Laura Edelson

I think this is also the strategy that seems most likely to be actually possible. Because even getting rid of the legal obstacles is *incredibly* challenging, and going much beyond that towards mandatory interop might not be for the foreseeable future.

One of the things I was most excited that we got to do for the Locknet report was to produce these explainers of how the internet actually works. It’s not magic!

@chinafile.bsky.social’s Jessica Batke and @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social, authors of a new report that reshapes our understanding of Chinese censorship, spoke to the @washingtonpost.com about how the “Locknet” works.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Big Brother gets new powers in China with digital ID system China is launching a digital ID system, giving Beijing greater control over online activity and further raising concerns about surveillance and censorship.

I talked to @washingtonpost.com for this piece on China's digital ID system. It's a great example of two key features of the Locknet: 1) different aspects of the censorship system reinforce each other, and 2) pushing the policeman into citizens heads.
wapo.st/4kBkkEc

I didn’t know you did neuroscience but in retrospect it makes total sense for your work.

After more feedback, I think it is black staining polypore- thanks!!

Can anyone help me identity this mushroom? It grew up in just a few days in my garden, and it’s currently over a foot wide. I’m definitely not going to eat it, I’m just curious!

The Politics of Fragmentation and Capture in AI Regulation - ProMarket In new research, Filippo Lancieri, Laura Edelson, and Stefan Bechtold explore how the political economy of artificial intelligence regulation is shaped by the strategic behavior of governments, technology companies, and other agents.

NEW: @lancierifilippo.bsky.social (@georgetownlaw.bsky.social), @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social, Stefan Bechtold (@ethz.ch) explore how the political economy of artificial intelligence regulation is shaped by the strategic behavior of governments, technology companies, and other agents.

Can I tell you? You have won the ARG embedded in this article, the objective of which was to deduce the existance of the Locknet Monster. Congratulations! The prize is melancholy, and one drink if you ever run into me in person.

A collage depicting blimps, planes, drones, and ships trawling the sea and sky for digital devices and information.

NEW: A ChinaFile investigation into China's powerful, but leaky, internet censorship system at locknet.chinafile.com
1/21

EPIC collaborated w/ @commonsensemedia.bsky.social, Cybersecurity for Democracy (@yaeleisenstat.bsky.social @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social) & Tech Justice Law Project on a brief telling the Ninth Circuit to deny Meta Section 230 protections for its allegedly addictive design. 11 legal scholars joined!

Thanks to @epic.org for leading the way, to @comminsense.bsky.social and TJLP for this collaboration, and the below legal scholars, who signed on in support. What a team! cc: @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social & @meganiorio.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/mega...

Supported by @opentechfund.bsky.social: @chinafile.bsky.social’s Jessica Batke & @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social explain that Chinese censorship isn’t simply a “firewall, but a “locknet” – a multi-level system of socio-technical controls. (1/4)
locknet.chinafile.com/the-locknet/...

So... I'm not saying you should sue any platforms under the DSA. But if you *did* want to do that, you'd definitely want to look at this article from @pjleerssen.bsky.social, Iris Toepoel, Anna van Duin, and @jvh.bsky.social

It's basically a tactical guide.

dsa-observatory.eu/wp-content/u...

Opinion | Big Tech Is Finally Losing

I bring you a tiny bit of good news — courts are finally reining in Big Tech in significant ways.

We could actually be on the cusp of a totally transformed tech landscape - after 30 years of total lack of constraints.

My latest for @nytopinion.nytimes.com (gift link)

Hey, if all AI legislation is dead, I get at least a week back to teach other things 🙃.

I have to add this to my syllabus!

Everything you are saying is reinforcing for me that we set rules about systems access to based on what we think is technically possible to do with the mode of access (in addition to other factors of course) and so many problems just come out of the fact that what’s possible changes over time.

But it feels satisfying to build something that does something, no? Like, if I make things that are more impactful, then I get more chemical signals in my brain! But maybe you mean something different than I am thinking by ‘productivity’.

I would say that the 20 hour playthrough was great for me! I have no time and I am very glad that I made the time for that.

There’s nothing ‘unofficial’ about this start to the summer.

A parade float with a pair of goats on it.

The stars of the Memorial Day Fair, the town farm’s goats!

Indicator Indicator is your essential guide to understanding and investigating digital deception.

I left my job at ProPublica about a month ago.

Here's why: I've teamed up with @mantzarlis.com to launch indicator.media, a new publication dedicated to exposing digital deception and to equipping professionals and the public with knowledge and skills to investigate it.

Sign up for free below!

Since 2022, my colleagues and I have been targeted by political attacks. Early on, we worried that political actors would specifically target our projects & universities for defunding. But in the end, they came after everyone. The strategy of keeping heads down was never the right one.

You know it's 7PM on Tuesday because that's when you receive an email from your kid's teacher that the kids are all 'invited' to dress up like woodland creatures tomorrow! Go pull out that squirrel costume you definitely keep on hand for just such occasions. 🫠

Trump’s ‘fear factor’: Scientists go silent as funding cuts escalate Many worry about retribution. But for others, speaking out is worth the risk

I spoke with Science about scholars—myself included—self-censoring.

In my case, my team and I feared losing our NSF funding for Expert Voices Together (expertvoicestogether.org), a program, ironically, built to support researchers and journalists under attack.

www.science.org/content/arti...

Thank you for taking a stand.

Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.

"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging."

Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.

I wrote about my decision in TIME.

time.com/7285045/resi...

Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.

Powerful statement and an inside look at what is happening to science in tge current administration .

time.com/7285045/resi...

Star Wars is fine. Completely fine.