Digital Book Banning
Online Censorship in Schools Leaves Teachers in the Lurch, Too
Educators describe scrapped lesson plans, laborious appeal processes, and digital dysfunction in response to The Markup’s latest investigation
Ryan Tate
Investigative Editor • he/him
Ryan Tate has been writing and editing technology stories for more than 15 years. He was previously at The Intercept, where as deputy and technology editor he led lengthy investigations into companies like Facebook, Google, and TikTok and into surveillance by the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and authorities in the Chinese region of Xinjiang.
Before that, he wrote about the use and abuse of corporate power in the tech sector at Wired and Gawker.
(Photograph by Noah Berger.)
Privacy
Touring a Rental? A Face Scan May Be Required
With the rise of self-guided tours, many companies are requiring facial recognition to see a property
Hello World
What I Learned While Reporting on School Censorship
Web blockers are having all sorts of unintended consequences for students
Digital Book Banning
Schools Were Just Supposed To Block Porn. Instead They Sabotaged Homework and Censored Suicide Prevention Sites
The Trevor Project? Blocked. Planned Parenthood? Blocked. NASA? BLOCKED
Show Your WorkDigital Book Banning
How We Investigated Web Censorship in Schools
We requested records from 26 districts in 11 states. Ten turned us down on cybersecurity grounds.
Digital Book Banning
Students: Investigate Internet Censorship in Your School District
Virtually every public school filters the web, and blocked websites create a paper trail
Digital Book Banning
Five High Schoolers Describe the Dangers and Frustrations of Censored Web Access
Their schools block information about The Trevor Project, abortion, microplastics, and more
News
NYC’s AI Chatbot Tells Businesses to Break the Law
The Microsoft-powered bot says bosses can take workers’ tips and that landlords can discriminate based on source of income
Automated Censorship
Instagram Creators: Check If Your Posts Are “Political”
The platform will not “proactively recommend content about politics.” See if what you’ve posted counts
Hello World
I Used ChatGPT as a Reporting Assistant. It Didn’t Go Well
The AI tool ignored basic instructions about sourcing and citations. But it’s a pretty good newsroom coding partner.
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