Are Your Country’s Cellphone Plans a Rip-off?

If you live in the U.S. or Canada, the answer is probably yes

The Breakdown

What Are Geofence Warrants?

Location data on your smartphone is giving law enforcement new surveillance tools

The BreakdownCoronavirus

I Just Got a COVID-19 Test. Who Now Knows I Got It?

Labs and other companies make millions selling bundles of medical data—and it’s not as anonymized as you might think

The Breakdown

Does Facebook Still Sell Discriminatory Ads?

We found discriminatory ads can still appear, despite Facebook's efforts

The Breakdown

Data-Informed Predictive Policing Was Heralded As Less Biased. Is It?

Critics say it merely techwashes injustice

The BreakdownLocked Out

What Do I Do If the Bank Says I’m Dead?

Investigate, complain, and maybe sue

Coronavirus

Remote Learning During the Pandemic Has Hit Vulnerable Students the Hardest

Data on more than 800 schools shows big disparities in Florida

The BreakdownCoronavirus

What Ever Happened to Those Coronavirus Contact Tracing Apps?

Adoption’s been slow—but stay tuned

Google the Giant

To Head Off Regulators, Google Makes Certain Words Taboo

The Markup obtained internal documents that coach new employees to avoid creating “very real legal risks” in using words like “market” and “network effects”

Locked Out

Data Brokers May Report COVID-19–Related Evictions for Years

Scant rules around tenant background screenings mean money woes during the pandemic’s economic slowdown will haunt some tenants, even if they pay up