The Coronavirus Crisis
Cuomo’s Covid-19 Vaccine Passport Leaves Users Clueless About Privacy
A New York state system for proving that you’ve been vaccinated uses overhyped blockchain technology — and leaves many privacy questions unanswered.
Sam Biddle
Sam Biddle is a technology reporter focusing on issues of surveillance, privacy, and corporate power. He was previously a senior writer at Gawker, and his work has also appeared in GQ, Vice, and the New York Times magazine, among other outlets.
Contacts:
- sam.biddle@theintercept.com
- @sambiddle.99 on Signal
- @sambiddle.com on Bluesky
- @samfbiddle on X
Posts:
Facebook Told Black Applicant With Ph.D. She Needed to Show She Was a “Culture Fit”
“You wouldn't like this job,” she says she was told. Facebook is only 3.9 percent Black and is facing an EEOC investigation.
The Coronavirus Crisis
Verizon’s NFL Covid-19 Screening Cameras Are Based on Bad Science and Questionable Chinese Hardware
Verizon’s 5G-powered fever-detecting cameras appear to be sourced from a company under State Department sanctions and probably don’t work.
Protests for Black Lives
LAPD Sought Ring Home Security Video Related to Black Lives Matter Protests
Emails show that the LAPD repeatedly asked camera owners for footage during the demonstrations, raising First Amendment concerns.
On Telegram, the Paramilitary Far Right Looks to Radicalize New Recruits Ahead of Inauguration Day
The boogaloo movement’s most extreme white supremacist element is ratcheting up calls for civil war.
Voices
Facebook and Twitter Finally Do Slightly More Than Literally Nothing About Trump
The temporary deplatforming of Donald Trump is the perfect distillation of Big Tech’s attempt to pantomime principles.
FBI Questioned a Michigan Senate Staffer After Zoom Call About Banning Tear Gas
The FBI visit raised alarming questions about why a confidential legislative discussion warranted police scrutiny.
Facebook Managers Trash Their Own Ad Targeting in Unsealed Remarks
The internal documents suggest that Facebook should stop positioning itself as a champion of small business.
Facebook Lets Vietnam's Cyberarmy Target Dissidents, Rejecting a Celebrity's Plea
Mai Khoi, the “Lady Gaga of Vietnam,” wants that country’s vigilante force kicked off Facebook. The company told her the group is well within its rules.
Pentagon Training Equates Whistleblower Chelsea Manning With Terrorists
A mandatory class on insider terrorist threats lists Manning’s leaks among “examples of attacks” by disloyal Americans.