🚨 NEW: Large-scale Telegram networks are spreading and monetizing non-consensual intimate images (NCII), including CSAM, in Italy and Spain.
Our investigation reveals an organized ecosystem of abuse at scale — involving 25,000 users. 🧵
Great insights from @paulbouchaud.com captured and distilled by @esmeharrington.bsky.social !
The EU is lucky to have a strong civil society ecosystem holding big tech to account and defending the interests of its citizens.
But that ecosystem can't run on goodwill alone. It needs real, sustained funding.
I called for two concrete mechanisms:
- A reward system tied to the fines (bounty)
- A dedicated line in the EU MFF 2028-2036 budget, currently negotiated
Organizations like @aiforensics.org
We provided key evidence in every case the European Commission has opened so far. And yet, despite the major societal stakes and fines in the hundreds of millions of euros, there is no proper institutional funding mechanism to support this work.
Around dessert, I got a chance to grab the mic. I kept it simple:
It is great that France provides political backing to DSA enforcement. But it's only possible because civil society organizations supply the data and evidence for the cases.
In his opening remarks, the President spoke about the need for technology regulation to "prevent the law of the jungle" in the world of big tech.
Last Monday, I found a dinner invitation from Emmanuel Macron in my junk mail. It was for the AI Summit anniversary, 24 hours later. Almost missed it!
I jumped on a train and found myself at the Élysée the following evening. The room was filled with leading AI academics, startups, and big corps
🔒Safer Internet Day is a good moment to reflect on how our investigations are helping push the internet in a safer direction — and how we can continue being a catalyst for change in 2026. 🧵
Stay tuned!
We’ve received many requests in recent days for updates on our Grok report. We’re currently conducting additional monitoring and analysis and will have more to share shortly. 🔍
As part of preparing for #ATmosphereConf in Vancouver March 2026, we're republishing the videos from Seattle March 2025, along with transcripts.
Marc Faddoul, from @freeourfeeds.com, gives a talk at ATmosphere Conference 2025 in Seattle.
⚠️ New Investigation: Grok is systematically “undressing” women and generating extremist content.
Our latest research shows this isn’t just anecdotal, but a pattern at scale.
An infographic panel with the heading "YOU'RE IN CONTROL OF WHAT YOU SEE ONLINE," stating, "Thanks to the Digital Services Act." The image shows a smartphone with a prominent yellow eye icon, symbolizing control over online content.
Let’s get to the point.
In the EU, you have more control over what you see online.
ℹ️link.europa.eu/qCfg8p
⚠️ AI chatbots are reshaping how we search. But EU rules haven’t caught up.
Our new policy report digs into the risks of LLM-powered search and the gap in Europe’s regulatory approach.
So how do we fix it?
👇 Full report + recommendations:
tinyurl.com/2p2h77et
These dynamics are more relevant than ever, including in the US, where a consortium of hyper-conservative tech moguls are trying to buy the app, with the intent of shaping and controlling its algorithm for its 170 million users... Documentary Link: www.arte.tv/fr/videos/12...
In the second episode, I also discuss the April 2024 investigation by @972mag.com, showing how Israel’s Lavender system was used for mass surveillance, and mass targeted killings in Gaza, including with data flowing from TikTok and other Big Tech platforms.
1️⃣ Its data-collection centric design, combined with opaque amplification and moderation dynamics
2️⃣ Its algorithmic “edge”: hyper-personalization, getting data inputs at a rate higher than on any other platform
3️⃣ Hybrid warfare, where battles of public opinion are increasingly fought on social media.
🎥 #TikTok, under influence?
In this 2-part @artefr.bsky.social documentary, we explore a critical question: What is the role of TikTok as an instrument of geopolitical power?
In the film, I focus on three things that make TikTok stand out today:
Europe is rapidly rolling out age-verification — in the name of “child safety.” 🚷 But is it actually working?
Our first audit found AgeGO’s selfie feature streamed biometric data straight to Amazon. 🪪
Our new report examines AgeVerif: What we found raises serious concerns.
👇
Wow, who could have predicted that online identity verification could also be an instrument of techno-fascism…
Thanks for sharing
Although the intention to protect minors is commendable, many risks can result from the deployment of age control mechanisms on the internet.
We must ensure those risks do not outweigh the actual benefits in terms of protecting minors!
@aiforensics.org report coverage: pro.politico.eu/news/203936
The deployment of age verification methods on the internet is not without risk for users, whether they are adults or minors.
These methods require the processing of highly sensitive data such as biometric markers or identity documents, which can then be opaquely exchanged between entities.
🚨 "AI Slop" investigation: Platforms failing to label synthetic content
We found:
- 1 in 4 TikTok search results contain AI imagery
- Specialized "Agentic AI Accounts" mass-produce synthetic content
- 80%+ of AI content is photorealistic but unlabeled
- Instagram desktop users see zero AI labels
📢 In a joint civil society effort, we filed a formal DSA complaint against 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) for violating Article 26(3) — which bans targeting ads based on sensitive data like sexuality, politics, religion, health.
📄 Read the joint statement: aiforensics.org/uploads/Join...
Behind the scenes of a UN “AI for Good” conference sponsored by @microsoft.com: mentions of the complicity of BigTech in enabling the genocide in Gaza gets censored.
Thank you Abeba for your bravery and stature. Definitely the best talk there was to be seen there
En 2024 et 2025, une agence pro-Orbán a mené une campagne numérique occulte en faveur du Rassemblement national.
Des dizaines de contenus ont été diffusés sur X sur la base d’un ciblage politique (ce qui est interdit), selon des données de l’ONG @aiforensics.org partagées avec @mediapart.fr. 👇
Screenshot of the website haveibeentargeted.online displaying the result of the analysis. We observe that the user was served ads based on their inferred similarity with political accounts.
Wanna check if you've been targeted by ads based on sensitive data? Just drop your X portability archive to find out haveibeentargeted.online
In @aiforensics.org’s last study authored by @paulbouchaud.com we depict how advertisers use political and other sensitive user data to target ads on X
aiforensics.org/work/sensiti...
