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Anna Bacciarelli

@abacci.bsky.social
265 followers 254 following 61 posts

Human rights nerd trying to make AI OK. Human Rights Watch Senior AI Researcher + REAL ML Executive Director.

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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I'm on @themaybe.org's latest podcast with Shazeda Ahmed, talking about building a movement for resistance against AI everywhere www.themaybe.org/podcast/real...
themaybe.org
The Collective Fight for Our Humanity - REAL Resistance
Anna Bacciarelli and Shazeda Ahmed discuss what it takes to knit together a global community and resist the material harms of big tech.
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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
"a ubiquitous automation and surveillance system, adopted and maintained by those in positions of power with promises of progress and improvement, despite inspiring widespread disdain among those it is promoted it as serving" @bcmerchant.bsky.social on VAR 👌🏻 www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/what-var-t...
bloodinthemachine.com
What VAR tells us about AI
FIFA's semi-automated refereeing system promises neutrality but brims with bias. It's widely despised yet embraced by elites. It is, in other words, a lot like AI.
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Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
The Supreme Court just effectively gutted two key laws for suing tech over human rights abuses, says Tech Justice Law's Madeline Batt. The result in Doe v. Cisco leaves companies and executives "less constrained by liability fears"—and victims with fewer pathways to redress.
techpolicy.press
Supreme Court Decimates Key Remedies for Tech Complicity in Human Rights Abuse
Following the ruling in Doe v. Cisco, victims are left searching for new pathways to redress, writes Tech Justice Law legal fellow Madeline Batt.
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Zach Campbell @notzachcampbell.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
New @hrw.org report: European Union countries exports surveillance tech to governments around the world with well-documented histories of using similar tech to spy on activists, journos and other critical voices. And we've got the receipts.
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Ryan Gallagher @rjgallagher.co.uk · 18/06/2026
Documents reveal that a European company linked to Israeli spyware seller NSO Group has been exporting surveillance technology to government agencies in repressive countries for years, despite EU regulations intended to curb such sales: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Circles Sold Phone Spy Tools to Repressive States, Report Says
A Bulgaria-based company sold controversial surveillance technology to governments in countries with records of repression, enabling authorities to track mobile phones and eavesdrop on private communi...
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 18/06/2026
HRW investigation shows the Bulgarian government licensed exports of surveillance equipment to countries that were likely to use it for internal repression or to commit serious human rights violations ⤵️ www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Circles Sold Phone Spy Tools to Repressive States, Report Says
A Bulgaria-based company sold controversial surveillance technology to governments in countries with records of repression, enabling authorities to track mobile phones and eavesdrop on private communi...
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Zach Campbell @notzachcampbell.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
New: In 2018-2023 Circles was licensed by the Bulgarian government to export surveillance tools to a long list of countries with well-documented histories of using similar tools to spy on journalists, activists, dissenters and others. (illustrations by the great @glennharvey.bsky.social)
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Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 18/06/2026
EFF joined a letter with @hrw.org, @foxglovelegal.bsky.social and dozens more organizations telling the UK Home Office not to use racist and faulty AI facial age estimation tech on asylum-seeking children. www.foxglove.org.uk/open-letter...
foxglove.org.uk
Foxglove, Human Rights Watch and 60 other organisations write open letter to Government condemning Home Office border tool aimed at asylum-seeking children
This open letter has been prepared by Foxglove and Human Rights Watch. A full list of signatories can be found at the bottom of the page. 
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Open Rights Group @openrightsgroup.org · 19/06/2026
Stop facial age estimation tech in the UK asylum process! Some of the most vulnerable children in the world will be exposed to inaccurate and biased AI tools. Read the open letter to the Home Office signed by ORG and 60 organisations, led by @foxglovelegal.bsky.social and @hrw.org ⬇️ #RefugeeWeek
foxglove.org.uk
Foxglove, Human Rights Watch and 60 other organisations write open letter to Government condemning Home Office border tool aimed at asylum-seeking children
This open letter has been prepared by Foxglove and Human Rights Watch. A full list of signatories can be found at the bottom of the page.
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Foxglove Legal @foxglovelegal.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
ICYMI: we're calling on the UK Home Office to stop experimenting with AI on asylum-seeking children: www.foxglove.org.uk/2026/06/18/h...
foxglove.org.uk
More than 60 groups tell Home Office to stop using racist and faulty AI facial age estimation tech on asylum-seeking children
The Home Office itself has admitted that: “facial age estimation performance can vary depending on ethnicity” and skin tone.
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Matt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
NEW: The UK plans to use AI face scans to determine the age of asylum seekers at the border from next year. However, a leaked report shows the government has known the tech isn’t accurate for more than a year. In some cases, the technology could predict a 13.5-year-old to be an adult
wired.com
The UK Will Scan Asylum-Seekers’ Faces for Age Checks—Despite Knowing the Tech Is Flawed
Internal Home Office tests of age-verification technology show the risks of life-altering errors. It’s moving forward anyway.
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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
UK Home Office plans to experiment with facial age estimation technology on child refugees should be scrapped www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...
hrw.org
The UK’s Discriminatory AI Experiment on Child Refugees
The UK Home Office is pushing ahead with plans to use AI technology to guess the age of young people arriving at UK borders to seek asylum, starting in 2027. Yet the Home Office’s own tests found the ...
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Lena Simet @lenasimet.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
If a business model works only because it evades workers’ rights, it's an argument for regulation, not against it. @abacci.bsky.social & I wrote about AI, gig work, & why governments negotiating a new @ilo.org standard need to act before exploitation becomes the blueprint: fpif.org/ai-runs-the-...
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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Absolutely brain dead decision from a UK gov desperate to ingratiate themselves to big tech, while palantir secures a bigger foothold in the UK’s critical state infrastructure www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Palantir extends reach into British state as it gets access to sensitive FCA data
Exclusive: Allowing US tech firm to analyse intelligence in name of tackling fraud raises fresh concerns over privacy
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FT Edit @ftedit.ft.com · 12/03/2026
This clip show's Palentir's Maven platform acting as the "brain" during a military op. In the Iran war so far, AI has turned torrents of battlefield data into thousands of strikes. Read the story in today's #FTEdit 👉 The AI-driven 'kill chain’ transforming how the US wages war ft.trib.al/oOhkW77
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deblbrown.bsky.social @deblbrown.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
And bc shutting down the internet is unfortunately part of the playbook in Iran & countless other countries, policymakers & companies should explore technical & regulatory measures to help civilians access the internet inc by building out satellite connectivity. Some ideas 👉 www.direct2cell.org
direct2cell.org
When Governments Shut Down the Internet, Satellite Connectivity Keeps Communities Alive
Direct-to-Cell satellite technology can keep people connected when authoritarian regimes cut internet access. Join the movement to make humanitarian access a reality.
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deblbrown.bsky.social @deblbrown.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Amid US/Israeli airstrikes & brutal repression, Iranians are entering day 8 of an internet shutdown, placing civilians at risk, restricting their ability to access lifesaving info & reach loved ones, and contributing to psychological harm. Iranian authorities should urgently restore internet access
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Middle East Eye (Unofficial) @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
UK accused of 'collective punishment' over Sudanese students ban - www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-accus…
middleeasteye.net
UK accused of 'collective punishment' over Sudanese students ban
Students accepted to British universities say visa ban could shatter their plans to study abroad and help rebuild their war-torn countries
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 06/03/2026
Iranian authorities should immediately end the ongoing internet shutdown and communications restrictions. These shutdowns violate human rights and place civilians at further risk of serious harm.
hrw.org
Iran: Internet Shutdown Violates Rights, Escalates Risks to Civilians
Iranian authorities should immediately end the ongoing internet shutdown and communications restrictions, which place civilians at risk of further harm.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 06/03/2026
"This rubble is of my first home. The home where my father also grew up. Where my husband and I said our marriage vows." What’s happening in Lebanon is a “human rights and humanitarian disaster in the making,” says HRW’s @lamafakih.bsky.social, whose family home in Beirut was struck.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 05/03/2026
The US Department of Defense is reportedly using artificial intelligence from tech company Anthropic in its strikes in Iran. Why is this important? HRW's @abacci.bsky.social and @verityc.bsky.social explain ⤵️
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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Internet shutdowns in Iran are tormenting a population under attack. Unable to communicate with loved ones, call for medical help, or stay up to date with potentially life-saving news, Iranians are once again being kept in the dark by their government. www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...
hrw.org
Iran: Internet Shutdown Violates Rights, Escalates Risks to Civilians
Iranian authorities should immediately end the ongoing internet shutdown and communications restrictions, which place civilians at risk of further harm.
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Caroline Haskins @carolinehaskins.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
NEW: Since Jan 2023, ICE + CBP together have spent at least $515 million on products from Palantir, Microsoft, Amazon, & Google. But where is the money actually going, & what specifically is it powering? Here, I break down everything we know about both of these things: www.wired.com/story/how-bi...
wired.com
How Big Tech Is Powering Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
A WIRED analysis shows that ICE and CBP have collectively spent at least $515 million on products from Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Palantir in the last few years alone.
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
New from 404 Media: CBP tapped into the online advertising ecosystem to track peoples' movements, according to an internal DHS document. Shows for the first time DHS tracked phones via process for putting ads in ordinary apps—video games, fitness apps, many more www.404media.co/cbp-tapped-i...
404media.co
CBP Tapped Into the Online Advertising Ecosystem To Track Peoples’ Movements
An internal DHS document obtained by 404 Media shows for the first time CBP used location data sourced from the online advertising industry to track phone locations. ICE has bought access to similar t...
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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
The Pentagon's rift with Anthropic signals a clear and alarming intent to use AI for autonomous weapons and mass surveillance. @hrw.org is calling on states at the UN this week to ban and regulate autonomous weapons. @verityc.bsky.social is at negotiations. Our dispatch: www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...
hrw.org
US Military’s Dangerous Slide Toward Fully Autonomous Killing
The United States Department of Defense’s decision on February 27 to reject the artificial intelligence company Anthropic’s ethical red lines for AI for military use is a clear sign that the Pentagon ...
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Verity Coyle @verityc.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
I'm at the #UN meeting on autonomous weapons systems with partners from @stopkillerrobots.bsky.social - states have the opportunity to draw legal red lines around emerging weapons systems. Will they? New @hrw.org dispatch with @abacci.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...
hrw.org
US Military’s Dangerous Slide Toward Fully Autonomous Killing
The United States Department of Defense’s decision on February 27 to reject the artificial intelligence company Anthropic’s ethical red lines for AI for military use is a clear sign that the Pentagon ...
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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Anthropic’s PR win: signing a $200M contract with Trump’s DoD 7 months ago, then being outraged that their tech may be used for nefarious purposes. In any case, great to see pushback on mass surveillance (note: domestic US only) and lethal autonomous weapons.
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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Deeply alarming plans for the Met police to use facial recognition for “identity checks”, likely using smartphones. This would be an absolute disaster for human rights. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Met police to pilot facial recognition identity checks, mayor confirms
Sadiq Khan reveals 100 officers will use roaming technology for six months but opponents call its use ‘alarming’
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dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
NEW: Records reviewed by WIRED show DHS’s facial recognition app (Mobile Fortify) isn’t designed to actually "verify" identity—despite DHS claims and its agents relying on its matches to support probable cause in the field.
wired.com
ICE and CBP’s Face-Recognition App Can’t Actually Verify Who People Are
ICE has used Mobile Fortify to identify immigrants and citizens alike over 100,000 times, by one estimate. It wasn't built to work like that—and only got approved after DHS abandoned its own privacy r...
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Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 03/02/2026
A retiree wrote this email to a DHS attorney. Within five hours, DHS demanded Google turn over records for his account. A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech. New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
“Unconscionable,” Jon thought as he found an email address online for the lead prosecutor, Joseph Dernbach, who was named in the story. Peering through metal-rimmed glasses, Jon opened Gmail on his computer monitor.

“Mr. Dernbach, don’t play Russian roulette with H’s life,” he wrote. “Err on the side of caution. There’s a reason the US government along with many other governments don’t recognise the Taliban. Apply principles of common sense and decency.”

That was it. In five minutes, Jon said, he finished the note, signed his first and last name, pressed send and hoped his plea would make a difference.

Five hours and one minute later, Jon was watching TV with his wife when an email popped up in his inbox. He noticed it on his phone.

“Google,” the message read, “has received legal process from a Law Enforcement authority compelling the release of information related to your Google Account.”
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ACLU @aclu.org · 27/01/2026
Watch the full training.
youtube.com
Eyes on ICE: Document and Record
YouTube video by ACLU
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ACLU @aclu.org · 27/01/2026
Over 200K people joined our training last night on how to document ICE's attacks on our communities. The Trump administration's cruelty will not break us — we the people are more prepared than ever for this moment.
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Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Hundreds of ICE Out protestors at the Amazon building in Santa Monica. Tech workers, high school students, soccer moms and dads. Constant honking in support, even from local cops. Amazon employees entering the building overheard discussing how they did not know the company works with ICE.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 30/01/2026
Amid reports that ICE has used facial recognition technology in Minneapolis, a reminder that there is no safe use for this tech on streets or at borders. Governments should stop using it in public spaces and in immigration and asylum contexts.
nytimes.com
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
SCOOP: Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti WIRED obtained Slack conversations + an updated internal Palantir wiki defending the company's work for ICE to outraged workers. More here: www.wired.com/story/palant...
wired.com
Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti
“In my opinion ICE are the bad guys. I am not proud that the company I enjoy so much working for is part of this,” one worker wrote on Slack.
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Caroline Haskins @carolinehaskins.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
NEW with @makenakelly.bsky.social, ICE is using generative AI from Palantir to sort through immigration enforcement tips and summarize them. Details here: www.wired.com/story/ice-is...
wired.com
ICE Is Using Palantir’s AI Tools to Sort Through Tips
ICE has been using an AI-powered Palantir system to summarize tips sent to its tipline since last spring, according to a newly released Homeland Security document.
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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 29/01/2026
Al Jazeera denounces YouTube's submission to the ban of its broadcast in Israel and calls for adherence to international conventions.
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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 28/01/2026
UK police to use AI facial recognition tech linked to Israel’s war on Gaza aje.news/ux6dhy
UK police to use AI facial recognition tech linked to Israel’s war on Gaza
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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
New US aviation regulation could be generated by Gemini. “We don’t need the perfect rule on XYZ. We don’t even need a very good rule on XYZ... We want good enough. We’re flooding the zone.” -- DOT General Counsel Make it stop. www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
Government by AI? Trump Administration Plans to Write Regulations Using Artificial Intelligence
The Transportation Department, which oversees the safety of airplanes, cars and pipelines, plans to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations. “We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer....
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 24/01/2026
"in most cases, these videos appear to have been filmed secretly - using Meta smart glasses." Argh for the love of god BAN. THE. PERVERT GLASSES.
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The Onion @theonion.com · 22/01/2026
ICE Deems Being In Privacy Of Own Home Obstruction Of Justice theonion.com/ice-deems-being-in-pri…
ICE Deems Being In Privacy Of Own Home Obstruction Of Justice
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404 Media @404media.co · 20/01/2026
In testimony from a CBP official obtained by 404 Media, the official described how Mobile Fortify returned two different names after scanning a woman's face during an ICE raid. Both were wrong. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Scoop by @josephcox.bsky.social: www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
The UK Home Secretary treating Bentham's panopticon as an aspirational concept -- with added AI archive.ph/VcmWb
Shabana Mahmood moodboarding panopticon with no regard for civil liberties, quoted in a Daily Telegraph article
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 15/01/2026
are you displeased with today’s AI safety evaluation landscape and curious about what greater conceptual clarity, methodological soundness, and rigour in AI evaluation could look like? if so, consider coming to Dublin to pursue a PhD with me apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a... pls repost
About the PhD: 
Audits and evaluation of AI systems — and the broader context that AI systems operate in — have become central to conceptualising, quantifying, measuring and understanding the operations, failures, limitations, underlying assumptions, and downstream societal implications of AI systems. Existing AI audit and evaluation efforts are fractured, done in a siloed and ad-hoc manner, and with little deliberation and reflection around conceptual rigour and methodological validity.

This PhD is for a candidate that is passionate about exploring what a conceptually cogent, methodologically sound, and well-founded AI evaluation and safety research might look like. This requires grappling with questions such as:

    What does it mean to represent “ground truth” in proxies, synthetic data, or computational simulation?
    How do we reliably measure abstract and complex phenomena?
    What are the epistemological or methodological implications of quantification and measurement approaches we choose to employ? Particularly, what underlying presuppositions, values, or perspectives do they entail?
    How do we ensure the lived experiences of impacted communities play a critical role in the development and justification of measurement metrics and proxies?
    Through exploration of these questions, the candidate is expected to engage with core concepts in the philosophy of science, history of science, Black feminist epistemologies, and similar schools of thought to develop an in-depth understanding of existing practices with the aim of applying it to advance shared standards and best practice in AI evaluation.

The candidate is expected to integrate empirical (for example, through analysis or evaluation of existing benchmarks) or practical (for example, by executing evaluation of AI systems) components into the overall work.
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Lee West @whodat35.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
This is surreal. 4 Oglala Lakota men kidnapped by ICE in Minneapolis have finally been located. One of them was released but the other 3 are being held at Fort Snelling, a former concentration camp used to imprison Native people incl. the Dakota 38 during Dakota Wars. ictnews.org/news/north-c...
ictnews.org
Four Oglala detainees located, three still in ICE custody - ICT
The four Lakota detainees were reportedly sent to a former concentration camp used during the Dakota Wars
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Ryan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Hannah has been a top, top reporter on all things DOGE and the federal government. Hard to see this other than anything but an attempt to chill journalism and the First Amendment protected right to a free press. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/u...
nytimes.com
F.B.I. Searches Home of Washington Post Journalist for Classified Material
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 09/01/2026
An internet shutdown has plunged Iran into a communications blackout as authorities continue to unleash their deadly repression against protesters. UN member states should press Iran to stop the bloodshed and pursue accountability.
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The Onion @theonion.com · 08/01/2026
ICE Opens Interdimensional Detention Center To Indefinitely Imprison Immigrants Across Infinite Number Of Multiverses theonion.com/ice-opens-interdimensi…
ICE Opens Interdimensional Detention Center To Indefinitely Imprison Immigrants Across Infinite Number Of Multiverses
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Anna Bacciarelli @abacci.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Excessive restrictions on protests by multiple UK governments came in the context of a massive rise in technosolutionist approaches to policing, including biometric surveillance and predictive policing, creating more risk of rights abuses and undermining accountability for harms
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TheDesk.net @thedesk.net · 22/12/2025
#BREAKING: Instacart says it will halt a practice that used AI to adjust the cost of groceries for different shoppers after a study found some customers were paying as much as 23% more for the same items.
instacart.com
Ending Item Price Tests on Instacart | Instacart
Over the past couple weeks, there’s been a lot written about Instacart and how pricing works on our platform . Some of that coverage raised fair questions. Much of it included misconceptions and misin...
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