Zamaan Qureshi

The EU has let US tech giants run riot. Diluting our data law will only entrench their power | Johnny Ryan and Georg Riekeles The GDPR is Europe’s defence against digital oligarchy and child harm. Deregulation plans are misguided, say Johnny Ryan and Georg Riekeles

As we write in The Guardian this morning, the Commission’s plan to gut EU digital rules will hurt Europe’s startups and give U.S. tech an unassailable advantage, confirming Europe as a digital vassal.
Piece by George Riekeles and I.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The EU has let US tech giants run riot. Diluting our data law will only entrench their power | Johnny Ryan and Georg Riekeles The GDPR is Europe’s defence against digital oligarchy and child harm. Deregulation plans are misguided, say Johnny Ryan and Georg Riekeles

"Europe is hurtling toward digital vassalage. Under Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, EU laws to tackle tech giants have been either not applied or delayed, for fear of offending Donald Trump." - @johnnyryan.bsky.social and Georg Riekeles

Scams undermine democracies and free enterprise by eroding general mutual trust. Meta’s business model incentivizes people to financially exploit each other.

OpenAI says over a million people talk to ChatGPT about suicide weekly | TechCrunch OpenAI released data on just how many of ChatGPT's users are facing mental health challenges, and how its addressing them.

Tech companies often use statistics about the prevalence of content on their sites to make things seem small. This article is a good reminder that a small % can still be a helluvalot techcrunch.com/2025/10/27/o...

Meta suppressed research on child safety, employees say The company’s lawyers intervened to shape research that might have shed light on risks in virtual reality, four current and former staffers have told Congress. Meta denies the allegations.

A German teen told Meta's child safety researchers his under-10 little brother had been sexually propositioned multiple times on its VR platform.

Meta deleted the evidence.

New internal whistleblower docs indicate that was part of a broader cover-up: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

The end of an era. Proud of the work we did together at Accountable Tech and thankful to get to work with such talented, dedicated team. We always punched above our weight.

Onwards. Full @designitforus.bsky.social!

U.S. Senator Hawley launches probe into Meta AI policies U.S. Senator Josh Hawley launched a probe into Facebook parent Meta Platforms' artificial intelligence policies on Friday, demanding documents on rules that had allowed its artificial intelligence chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”

The risks, especially to young people, are real.

Experts React to Reuters Reports on Meta's AI Chatbot Policies | TechPolicy.Press Tech Policy Press invited a range of experts to submit reactions to concerning reports on Meta's AI chatbot policies and products.

It doesn't have to be this way. As experts note, there are policy remedies to restrict forms of AI companionship. But the business models of these products are fundamentally broken: "emotional investment directly translates into revenue" (Meetali Jain)

A flirty Meta AI bot invited a retiree to meet. He never made it home. Impaired by a stroke, a man fell for a Meta chatbot originally created with Kendall Jenner. His death spotlights Meta’s AI rules, which let bots tell falsehoods.

Chatbots could be helpful — I think about navigating bureaucratic systems or frustrating paperwork. Maybe tutoring in education or specific healthcare use cases. But the generative AI race is producing not only creepy results but dangerous interactions.

A flirty Meta AI bot invited a retiree to meet. He never made it home. Impaired by a stroke, a man fell for a Meta chatbot originally created with Kendall Jenner. His death spotlights Meta’s AI rules, which let bots tell falsehoods.

I worry that this isn't the last story we are going to see like this, and as Reuters/Horwitz notes, the suicide-death of Sewell Setzer involving Character[.]AI is an example of what's already happened.

A flirty Meta AI bot invited a retiree to meet. He never made it home. Impaired by a stroke, a man fell for a Meta chatbot originally created with Kendall Jenner. His death spotlights Meta’s AI rules, which let bots tell falsehoods.

Reuters/@jeffhorwitz.bsky.social with an alarming story about the risks of unchecked artificial intelligence. One Meta chatbot led Thongbue Wongbandue to his death because Mark Zuckerberg worried his chatbots are "boring" and directed Meta to make them "romantic or sensual," even to kids.

How tech’s bold bid to curb AI laws fell apart A GOP-led effort to stop states from regulating AI collapsed after a deal fell through, handing Silicon Valley a painful defeat.

New: I wrote about just how close the AI lobby got to its dream scenario of total deregulation, the unlikely bedfellows that mobilized against it, and the dramatic final 48 hours in which it all came together and then all fell apart. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

HERE’S WHERE WE ARE WITH THE AI MORATORIUM:

They put the amendment in.
They took the amendment out.
They put the amendment in and they shook it all about.
They did the Hokey Pokey and they turned themselves around.
That’s what the Senate’s all about.

Last night, Republicans agreed to a so-called compromise on the AI moratorium. Don’t be fooled: This is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and it will devastate state attempts to protect children online. That’s why I filed an amendment with @cantwell.senate.gov to strip this provision

🚨 The new AI moratorium language risks torpedoing state lawsuits against Meta, TikTok, Snap, as well as families trying cases because their children died due to social media.

The moratorium is the BIGGEST gift to Big Tech. It must be stopped.

Once again, Mark Zuckerberg's proxy, Netchoice, misrepresents the popular Age-Appropriate Design Codes that have become law in four states and have been introduced in a dozen more.

A good reminder of what side Big Tech is on, and it's not the side of young people.

Opinion — Vermont state legislators: Big Tech doesn’t want you to know what’s happening to your kids online. We do. Every day we delay, more kids are being hurt.

Vermont lawmakers sponsored the Vermont Kids Code to stand up to Big Tech. It would require Big Tech monopolies to implement design and privacy settings that protect kids. These lawmakers know Big Tech is working in the shadows to stop it. Read their powerful letter:
vtdigger.org/2025/06/01/v...

Analysis | State lawmakers to Congress: Don’t stop us from regulating AI Bipartisan letter decries 10-year moratorium on AI laws as ‘overreach’ as Senate takes up Trump’s big bill

New from me: 260 state lawmakers from both parties and all 50 states have sent a letter calling on Congress to drop a proposed 10-year-moratorium on state-level AI regulations. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

PRESS RELEASE: Accountable Tech Statement on the Vermont Legislature’s Passage of the Age Appropriate Design Code accountabletech.org/statements/a...

Thanks @jonfavs.bsky.social and @max-fisher.bsky.social for highlighting our research that @accountabletech.bsky.social and @designitforus.bsky.social did on Instagram Teen Accounts!

You can check out the full research here: accountabletech.org/research/sca...

Huge 🙌 A federal judge ruled this morning against CharacterAI, denying their motion to dismiss and indicating the case can move forward.

This is a major win for the Garcia family and accountability over CharacterAI/Google.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Instagram Teen Accounts still exposed to sexual content, investigation finds The app's tighter controls are apparently not blocking explicit posts.

Whenever someone points out content flaws in Meta youth accounts like our report, the company has excuses – sensitive content wasn’t most of the feed, or the test didn’t depict how young people use accounts. But these flaws continue to be replicable.

Come on, Meta. mashable.com/article/inst...

Safety by Design Wins: Accountable Tech | The Archewell Foundation This week, The Archewell Foundation is highlighting Accountable Tech who recently published a study highlighting gaps in recent protections put in place for teens on Instagram. The report focuses on i...

Thank you, Archewell Foundation, for uplifting our study on Instagram Teen Accounts. It’s important to “allow data access for independent researchers to both assist in improving the effectiveness of safeguards and ensuring enforcement of safeguards and regulations.” archewell.org/news/safety-...

Watching the Senate cloture vote on the (highly misnamed) Genius Act and keep thinking back to a conversation I had with a Senior official in the Biden WH 4 years ago. I asked him what he thought about crypto and he said “how do you define money?” Thread:

A huge thanks to @mepriestley.bsky.social and Rep. Kathleen James for leading the way alongside the incredible young advocates in VT.

'It’s time to break free': Legislators, students rally in Manchester for Age-Appropriate Design MANCHESTER — On the damp and chilly Monday morning of May 19, at 7:30 a.m., a collection of individuals gathered on the sidewalk of the round-about by the Northshire Bookstore

Young people from @designitforus.bsky.social stepped up today in Manchester, Vermont, alongside community members and lawmakers in support of the Age-Appropriate Design Code currently in the Vermont Legislature.

Advocates called on Governor Phil Scott to sign the bill into law when it passes!!!

Column | Gen Z users and a dad tested Instagram Teen Accounts. Their feeds were shocking. Meta promised parents it would shield teens from harmful content. Tests by young users and our tech columnist dad find it fails spectacularly in important ways.

The #FTCvsMeta trial exposes a disturbing truth: Instagram’s algorithms have facilitated predators’ access to our children. We need to be done asking and strip tax breaks until Meta prioritizes safety over profits. #ProtectOurKids #PlatformAccountability www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Column | Gen Z users tested Instagram Teen Accounts; they got sex posts, body shaming Meta promised parents it would shield teens from harmful content. Tests by young users and our tech columnist dad find it fails spectacularly in important ways.

“What should be excruciatingly clear to any parent: Instagram’s Teen Accounts can’t be relied upon to actually shield kids. The danger they face isn’t just bad people on the internet — it’s also the app’s recommendation algorithm…”

Column | Gen Z users and a dad tested Instagram Teen Accounts. Their feeds were shocking. Meta promised parents it would shield teens from harmful content. Tests by young users and our tech columnist dad find it fails spectacularly in important ways.

No surprises but good reflections from teen testers about what they think their peers should know about how algorithms shape their sense of what’s normal, and how bad the toxic recommendations and their feeds overall made them feel. So much education to do.

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Column | Gen Z users and a dad tested Instagram Teen Accounts. Their feeds were shocking. Meta promised parents it would shield teens from harmful content. Tests by young users and our tech columnist dad find it fails spectacularly in important ways.

Shocker: Meta’s claim to keep teens safe from explicit or dangerous content on Instagram is bullshit www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...