Accountable Tech

We’re in the news! 📰 1. Ahead of next week’s US presidential election, officials from both parties are sounding the alarm on the threats of generative AI. Anyone can quickly and cheaply spread disinformation. Big Tech’s self-regulation threatens our information ecosystem. We need guardrails now. https://lnkd.in/ejYrgR3s 2. New details in a lawsuit against TikTok allege Apple warned the platform exposed underage users to mature content. The best defense we have is state lawsuits, such as the new one in South Carolina. https://lnkd.in/eUfvRAj9 3. The proliferation of disinformation means anyone can find “evidence” to support a conspiracy theory. Big Tech enables this toxic environment. https://lnkd.in/eVvi3YHQ

The 2024 U.S. Presidential election has been riddled with misinformation and is just weeks away. Instead of beefing up measures to protect their users from false narratives around voting and candidates, Big Tech companies have rolled back critical election integrity protections since the last U.S. election in 2020.

In her latest Staff Post, our Senior Digital Manager, Kenya J., addresses the rising threat of deepfakes and their potential to undermine truth ahead of the 2024 elections. As the digital landscape evolves, it's crucial to understand how these technologies can be weaponized against democracy. She shares insights on safeguarding the truth and strategies for combating misinformation. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/emMcAjnD

Earlier this year, Meta began limiting political content on Instagram, resulting in an average 65% drop in audience sizes for creators we studied over 10 weeks. As Geoffrey Fowler reported for the Washington Post, 1 in 5 Americans get their news from Instagram, making Meta’s actions detrimental to our information ecosystem. Instead of addressing disinformation or hate speech, Meta undermined the reach of authoritative content that helps people understand current events, civic engagement, and elections. Marginalized creators sharing vital experiences are particularly affected, as this policy silences their advocacy on climate change, gun violence prevention, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and reproductive freedom. For example, creator Mrs. Frazzled saw a 63% drop in reach on posts using the word “vote” and a 40% drop when discussing politics. “These are integral parts of some people’s identities and livelihoods — Meta has limited their capability to talk about who they are and what they care about,” said our Campaigns Director Zach Praiss. https://lnkd.in/eHe-X9Ug

With just weeks before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, AI is spreading false narratives and harmful material at an alarming rate. What's worse, politicians and Big Tech CEOs are often the ones sharing manipulated photos, videos, and images. Electoral deepfakes endanger democracy because they can manipulate public opinion and undermine trust in institutions. Social media platforms must ensure deepfakes do not imperil our election integrity. #NoDeepfakesForDemocracy. Visit https://lnkd.in/esxvVReP to learn more.

Deepfakes threaten our democracy. We’re demanding #NoDeepfakesForDemocracy and calling on social media platforms to prevent the distribution of non-consensual and deceptive AI-generated electoral deepfakes ahead of the 2024 election and beyond. 👉 Before U.S. election day, platforms must implement robust detection and moderation systems to identify and prohibit non-consensual and intentionally deceptive deepfakes. 👉 Aside from requirements to label political AI-generated content, there must be a disclosure about the generative tool for traceability purposes. 👉 These companies must implement similar systems for other democracies around the world with elections this year. 👉 Social media platforms must collaborate with researchers to provide civil society, academics, and journalists access and insight into the spread of and enforcement against deceptive deepfakes. The time for action is now. Our coalition is calling on major social media companies to safeguard our democracy in the digital realm. Visit https://lnkd.in/esxvVReP to learn more

Yesterday, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed landmark AI safety bill SB 1047, which would have required third-party testing and other guardrails for frontier AI models to prevent cyberattacks and other misuse. As our Co-founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill said, this 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" industry. This veto will not 'empower innovation' — it only further entrenches the status quo where Big Tech monopolies are allowed to rake in profits without regard for our safety, even as their AI tools are already threatening democracy, civil rights, and the environment with unknown potential for other catastrophic harms," she continued. Tech companies have proven time and time again that they can’t be trusted to regulate themselves. Rather than seizing the opportunity to stand up for his constituents, Governor Newsom bowed to the Big Tech billionaires. https://lnkd.in/ezkzzgiB

We're extremely disappointed to see California Governor Gavin Newsom veto #SB1047, a landmark AI safety bill that would have implemented crucial guardrails, including requiring pre-deployment safety testing and third-party auditing. The bill was overwhelmingly supported by the people — civil society groups, scientists, unions, etc. Tech companies have proven time and time again that they can’t be trusted to regulate themselves – and yet when given the opportunity to sign common sense, bipartisan AI safety guardrails into law, Governor Newsom caved to industry pressure. We know that AI is the future, but we can best harness its power while protecting the public from cyberattacks and other harms. Governor Newsom had the opportunity to stand up to tech billionaires by signing #SB1047, but instead, he sided with them.

We’re requesting information from Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, TikTok, Yelp, and YouTube on how their platforms will protect users’ privacy from a potential Trump administration. Project 2025 seeks to weaponize Big Tech platforms to unleash new, devastating attacks on reproductive rights. After the fall of Roe, companies put out statements pledging to uphold reproductive freedom, but splashy PR campaigns aren’t enough to protect abortion rights and mitigate the spread of harmful medical disinformation. See our letter to the companies urging them to deliver on past privacy promises and protect consumers from a potential Trump administration and #Project2025: https://lnkd.in/e2JMmush

Our Co-founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill blasted Instagram's new update on Global News. Rather than put the onus of responsibility for kids' safety on themselves and parents, we need safety-by-design and privacy-by-default regulations across online platforms.