Skip to main content

Studies of racist algorithms don’t break anti-hacking law, court rules


A federal court has ruled that research into racist algorithms doesn’t breach the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a controversial anti-hacking law. The US government had argued the law makes violating a website’s terms and conditions a criminal offense, which severely restricted investigations into discriminatory algorithms. Advertisers have used these algorithms to stop people from seeing job, housing, or credit ads based on their race, gender, and age. Researchers can investigate the companies behind them by creating fake user accounts, and then recording the adverts they receive. But if this violates the website’s terms-of-service, they could face federal prosecution.…

This story continues at The Next Web

from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2xwcU3p
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TNW Podcast: Boris comes over to co-host; Slack’s Cal Henderson talks European tech

 Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Andrii is joined by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, co-founder, member of the board, and former CEO of TNW. The topics discussed include the jobs created by Dutch startups, giant state funding for energy projects, translations of the word ‘computer’, and a bunch of other things in between. In the interview section, we’re featuring a conversation with Cal Henderson, co-founder and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/jUgcNFD
Post a Comment
Read more

The TickTime is a clever productivity gadget that just works

With so much of the world’s workforce shifting to remote labor, a whole lot of people are trying to figure out how to be productive at home for the first time. Well, I’ve been working from home for years, and I still haven’t totally figured out the puzzle. There are no shortage of apps designed to help you be more productive, but I’m not sure anything I’ve tried has had as much potential as a little gadget called the TickTime. The concept is simple but clever. If you’ve ever heard of the Pomodoro method, which asks you to work in… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2ySFso4
Post a Comment
Read more

CHEAP: This Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant is HALF OFF

Welcome to CHEAP, our brand-new series about things that are good, but most of all, cheap. CHEAP! Yes, this is my hype. The Lenovo Smart Display (with, of course, Google Assistant) is on offer for only $99.99 – in other words, HALF PRICE! Fast, go get it! I have this exact device and, well, I’m sorry to say it makes me pretty happy. Look, I never thought I’d be into voice-activated assistants, but, lord, I was wrong. Maybe it’s the screen? On second thought, it’s definitely the screen –  it adds an extra little something to the experience. So, what can… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Google , Lenovo from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2UlsGaW
Post a Comment
Read more