Hello, folks:
We’re all in a reflective mood as the year winds down, and for us at The Markup, that means understanding the impact we are making. That means understanding how we can serve you.
For example, recently we revealed that the popular family safety app Life360 is selling data on kids’ and families’ whereabouts to approximately a dozen data brokers who sell location data to virtually anyone who wants to buy it. We heard from horrified users who had no idea—and so we answered their questions by explaining how you can prevent your family’s data from being sold. (Watch the short video here.)
At The Markup, we use our in-house expertise to help you understand the world around you. As it turns out, our deep data-driven approach empowers elected officials, government agencies, civil rights organizations, gig workers, and consumers to demand accountability at all levels of our society. Here’s a snapshot:
- Members of Congress asked Amazon to respond to our investigation about the platform giving its private label brands a leg up—and we built an Amazon Brand Detector tool to make it easier for you to understand how this affects your own shopping.
- Findings from our Citizen Browser project led Senators Markey and Hirono to call on Facebook to uphold its own promises and policies.
- The U.S. Department of Justice, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other agencies announced a new initiative to combat discriminatory mortgage lending practices, citing our investigation into home loan application approval rates as evidence of a nationwide problem. Shortly afterward, legislators and regulators in multiple states called for increased scrutiny of the industry.
- Color of Change cited our investigation into YouTube ad placements when calling on the platform to perform an internal diversity audit.
- Finally, in a win for gig workers who answer to algorithms, after our report on the issue, Postmates reimbursed couriers who were victims of a phishing scam.
Help us keep helping all of us navigate our lives online. We need your support to uncover the ways that technology is affecting our lives, our communities, and our work. We’re grateful that you were part of The Markup’s story in 2021, and we can’t wait to see what the next year will bring.
Please consider making a final tax-deductible donation to support our work now.
With thanks,
Nabiha