Investigations - The Markup

Illustration of the back of a student's head looking at a laptop with a graduation cap on the screen. Various Facebook-like hands are grabbing information like credit cards, location pins and documents.

Pixel Hunt

Applied for Student Aid Online? Facebook Saw You

The FAFSA form included code that sent personal information back to Facebook

April 28, 2022 08:00 ET

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

Five progressive silhouettes, ranging from child to young adult, with four data panels next to each of them.

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

A scowling "smiley face" surrounded by blue and red circles of numbers.

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

Illustration of a spotlight on four people working at a table. In the shadows there are

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