Citizen Browser

Facebook Said It Would Stop Recommending Anti-Vaccine Groups. It Didn’t

As COVID-19 surged, the social media company pointed users to all sorts of anti-vaccine and anti-mask groups

May 20, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Blacklight

Nevada Lawmakers Introduce Privacy Legislation After Markup Investigation into Vaccine Websites

Law would expand consumer privacy laws to sites running public awareness campaigns

May 18, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Google the Giant

Ads Are Impersonating Government Websites in Google Results, Despite Ban

The company pledged to eliminate ads for sites that charge hefty fees for otherwise free or inexpensive services—but they continue

May 13, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

The BreakdownPrivacy

Will New Privacy Changes Protect Census Data or Make Things Worse?

The U.S. Census Bureau is undertaking a privacy overhaul. It’s not going well

May 11, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Citizen Browser

How Big Pharma Finds Sick Users on Facebook

We found drug ads targeted at users interested in everything from bourbon to therapy

May 6, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Citizen Browser

Facebook Pledges to Remove Discriminatory Credit and Loan Ads Discovered by The Markup

The Markup’s Citizen Browser project found four companies targeting ads for financial products to specific age groups—a violation of Facebook policy and, potentially, civil rights laws

May 4, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Google the Giant

Citing Markup Investigation, Civil Rights Group Demands Racial Equity Audit at Google

Color of Change petition calls Google’s block on advertisers searching for social justice content “unacceptable”

May 4, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Citizen Browser

Credit Card Ads Were Targeted by Age, Violating Facebook’s Anti-Discrimination Policy

Such ads, along with other age-targeted financial product ads, may violate civil rights laws, attorneys say

April 29, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Privacy

Google Promised Its Contact Tracing App Was Completely Private—But It Wasn’t

Researchers say hundreds of preinstalled apps can access a log found on Android devices where sensitive contact tracing information is stored

April 27, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Working for an Algorithm

Shadow Bans, Dopamine Hits, and Viral Videos, All in the Life of TikTok Creators

A secretive algorithm that’s constantly being tweaked can turn influencers’ accounts, and their prospects, upside down

April 22, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC