The BreakdownMachine Learning
How to Buy Ed Tech That Isn’t Evil
Four critical questions parents and educators should be asking
Todd Feathers
Enterprise Reporter
Todd Feathers is a New York–based reporter covering algorithmic decision-making and surveillance, with a particular focus on how technologies affect children, people with disabilities, and groups underrepresented in Big Tech boardrooms. He left The Markup in July 2023.
Before joining The Markup, he was a freelance reporter writing for The Markup, Vice, The Guardian, and other publications. His work included investigations into racial bias in ed tech software and police surveillance tools.
The BreakdownMachine Learning
Takeaways from Our Investigation into Wisconsin’s Racially Inequitable Dropout Algorithm
Wisconsin’s Dropout Early Warning System (DEWS) scores every middle schooler based on income, race, and more
Machine Learning
False Alarm: How Wisconsin Uses Race and Income to Label Students “High Risk”
The Markup found the state’s decade-old dropout prediction algorithms don’t work and may be negatively influencing how educators perceive students of color
Hello World
It Takes a Small Miracle to Learn Basic Facts About Government Algorithms
Rotterdam officials sent reporters key information by accident. Most municipalities are not so forthcoming
Pixel Hunt
The FTC Is Taking on Telehealth’s Data Sharing Problem—Starting with GoodRx
The action adds to mounting pressure on companies to stop sharing consumers’ health data for advertising purposes—the subject of a recent investigation by The Markup and STAT
Pixel Hunt
“Out Of Control”: Dozens of Telehealth Startups Sent Sensitive Health Information to Big Tech Companies
An investigation by The Markup and STAT found 49 out of 50 telehealth websites sharing health data via Big Tech’s tracking tools
Pixel Hunt
Senator Questions Zuckerberg About Facebook’s Collection of “Sensitive Health Information”
Citing multiple Markup investigations, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia asked Meta to detail how it collects, filters, and safeguards sensitive information
Pixel Hunt
Meta Faces Mounting Questions from Congress on Health Data Privacy As Hospitals Remove Facebook Tracker
After a Markup investigation in June, 28 hospitals removed the Meta Pixel or blocked it from sending patient information to Facebook
Privacy
After Dobbs, Advocates Fear School Surveillance Tools Could Put Teens at Risk
Monitoring software could be easily adapted to flag abortion-related searches
Pixel Hunt
Facebook Is Receiving Sensitive Medical Information from Hospital Websites
Experts say some hospitals’ use of an ad tracking tool may violate a federal law protecting health information
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