dutifully comply with subpoena requests like this in a post-Roe world.”

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NBC News
Aug 05, 2022
Their children were killed by drugs found on Snapchat. Their activism could push Congress to act.

Jesse Lehrich co-founder of tech watchdog Accountable Tech, reacted to a description of the draft bill by raising concerns about child privacy. "It’s a massive invasion of children’s privacy and freedom to learn and grow," he said. "And it creates nightmarish scenarios, like an LGBTQ kid being outed by these apps, or data being weaponized against a teen who needed an abortion in a state where it’s been criminalized."

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Washington Post
Jul 11, 2022
As Musk moves to abandon deal, Twitter faces ‘worst case scenario’

A left-leaning watchdog group said Musk’s filing highlights why the deal has been fraught from the start. “While the fallout from Musk’s latest move still unfolds, one thing is clear: this chaotic crusade is nothing short of a five-alarm fire drill,” said Accountable Tech Executive Director Nicole Gill in a statement. “Our information ecosystem, safety, and democracy cannot remain at the whim of unaccountable billionaires — whether it’s Elon Musk or anyone else.”

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In the News
Washington Post
Jun 24, 2022
Senate Democrats urge Facebook CEO to bolster gun sales ban

Earlier this week, the advocacy groups Accountable Tech and Giffords urged Zuckerberg to replace the policy with a “more decisive two-strike policy” instead, according to a letter obtained by The Post.

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Washington Post
Jun 22, 2022
Antitrust influencers? Big Tech allies, opponents draft social media stars into bout.

Accountable Tech, a left-leaning watchdog group advocating for antitrust legislation targeting giants like Apple and Amazon, recently partnered with a group of TikTok creators “interested in supporting historic bipartisan legislation to #ReinInBigTech,” the group tweeted. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

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In the News
CNBC
Jun 04, 2022
Lawmakers are racing to pass tech antitrust reforms before midterms

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, expressed “cautious optimism” that this Congress would pass both the self-preferencing bill and a separate bill that is more specifically targeted at how companies display apps in mobile app stores.

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In the News
CNBC
Jun 03, 2022
Musk’s Twitter deal faces backlash from advocacy groups that are seeking to block it

The Stop the Deal campaign, shared exclusively with CNBC, includes plans to put pressure on government agencies to review the acquisition, persuade Tesla stockholders to take action against it ask advertisers to pull spending from the platform. Participating nonprofits include Accountable Tech, Center for Countering Digital Hate, GLAAD and MediaJustice.

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In the News
Washington Post
May 12, 2022
I gave Instagram photos of my baby. Instagram returned fear.

Other new parents on Instagram tell me they also feel they’re being recommended posts that prey on our specific insecurities, from breastfeeding to vaccination. “I found Instagram to be particularly devastating to my already fragile mental state in the postpartum period,” says Nicole Gill, the co-founder of Accountable Tech, a progressive tech advocacy group. “Getting suggested posts on ‘how to lose baby weight in 6 weeks,’ for example, almost immediately after having my daughter was not pleasant.”

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CNN
May 03, 2022
Brands should force Twitter to uphold content policies under Musk, advocacy groups say

Other organizations spearheading the letter campaign include the technology advocacy organization Accountable Tech and the feminist group UltraViolet. Meanwhile, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and the digital rights group Free Press also signed the letter in support of the effort.

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In the News
New York Times
Apr 25, 2022
Smeared as a Groomer, a Michigan Democrat Goes on Offense

“Replatforming Trump would thrust us back into the world in which our entire political discourse is perpetually upended by his tweets,” said Jesse Lehrich, a former Hillary Clinton spokesman who helped found a nonprofit focused on tech companies and political speech.

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In the News
Washington Post
Mar 28, 2022
Europe is lapping the U.S. on tech regulation — again

Accountable Tech, a left-leaning advocacy group, argued in a policy memo comparing U.S. and E.U. tech reforms that Europe’s incoming regulation “reads like an omnibus bill written by top American lawmakers” because of its overlap with many U.S. proposals.

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In the News
The Hill
Mar 22, 2022
Advocates urge Congress to pass online kids’ safety reforms

The letter is signed by 60 advocacy organizations, including Fairplay, the Center for Digital Democracy, Accountable Tech and the American Academy of Pediatrics. It was addressed to the top lawmakers of both parties in the House and Senate.

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Washington Post
Mar 10, 2022
Human rights groups warn that more sanctions could hurt Russian Internet access

Kaili Lambe is Accountable Tech’s new policy and partnerships director. She previously worked as a senior campaigner at the Mozilla Foundation.

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Politico
Feb 24, 2022
Social media platforms on the defensive as Russian-based disinformation about Ukraine spreads

More broadly, the tech companies have not been transparent about real-time actions they’ve taken to dispel Russian state-run disinformation, according to Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a watchdog group, and former spokesperson for Hillary Clinton.

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In the News
Huffington Post
Feb 17, 2022
Google Has Made Millions Advertising Phony Government Handouts

“It’s just mind-blowing that on a platform like Google — which portrays itself as having gone above and beyond with ad transparency — you can pop up out of nowhere and run millions of dollars of blatant scam ads without raising any red flags,” said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of the nonprofit Accountable Tech.

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In the News
CNN
Jan 28, 2022
Twitter says it has quit taking action against lies about the 2020 election

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a nonprofit that pushes for reforms at social media companies, expressed surprise and dismay at Twitter’s Friday comments. “I actually praised Twitter when they rolled out a new civic integrity policy in 2021, which prohibits false claims about election results and includes a clear strike system for repeat offenders. To learn they decided explicitly to stop enforcing it two months later, and told nobody, is infuriating – especially for a platform that constantly plays up its commitment to transparent decision-making,” Lehrich said in a message to CNN. “They’ve managed to undermine faith in our democracy and their own credibility all at once.”

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In the News
The National Law Review
Dec 28, 2021
Accountable Tech Files Petition for FTC Rulemaking to Ban Surveillance Advertising

Accountable Tech has recently filed a petition for an FTC rulemaking that would ban “surveillance advertising” as an “unfair method of competition.” The group cites the ad practices of surveillance ad giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon.

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In the News
Gizmodo
Dec 15, 2021
It Appears Facebook Spent More Money on the ‘Meta’ Name Than on Funding the Metaverse

This sharp contrast between the naming rights and the amount of funding dedicated to the metaverse was pointed out by @Accountabletech on Twitter. Accountable Tech is a not-for-profit and is all about taking on big companies like Facebook and Twitter, basically, holding big tech accountable.

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In the News
Politico
Dec 02, 2021
House Science debates how to boost U.S. microelectronics

"A coalition of advocacy groups — including Fairplay, Accountable Tech, the Center for Digital Democracy and Common Sense — are today launching Designed With Kids in Mind, a campaign calling for a design code to protect children online."

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In the News
Mashable
Nov 28, 2021
Instagram sucks because it’s becoming a super app

"'I think in general Facebook, unfortunately — as born out in the Facebook papers and documented by their own researchers — is willing to make tremendous sacrifices on as far as societal costs in order to maximize their own profits,' Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of Accountable Tech."

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In the News
Politico
Nov 16, 2021
Lawmakers fighting ‘Big Tech’ flock to Oracle’s townhouse

"Accountable Tech has launched a database that compiles news outlets’ coverage of the Facebook Papers leaked by Haugen."

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In the News
Politico
Nov 12, 2021
Senators go for tech, telecom goodies in defense bill

"'We are writing to encourage your offices to focus next on the monopoly power wielded by Big Tech,' a coalition of 13 groups, including Accountable Tech, the American Economic Liberties Project and Demand Progress, said in a letter this morning to Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer."

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In the News
Politico
Oct 26, 2021
Facebook looking for its voice at a ‘watershed moment’

“I do think they’ve burnt a lot of bridges,” said Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of advocacy group Accountable Tech.

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In the News
Teen Vogue
Oct 26, 2021
Instagram Is Bad for Teen Mental Health — We Want to Know All the Data

"In this op-ed, Gen-Z for Change and Accountable Tech calls on Facebook to release all of its internal research on the effects of Instagram on teen mental health."

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In the News
Insider
Oct 25, 2021
A ‘lobbyist who has to make the president happy’ is part of Facebook’s content moderation, employees complain: report

"Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of advocacy group called Accountable Tech, told POLITICO that "it is a fatal flaw of Facebook as a company that their team in charge of lobbying governments clearly is empowered to intervene on product and content decisions in ways that make it impossible to do good work."

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In the News
Politico
Oct 25, 2021
Facebook staff complained for years about their lobbyists’ power

"'It is a fatal flaw of Facebook as a company that their team in charge of lobbying governments clearly is empowered to intervene on product and content decisions in ways that make it impossible to do good work,' said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of advocacy group Accountable Tech and former spokesperson for Hillary Clinton."

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In the News
Politico
Oct 22, 2021
Will tech provisions make the cut in Democrats’ spending bill?

"Accountable Tech is launching Main Street Against Big Tech, a project aimed at highlighting the impacts of major tech companies on small business owners."

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In the News
TechCrunch
Oct 22, 2021
Tech watchdog campaign challenges big tech for hiding behind small business

"But counter to the warm and fuzzy anecdotes that Big Tech has rolled out over the years, some business owners struggle with relying so heavily on massive, opaque corporations and often have little recourse if things go wrong. Those struggles are the kind of thing that tech watchdog group Accountable Tech wants to draw attention to with its new awareness push, 'Main Street Against Big Tech.'”

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In the News
Wall Street Journal
Oct 17, 2021
How to Fix Facebook, Instagram and Social Media? Change the Defaults

"I’d be shocked if this Congress manages to pass a sweeping federal privacy law,” said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a progressive-leaning nonprofit dedicated to reigning in social-media giants. “But I do think bills like the KIDS Act that take direct aim at those manipulative features are suddenly in play.”The Wall Street Journal: "I’d be shocked if this Congress manages to pass a sweeping federal privacy law,” said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a progressive-leaning nonprofit dedicated to reigning in social-media giants. “But I do think bills like the KIDS Act that take direct aim at those manipulative features are suddenly in play.”

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In the News
Politico
Oct 14, 2021
Senators unveil long-awaited antitrust bill

"More than 40 human rights organizations have launched HowToStopFacebook.org, a campaign calling on legislators to investigate the company using subpoena power...Members include Fight for the Future, Accountable Tech, the Center for Digital Democracy and Fairplay."

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Washington Post
Oct 05, 2021
Facebook’s facial recognition rollback shows limits of self-regulation, officials say

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of the left-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech, said he’s not banking on lawmakers advancing new facial recognition and biometric rules this Congress."

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Bloomberg
Oct 05, 2021
Facebook Whistle-Blower to Share ‘Frightening Truth’ With Senate

Bloomberg: "According to Rishi Bharwani, policy director for Accountable Tech, a group that advocates for reforms to social media, 'these companies are so large that no single legislative intervention will fully mitigate their societal harms.'”

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The Verge
Oct 05, 2021
The whistleblower hearing hits Facebook where the company is weakest

“It’s the focus on the business model at the crux of this, because that is what ties all of these scandals together,” Rishi Bharwani, director of partnership and policy at Accountable Tech, told The Verge in an interview Monday. “It’s why Facebook is profiting off of and playing a determining role in the Rohingya genocide. It’s why Facebook is allowing the continued spread of COVID mis- and disinformation. It’s because they’re profiting off of it.”

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Bloomberg Law
Oct 04, 2021
Facebook Whistle-Blower to Share ‘Frightening Truth’ With Senate

"Forcing Facebook to be a better steward of its immense power will take a combination of all these legislative strategies, according to Rishi Bharwani, policy director for Accountable Tech, a group that advocates for reforms to social media."

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NPR
Oct 04, 2021
What Sen. Blumenthal’s ‘finsta’ flub says about Congress’ grasp of Big Tech

"Sen. Blumenthal and his colleagues are worlds ahead of where Congress was in 2018 when it comes to understanding Big Tech and the urgency of upending the perverse incentives of the broken status quo," said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, an organization that says it seeks to 'tackle the existential threat' that social media companies pose to society."

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Politico
Sep 30, 2021
Senators vs. Facebook, Round 2

"Accountable Tech launching a six-figure national TV ad buy this morning and planning a post-hearing rally with other groups, including Fairplay and the so-called Real Facebook Oversight Board."

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Wall Street Journal
Sep 29, 2021
FTC Weighs New Online Privacy Rules

"This week, the progressive-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech petitioned the agency to ban 'surveillance advertising' as an unfair method of competition, defining the practice as targeted advertising based on consumers’ personal data."

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Politico
Sep 28, 2021
House Judiciary mulls how to juice tech competition

"Dozens of civil society groups, including Accountable Tech...urged leaders of the House Science Committee in a letter dated Monday to take action against Facebook over its decision to revoke access to the NYU researchers."

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Washington Post
Sep 28, 2021
Will the U.S. follow the E.U. playbook to crack down on Silicon Valley giants?

"Accountable Tech, a progressive tech advocacy group, is urging the FTC in a new petition to write new rules to prohibit what it calls 'surveillance advertising' — or the pervasive use of hyper-targeted ads by dominant tech platforms."

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Time
Sep 22, 2021
A New Campaign Asks Facebook Users to Log Off. Will It Have an Impact?

“Users logging off creates momentum that feeds into the need for greater regulation,” says Rishi Bharwani of Accountable Tech, a Washington-based tech reform advocacy group that is part of the coalition working on the Logout campaign. “These things all reinforce each other and create a groundswell of support for meaningful change.”

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AXIOS
Aug 24, 2021
The limits to Facebook’s transparency

"They are constantly finding new ways to slice and dice data to advance their preferred narratives about their products," Accountable Tech's Jesse Lehrich told Axios. "But quarterly reports showing YouTube and Amazon were the most-viewed domains do nothing to help us understand the fast-changing threat landscapes on vaccine disinformation, political extremism or anything else meaningful."

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AXIOS
Aug 18, 2021
Facebook says it sees signs that COVID vaccine hesitancy is declining

The other side: Critics blasted Facebook, with Accountable Tech executive director Nicole Gill saying that "Facebook is teeming with deadly vaccine misinformation."

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USA Today
Jul 27, 2021
Instagram’s privacy changes: Will they actually keep creepy adults away from young users?

"These long overdue changes are an important acknowledgment from Facebook of the many harms kids and teens face on their platforms, from manipulative product designs and pervasive surveillance advertising to unwanted contact from predators," said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. "It should not take years of tireless advocacy from child safety and tech accountability NGOs to earn bare minimum protections for platforms' most vulnerable users, but it nonetheless speaks to the unprecedented pressure Big Tech is facing over their exploitative business practices."

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The Hill
Jul 26, 2021
Tech groups urge Congress to ‘dig deeper’ on Facebook role in Capitol riot

The renewed push from the groups, Accountable Tech, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), Media Matters and the Tech Transparency Project, comes the day before the House select committee holds its first hearing and as the federal government continues to clamp down on the spread of misinformation on social media platforms.

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The Hill
Jul 21, 2021
‘Superspreader’ Facebook accounts spewing dangerous vaccine misinformation

According to the social media watchdog Accountable Tech, 11 out of the 15 top results on Facebook regarding vaccines last week were disinformation or anti-vaccine content.

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The Guardian
Jul 21, 2021
‘A systemic failure’: vaccine misinformation remains rampant on Facebook, experts say

According to the social media watchdog Accountable Tech, 11 out of the top 15 vaccine related-posts on Facebook last week contained disinformation or were anti-vaccine. Another leading post on Facebook about the Covid-19 vaccines last week was a deeply inaccurate anti-vaccine rant from the rightwing Candace Owens, according to FWIW, a newsletter which tracks digital ad spends.

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Politico
Jul 21, 2021
Biden’s vaccine misinformation road not taken

“This includes appointing a senior White House official who would be exclusively dedicated to mobilizing a whole-of-government response to this crisis, in close cooperation with Congress, civil society, and federal agencies,” wrote Rebecca Lenn, a senior adviser for the online activist group Avaaz, in an email to POLITICO. In late December, Avaaz and Accountable Tech led a coalition of 50 nonprofits and consumer advocacy groups in urging Biden to place a disinformation specialist on his pandemic team.

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Politico
Jun 25, 2021
Can 5G pay for infrastructure?

But Warner and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said in a joint statement that the bill would allow consumers to move their data away from dominant platforms that are “often insensitive to consumers’ privacy, content or platform security expectations,” and advocacy group Accountable Tech shared similar sentiments in a memo Tuesday.

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CNN
Jun 23, 2021
Frustration and bewilderment: Emails show tension between Facebook and Biden campaign

“They make cosmetic tweaks, whatever they think is enough to signal that they are taking things seriously. But they don’t actually care,” said Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of Accountable Tech, an outside political organization that pressures social media giants to make structural changes. “I have zero expectation that they’ll make any meaningful changes to prevent another catastrophe.”

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Politico
Jun 22, 2021
Lawmakers set sights on boosting patent quality

The group Accountable Tech is launching a $50,000 digital ad buy today to thank eight original cosponsors who support multiple pieces of the House antitrust package, while urging three House Judiciary Democrats — Reps. Greg Stanton of Arizona, Ted Lieu of California and Deborah Ross of North Carolina — to declare their support. The ads will run in D.C. and the lawmakers’ congressional districts.

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Forbes
Jun 18, 2021
Zuckerberg’s Decline In Popularity Has Important Lessons For Business Leaders

Last July, Forbes.com reported that only 20% of registered voters had a favorable view of Zuckerberg, according to a survey conducted by Accountable Tech and GQR Research. Forbes reported, “Zuckerberg’s favorable rating has dropped by 28% since 2016, and he is viewed unfavorably by both[political] parties—leading GQR Research to note that while President Donald Trump is also viewed unfavorably by 56% (favorably by 39%), Zuckerberg is less popular, as he does not have any strong base of support.”

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The Hill
Jun 10, 2021
Advocacy groups target Facebook employees in push to keep Trump off platform

The ad featured a letter signed by the groups, including Media Matters for America, Accountable Tech, the Anti-Defamation League, Avaaz and the Black Lives Matter Global Network, to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling it “unconscionable” to even consider giving Trump a chance to return.

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Washington Post
Jun 10, 2021
The Technology 202: Advocacy groups target employees in fight to keep Trump off Facebook

Media Matters for America, a left-leaning nonprofit organization, and Accountable Tech are running online ads with quotes from Facebook employees criticizing the company’s announcement that it would allow Trump to return to the platform in 2023, after the company banned him in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The advocacy groups are directing the ads to people who list Facebook as an employer or are located near the company’s offices.

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Politico
Jun 04, 2021
SCOTUS decision fuels calls to update anti-hacking law

To mark the occasion, the groups Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America are running a full-page ad in today’s New York Times, as well as digital ads, calling on Facebook to keep the former president off its platform permanently. Mobile billboards paid for by those two groups will also circle Facebook’s D.C. office and Capitol Hill — a sign that progressive groups are concerned the social media company could allow Trump back on as soon as today.

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AXIOS
Jun 03, 2021
Exclusive: New campaign urges Facebook not to reinstate Trump

The new $200,000 campaign by nonprofits Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America urges Facebook not to reinstate Trump's accounts. The two groups say they're prepared to spend more on future campaigns depending on what Facebook does.

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Mashable
May 05, 2021
Facebook’s Oversight Board upholds Trump’s suspension

"When a company establishes its own quasi-judicial global ‘supreme court’ for self-regulation, that’s not a constraint on its power – it’s an absurd embodiment of it," said Accountable Tech co-founder Jesse Lehrich in a statement provided to Mashable yesterday. "The Facebook Oversight Board is a corporate PR tool designed to shirk responsibility and stave off actual regulation."

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Vice
May 05, 2021
Trump Isn’t Getting Back on Facebook Any Time Soon

“It is a corporate PR tool designed to shirk responsibility and stave off actual regulation,” Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of activist group Accountable Tech, said in a statement.

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Politico
Apr 02, 2021
Takeaways from tech giants’ latest lobbying disclosures

Nonprofit group Accountable Tech is running a new ad campaign urging users to opt out of Facebook tracking their activity across the internet. The ads, which will run on Facebook and target iPhone users in D.C. and the Bay Area, are timed to coincide with a new Apple software update that will prompt users to opt out of cross-app tracking.

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NBC News
Mar 22, 2021
Big Tech’s critics have organized for years. Now, some are speaking with one voice.

The new coalition of 38 advocacy groups and nonprofits signed a letter calling for a ban on what it called “surveillance advertising.” It said that online ads powered by personal data and behavioral history have enabled radicalization and given tech platforms a dominant advantage over traditional ads bundled with journalism

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WIRED
Mar 22, 2021
This Group Wants to ‘Ban Surveillance Advertising’

“I was frankly shocked by how much appetite there was for this, and by how receptive folks were to the pitch,” said Jesse Lehrich, a cofounder of the advocacy group Accountable Tech. According to a January poll commissioned by Accountable Tech, 81 percent of respondents said they would be in favor of reforms to “ban companies from collecting people's personal data and using it to target them with ads.” By contrast, only 63 percent said they supported breaking up companies like Facebook and Google, another idea that has been proposed by lawmakers like Elizabeth Warren.

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TechCrunch
Jan 18, 2021
New privacy bill would put major limits on targeted advertising

"Privacy-minded companies including search engine maker DuckDuckGo and Proton, creator of ProtonMail, backed the legislation along with organizations including the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the Anti-Defamation League, Accountable Tech and Common Sense Media."

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New York Times
Jan 13, 2021
Now Social Media Grows a Conscience?

“Without any impetus to serve the public good, these companies are going to keep amplifying extremist positions,” said Jesse Lehrich, a co-founder of the nonprofit organization Accountable Tech.

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Buzzfeed
Dec 22, 2020
Biden Has Vowed To Put Science First To Beat The Pandemic. That Won’t Be Enough.

“There is no panacea for the information crisis — no simple bill or regulation that will alone cure its noxious society-wide impacts,” said the letter, which was signed by Accountable Tech, Greenpeace, the Center for American Progress, and others. “We must instead fight it with government-wide strategies.”

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AXIOS
Dec 21, 2020
Exclusive: Nonprofit coalition demands Biden act on misinformation

Between the lines: Organizers, which include Accountable Tech, MapLight and Avaaz, say the goal of the effort was to figure out what's doable in an administration with a lot on its plate — understanding that tech priorities may not be first in line.

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The Verge
Dec 04, 2020
Biden coronavirus appointee has cut ties with Facebook, transition team says

On Thursday, Accountable Tech co-founder Jesse Lehrich called Zients a “talented problem-solver” but said Facebook’s role in spreading anti-vaccine misinformation could not be ignored. “Facebook must be held accountable for amplifying misinformation that has undermined our pandemic response and sown baseless distrust in vaccines,” Lehrich said. “In order to guard against conflicts of interest, Mr. Zients should immediately divest of the significant equity he earned in Facebook from his service on the Board and commit to hiring an online misinformation expert to handle his team’s engagement with major social media platforms.”

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Wall Street Journal
Dec 03, 2020
Biden Says He’ll Ask Americans to Wear Masks for 100 Days After He Takes Office

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of nonprofit Accountable Tech, which is critical of social-media companies, said Mr. Zients’s time on Facebook’s board raises concerns because of the way some users have turned to the platform to spread conspiracy theories about vaccines and the coronavirus.

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The Verge
Nov 11, 2020
Facebook extends political ad ban another month as Trump refuses to concede

“If Facebook and Google are truly incapable of reviewing and safely running Georgia Senate ads without opening the floodgates of paid disinformation across their platforms, it’s a damning indictment of their own business model,” said Nicole Gill, executive director of tech policy advocacy group Accountable Tech, said in a statement. “These companies are already failing to curb the viral spread of conspiracy theories designed to delegitimize our elections. As has always been the case, deceptive organic content — boosted by toxic algorithms – continues to drive social media’s disinformation crisis; not paid content. Preventing campaigns from running ads to inform Georgians about how and why to participate in these critical runoff elections is actively harmful to democracy.”

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Vice
Oct 21, 2020
Facebook Staff Urged to Snitch on Zuckerberg Over Election Disinformation

And the trend is set to continue: Accountable Tech, which as its name suggests is trying to hold Big Tech companies accountable, will broadcast an ad slamming Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It will air during the final presidential debate on Thursday night.

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Mashable
Oct 21, 2020
New ad asks Mark Zuckerberg if Facebook makes his kids proud

A new video is set to air on TV that night targeting the Facebook founder. The organization behind the clip, Accountable Tech, is spending $250,000 on the ad buy. The ad starts with a clip of Zuckerberg talking to CNN Money. "I really just care about building something that my girls are going to grow up and be proud of me for," he says.

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Mashable
Oct 07, 2020
Watch the anti-Facebook ad set to run during the VP debate

Accountable Tech, a nonprofit run by a former Hillary Clinton campaign spokesperson and the former executive director of Tax March, hopes to focus that attention with an ad spot during Wednesday's debate on, according to CNN. The ad, embedded above, focuses on Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg's noted failures to live up to its and his stated goals.

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CNN
Oct 07, 2020
Ad attacking Mark Zuckerberg to air during VP debate

A television ad attacking Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for his company’s handling of hate and misinformation will air during Wednesday’s vice presidential debate coverage, the group behind the ad — Accountable Tech — tells CNN Business.

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New York Times
Oct 07, 2020
A Dose of Vaccine Reality

A new ad from Accountable Tech, a nonprofit group that includes former Facebook employees, former election officials and members of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, uses Zuckerberg’s own remarks to highlight what the group sees as failures at Facebook to protect the country from dangerous disinformation and violent criminals.

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VOX
Oct 06, 2020
Facebook bans QAnon (again)

“Their announcement acknowledged several important truths — that enforcement at the individual post level cannot counter hate and disinformation; that content need not explicitly support violence to bring about real-world harms; and that without aggressive deterrence, these platforms will continue to serve as critical organizing and recruitment tools for extremist movements,” said Accountable Tech’s co-founder Jesse Lehrich in a statement.

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Forbes
Sep 29, 2020
Biden Campaign Slams Zuckerberg For Letting Trump ‘Sow Distrust In Our Democracy’

79%. That’s the percentage of respondents who said social media companies should do more to protect democracy, according to a recent Accountable Tech/GQR Research poll. The poll also found that 62% of respondents are not confident in social media companies’ ability to prevent election misinformation from influencing the November election, with 42% saying they have no confidence in Facebook specifically.

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AXIOS
Sep 25, 2020
Majority polled back a social-media blackout for election

The survey, commissioned by Accountable Tech, questioned 1,000 registered voters in early September.

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WIRED
Sep 19, 2020
Democracy Will Only Work If the Social Media Giants Grow Up

A new Election Integrity Roadmap released by the nonprofit group Accountable Tech shows that a different path is possible. Created in conjunction with leading technologists, civil rights leaders, and disinformation experts, the Roadmap outlines tangible steps that platforms can take to defend the integrity of the November elections.

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VOX
Jul 30, 2020
Why Facebook and Twitter won’t fact-check Trump’s latest false claims about voting

Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of the nonprofit Accountable Tech, which is pushing Facebook to tighten its rules on harmful speech, warned that by doing nothing social media companies could exacerbate the problem of misinformation online.

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The Verge
Jul 28, 2020
Can Brett Kavanaugh be impartial about Facebook?

On July 24th, a coalition of nine progressive groups, including Demand Justice, Freedom From Facebook and Google, and Accountable Tech, released a statement calling on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to recuse himself from a case involving Facebook due to his close friendship with the company’s vice president of public policy, Joel Kaplan.

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Forbes
Jul 23, 2020
Mark Zuckerberg Is Even Less Popular Than Donald Trump, Poll Finds

As Facebook faces sharp scrutiny and a growing advertising boycott amid the coronavirus pandemic, racial justice movement and impending November election, a new poll of 1,000 registered voters nationwide from Accountable Tech and GQR Research conducted July 15-19 finds that American voters have turned against Facebook, believing the company does more harm than good and broadly disapproving of CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the power he wields.

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Politico
Jul 21, 2020
Coronavirus scams (back) in the spotlight

“A new policy-focused nonprofit that emerged from the recent wave of big tech scrutiny is calling for members of Facebook’s Oversight Board to either step up or step down,” TechCrunch reports on the group Accountable Tech.

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The Telegraph
Jun 30, 2020
Pressure grows on Alan Rusbridger and other members of Facebook’s oversight board to speak up

An American non-profit has started an online ad campaign to try to force the Oversight Board to speak up.

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NBC News
Jun 30, 2020
Months before it starts, Facebook’s oversight board is already under fire

Accountable Tech, a progressive nonprofit, launched a campaign Tuesday to persuade the members of Facebook's independent oversight board to demand more authority over content decisions.

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KQED
Jun 25, 2020
The ‘Divided States’ of COVID-19 Response and a New Push to Hold Big Tech Accountable

Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, joins to discuss how the new group plans to fight misinformation on social media platforms.

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New York Times
Jun 21, 2020
What’s Facebook’s Deal With Donald Trump?

Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of Accountable Tech, a new nonprofit group pushing Facebook to tighten controls on its platform, suggested that the two men have a tacit nonaggression pact. “Trump can rage at Big Tech and Mark can say he’s disgusted by Trump’s posts, but at the end of the day the status quo serves both of their interests,” Mr. Lehrich said.

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AXIOS
Jun 02, 2020
Nonprofit targets Facebook employees in new ad campaign

The targeted ads went live today on Facebook and come from newly launched Accountable Tech, which is spending "five figures" on the effort, Axios has learned. The campaign follows yesterday's employee walkout and rising internal dissent over Facebook's handling of President Trump's tweets.

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Los Angeles Times
May 27, 2020
Twitter becomes Trump’s latest enemy after it tags his claims as false

Jesse Lehrich, a former spokesman for Hillary Clinton, announced that he was teaming with Nicole Gill, another liberal activist, to form Accountable Tech, an advocacy group aimed at pressuring tech companies to fight “the proliferation of online misinformation, deception, and manipulation.”

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