Citizen Browser

How Facebook’s Ad System Lets Companies Talk Out of Both Sides of Their Mouths

Exxon, Comcast, and other companies target people of different political leanings with different ads

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

Show Your WorkGoogle the Giant

How We Discovered Google’s Social Justice Blocklist for YouTube Ad Placements

Despite committing to dismantling systemic racism, YouTube blocks advertisers from using many racial justice and cultural identity terms to target videos for ads

April 9, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Google the Giant

Google Blocks Advertisers from Targeting Black Lives Matter YouTube Videos

“Black power” and “Black Lives Matter” can't be used to find videos for ads, but “White power” and “White lives matter” were just fine

April 9, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Google the Giant

Google Has a Secret Blocklist that Hides YouTube Hate Videos from Advertisers—But It’s Full of Holes

Many well-known White supremacist and White nationalist terms and slogans were not blocked

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

Show Your WorkGoogle the Giant

How We Discovered Google’s Hate Blocklist for Ad Placements on YouTube

We got under the hood of Google Ads and found poorly executed limitations meant to hide hate YouTube videos and channels from advertisers

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

Privacy

The Little-Known Data Broker Industry Is Spending Big Bucks Lobbying Congress

Data brokers’ millions of dollars in lobbying spending in 2020 rivaled that of some Big Tech firms

April 1, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Machine Learning

Texas A&M Drops “Race” from Student Risk Algorithm Following Markup Investigation

Our investigation found major universities were using race as a predictor of student success and, in the process, steering Black kids away from the sciences

March 30, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Privacy

I Tried to Use the Ad Tech Industry’s Tool to Opt Out of Personalized Ads. Did It Work?

Let’s just say it leaves a lot to be desired

March 25, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

Blacklight

We Ran Tests on Every State’s COVID-19 Vaccine Website

The results, measuring accessibility and privacy protections, were not always great

March 24, 2021 8:00 a.m. UTC

The Breakdown

The Tech Industry Is Abuzz About the PRO Act. What Is It?

The federal bill seeks to make it easier for gig workers to join unions. Tech companies are not on board

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