Investigations - The Markup

Illustration of laptop with an eye in its screen. University logos and unread message notifications are in the background.

Machine Learning

College Prep Software Naviance Is Selling Advertising Access to Millions of Students

The software, often required by schools, enables colleges and universities to choose from an array of demographics, including race, to target prospective students.

January 13, 2022 08:00 ET

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Machine Learning

This Private Equity Firm Is Amassing Companies That Collect Data on America’s Children

Vista Equity Partners has been buying up software used in schools. Parents want to know what the companies do with kids’ data

January 11, 2022 08:00 ET

Illustration of abstract diagram with resumes, stars and PDFs. In the middle are hexagons of people's profiles.

News

Public Agencies Are Buying Up AI-Driven Hiring Tools and “Bossware”

The Markup, through public records requests, found more than 20 public agencies using the sometimes-controversial software

December 23, 2021 08:00 ET

Multiple irises featuring teenagers on location maps. In the background there is a network of circles with dollar signs on them.

Privacy

The Popular Family Safety App Life360 Is Selling Precise Location Data on Its Tens of Millions of Users

The app is a major source of raw location data for a multibillion-dollar industry that buys, packages, and sells people’s movements

December 6, 2021 08:00 ET

Show Your WorkPrediction: Bias

How We Determined Crime Prediction Software Disproportionately Targeted Low-Income, Black, and Latino Neighborhoods

A trove of unsecured data allowed the first-ever independent analysis of actual crime predictions across the U.S. by the self-described software leader, PredPol

December 2, 2021 08:00 ET

A police officer overlaid with pink squares.

Prediction: Bias

Crime Prediction Software Promised to Be Free of Biases. New Data Shows It Perpetuates Them

Millions of crime predictions left on an unsecured server show PredPol mostly avoided Whiter neighborhoods, targeted Black and Latino neighborhoods

December 2, 2021 08:00 ET

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Citizen Browser

Facebook Isn’t Telling You How Popular Right-Wing Content Is on the Platform

Facebook insists that mainstream news sites perform the best on its platform. But by other measures, sensationalist, partisan content reigns

November 18, 2021 08:00 ET

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Blacklight

Nonprofit Websites Are Riddled With Ad Trackers

Such organizations often deal in sensitive issues, like mental health, addiction, and reproductive rights—and many are feeding data about website visitors to corporations

October 21, 2021 08:00 ET

Amazon’s Advantage

Amazon Puts Its Own “Brands” First Above Better-Rated Products

The online giant gives a leg up to hundreds of house brand and exclusive products that most people don’t know are connected to Amazon

October 14, 2021 08:00 ET

Illustration of several abstract characters standing in a maze of stairs. Location pins and coins are scattered throughout the piece.

Privacy

There’s a Multibillion-Dollar Market for Your Phone’s Location Data

A huge but little-known industry has cropped up around monetizing people’s movements

September 30, 2021 08:00 ET