The Markup

CA could ban use of consumer location data to set prices – The Markup A proposed bill would bar companies from using data like a phone’s battery life, what apps are installed and where its user is to set prices.

California lawmakers want to ban companies from using data about consumers’ devices like battery life, model and geolocation to set fluctuating prices. Proponents say such “surveillance pricing” is discriminatory. bit.ly/45AErhq

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CA could ban use of consumer location data to set prices – The Markup A proposed bill would bar companies from using data like a phone’s battery life, what apps are installed and where its user is to set prices.

California State Sen. Aisha Wahab's SB 259 would prevent retailers from using artificial intelligence to jack up prices using the information stored on customers’ phones. That could include the phone’s battery life, whether it’s an older model and more: bit.ly/45AErhq

📝 @mayacmiller.bsky.social

AI is helping students be more independent, but the isolation could be career poison – The Markup Chatbots may give students quick answers when they have questions, but they won’t help students form relationships that matter for college and life success.

As colleges further embed ChatGPT and other chatbots into campus life, experts warn lost relationships may become a devastating unintended consequence. themarkup.org/artificial-i...

If you’re a patient who’s struggled to access your medical records, or a physician who has to redo tests and scans for patients because you can’t get records in time, we want to hear from you. You can reach us via the contact info listed in the story.

During my kid’s surgery, I was denied a copy of my consent form — then sent to a ghost office – The Markup Help us understand the challenges patients face opting out of voluntary uses of their data, or getting access to their records.

Remember that time when you had to sign a bunch of consent forms on a hospital iPad, with no idea what you are agreeing with? Digitizing paperwork could sometimes make it harder to opt out of data sharing or simply accessing your own records. themarkup.org/hello-world/...

The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE ProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security in order to speed up the agency’s mass deportation efforts.

The technical blueprint obtained by ProPublica shows that engineers at the agency are preparing to give DHS what it wants: a system that enables massive automated data sharing.

By @propublica.org: www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Here’s Every Local Police Agency Enforcing for ICE – The Markup Partnerships more than doubled during the first months of Trump's current term under a program known as 287(g)

Is your home police department partnering with ICE? Find out: themarkup.org/tools/2025/0...

Help us investigate how patients opt out of voluntary uses of their data, or get access to their own data. You can reach us via the contact info listed in the story.

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During my kid’s surgery, I was denied a copy of my consent form — then sent to a ghost office – The Markup Help us understand the challenges patients face opting out of voluntary uses of their data, or getting access to their records.

During her toddler’s surgery, a researcher wanted copies of the consent forms she just signed, but the staff was preventing her from getting it. What followed was a maze of refusals, misinformation, and dead ends that exposed just how broken the process really is themarkup.org/hello-world/...

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Kids are making deepfakes of each other, and laws aren’t keeping up – The Markup Schools and lawmakers are grappling with how to address a new form of peer-on-peer image-based sexual abuse that disproportionately targets girls.

While most agree there should be consequences for youth offenders, there’s less consensus about what those consequences should be — and a push for reeducation over extreme charges. themarkup.org/artificial-i...

California's fire protection agency made an AI chatbot.  It can’t answer one crucial question – The Markup The bot fails at some basic questions about fires. Cal Fire says it is working on fixes.

Cal Fire said it’s working on the fixes, but experts said the process of kicking the tires on a chatbot should happen long before procurement begins.

AI Chatbots Can Cushion the High School Counselor Shortage — But Are They Bad for Students? – The Markup The more students turn to chatbots, the fewer chances they have to develop real-life relationships that can lead to jobs and later success

This is not just a trend happening in universities. Some high schools are using chatbots to make up to the counselor shortage. Experts worry that this may unintentionally harm students in the long run. themarkup.org/machine-lear...

AI is helping students be more independent, but the isolation could be career poison – The Markup Chatbots may give students quick answers when they have questions, but they won’t help students form relationships that matter for college and life success.

Students don’t have the same incentives to talk to their professors or even their classmates anymore — Instead, they are asking AI for help. What could go wrong? themarkup.org/artificial-i...

Kids are making deepfakes of each other, and laws aren’t keeping up – The Markup Schools and lawmakers are grappling with how to address a new form of peer-on-peer image-based sexual abuse that disproportionately targets girls.

While some states have developed penal codes that factor a perpetrator’s age into their punishment, most do not. themarkup.org/artificial-i...

How AI Detection Software Turns Professors into Cops, Tech as Systems of World-Making, and More – The Markup A conversation with agroecologist Maywa Montenegro

Another professor shared the AI policy she designed for her class, and explained why she thinks the detectors are turning teachers into cops: themarkup.org/hello-world/...

California colleges spend millions to catch plagiarism and AI. Is the faulty tech worth it? – The Markup Colleges and universities renew Turnitin subscriptions year after year even though its flawed detectors are expensive and require students to let the company keep their papers forever.

Students have protested Turnitin use too. An undergrad at McGill University, in Canada, failed multiple assignments in 2003 after refusing to submit them to Turnitin. He ultimately won the right to have his papers graded without the tech. themarkup.org/artificial-i...

California colleges spend millions to catch plagiarism and AI. Is the faulty tech worth it? – The Markup Colleges and universities renew Turnitin subscriptions year after year even though its flawed detectors are expensive and require students to let the company keep their papers forever.

A writing professor started speaking out about Turnitin's database of student papers after he found his dissertation in it. He takes issue with schools unquestioningly handing over original student work to a for-profit company. themarkup.org/artificial-i...

California colleges spend millions to catch plagiarism and AI. Is the faulty tech worth it? – The Markup Colleges and universities renew Turnitin subscriptions year after year even though its flawed detectors are expensive and require students to let the company keep their papers forever.

We asked students and professors about Turnitin, the AI detector colleges are paying millions for. Some were falsely accused, and some are concerned about how the tech is dealing with students’ intellectual property. themarkup.org/artificial-i...

Kids are making deepfakes of each other, and laws aren’t keeping up – The Markup Schools and lawmakers are grappling with how to address a new form of peer-on-peer image-based sexual abuse that disproportionately targets girls.

Over the past few years, there has been case after case of school-age children using deepfakes to prank or bully their classmates. And it keeps getting easier to do. themarkup.org/artificial-i...

California's fire protection agency made an AI chatbot. Don't ask it about evacuation orders – The Markup The bot fails at some basic questions about fires. Cal Fire says it is working on fixes.

The bot couldn't:
Describe a given wildfire’s containment accurately
Provide a list for evacuation supplies
Tell users about evacuation orders

What else we found: themarkup.org/artificial-i...

Turnitin charged colleges vastly different amounts to detect plagarism – The Markup Purchasing records show some colleges are paying three times more than others.

Want to know how much your California college spends on Turnitin? Search your school’s name with this tool and share what you find in the comments! themarkup.org/artificial-i...

California colleges spend millions to catch plagiarism and AI. Is the faulty tech worth it? – The Markup Colleges and universities renew Turnitin subscriptions year after year even though its flawed detectors are expensive and require students to let the company keep their papers forever.

California schools are paying millions for the AI detection tool Turnitin, but the tech often makes mistakes and the company requires schools to allow them to keep students’ papers forever. themarkup.org/artificial-i...

Kids are making deepfakes of each other, and laws aren’t keeping up – The Markup Schools and lawmakers are grappling with how to address a new form of peer-on-peer image-based sexual abuse that disproportionately targets girls.

Schools and lawmakers are grappling with how to address a new form of peer-on-peer image-based sexual abuse that disproportionately targets girls.

With @19thnews.org: themarkup.org/artificial-i...

State AI regulations safe after Senate strips moratorium from ‘big, beautiful bill’ – The Markup In the end, both Republicans and Democrats helped doom a 10-year moratorium on state AI regulation after it cleared the House

The U.S. Senate voted not to interfere with state AI regulations, defeating a 10-year moratorium on such laws that had earlier cleared the House and alarmed California officials. themarkup.org/artificial-i...

California colleges spend millions to catch plagiarism and AI. Is the faulty tech worth it? – The Markup Colleges and universities renew Turnitin subscriptions year after year even though its flawed detectors are expensive and require students to let the company keep their papers forever.

Honest students sometimes end up being caught in the crossfire of an arms race between technology that mimics human speech and technology that claims to identify it. themarkup.org/artificial-i...

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We caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech – The Markup Healthcare exchanges in Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island shared users’ sensitive health data with companies like Google and LinkedIn

Nevada, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine shared sensitive visitor data with companies like Google and LinkedIn via their own healthcare exchange website. How that happened:

Michigan’s “Fair and Reasonable” Reforms Allowed Car Insurers to Charge More in Black Neighborhoods – The Markup An investigation by The Markup and Outlier Media found lawmakers created loopholes big enough to drive through

This follows our investigation with Outlier Media last year that Detroiers pay more for car insurance because of where they live and their education levels. What we found: themarkup.org/premium-pena...

House bill targets loopholes that let car insurance companies charge more in Black neighborhoods – The Markup Bill reintroduction follows investigation by The Markup and Outlier Media that found insurers target Black neighborhoods for high rates

A new bill wants to make it illegal for auto insurers to set prices based on factors unrelated to driving that disproportionately raise costs for Black drivers. themarkup.org/premium-pena...

Alt text: An illustration in pink and dark purple tones that shows the silhouette of a student holding a piece of paper as they stand in the middle of a cyberspace grid. A white paper with highlighted text can be seen in the background behind the student as pink boxes with exclamation points float around. Hed: What you need to know about your professor's AI detectors

Turnitin is a longtime leader in the plagiarism- detection market. In 2023, it released a new tool within six months of ChatGPT’s debut to identify AI-generated writing in students’ assignments.

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