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michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer
@michaelzimmer.bsky.social
2.5K followers 410 following 360 posts

Privacy & data ethics scholar. Professor in Computer Science and Director of @MUDataEthics.bsky.social at Marquette University. I also curate @ZuckerbergFiles.bsky.social

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Michael Zimmer is a privacy and data ethics scholar. He currently is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at Marquette University and Director of the Center for Data, Ethics, and Society. Previously, he was on the faculty at the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and director of the Center for Information Policy Research. Zimmer is on the advisory board of the Future of Privacy Forum, and was on the executive committee of the Association of Internet Researchers from 2009-2016. He was the Microsoft Resident Fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School from 2007-2008. .. more

Computer science 32%
Political science 22%
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Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Elizabeth Saunders, American Library Association , and 6 more

chrisgeidner.bsky.social
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 12h
BREAKING: Marco Rubio's State Department announces publicly that it is exercising unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in revoking people's visas based on comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk.
Department of State v @StateDept g.. The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans. The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk. Here are just a few examples of aliens who are no longer welcome in the U.S.: 5:55 PM • Oct 14, 2025 • 34.1K Views
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Reposted by Michael Zimmer, Bessma Momani, Michael H. Whitworth

markey.senate.gov
Senator Ed Markey @markey.senate.gov · 14h
Trump just bombed six more people in the Caribbean, for a total of 27 civilians who have been killed so far by the US military. It’s illegal for the military to target civilians who do not pose an immediate threat. This is murder.
U.S. Military Kills Another 6 People in 5th Caribbean Strike, Trump Says In a social media post, the president said the people aboard a boat were suspected of smuggling drugs for an unspecified group his team had labeled terrorists.
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Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Will Jennings, Daniel W. Drezner , and 4 more

mmasnick.bsky.social
Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 18h
I seem to recall that it was the biggest 1st Amendment attack in American history when the Biden admin alerted social media companies to some content and said "hey does this violate your policies?" Will Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger and (lol) CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss call this out?
Tweet from Pam Bondi: Today following outreach from @thejusticedept , Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target @ICEgov agents in Chicago. The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs. The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.
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michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 1d
Starting the trek to Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for #AoIR2025. Excited about our "AoIR Ethics in Action" session (Thursday, 16-Oct 2:00pm - 3:30pm in Auditorium). Details in thread below.
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Reposted by Laurent Dubois, Michael Zimmer

palfrey.org
John Palfrey @palfrey.org · 2d
"He quoted Hannah Arendt's 'The Origins of Totalitarianism' in asserting that the world needs free and objective information."

www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
Pope Leo calls for news agencies to stand as bulwark against "post-truths," lies and manipulation
Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the "ancient art of lying" and manipulation.
www.cbsnews.com
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Reposted by Nandita Sharma, Jonathan A. Eisen, Robbert Sanderman , and 19 more

cmgiulini.bsky.social
Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 3d
After spending 43 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, evidence hidden by the prosecution reversed his conviction. Rather than finally enjoying freedom, ICE abducted him for deportation

Depraved.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him
Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.
www.miamiherald.com
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Reposted by Michael Zimmer

jwlockhart.bsky.social
Jeff Lockhart @jwlockhart.bsky.social · 3d
Sometimes you just can't tell people things. You just have to sit back and let them find out for themselves. Usually those people are children.
Nate Silver @NateSilver538 • 5h •.° I'm just one person, and my programming needs are somewhat unusual (building various kinds of statistical forecasting models). But I'm just not seeing the consistent productivity gains from LLMs that I would have expected if you'd asked me 6 months ago.
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Reposted by Anna O. Law, Peter Thorne, Tom Clark , and 11 more

longtimehistory.bsky.social
LongTime🤓FirstTime👨‍💻 @longtimehistory.bsky.social · 3d
ICE secretly kidnap autistic boy during bathroom break—never notify parents.

Mother reported him missing a week ago—turns out ICE had him detained the whole time.

He was helping sell fruit and asked to go to the restroom—by the time she was done helping a customer he was gone.

Houston, Texas
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Reposted by Michael Zimmer

pomurray.bsky.social
Po Murray @pomurray.bsky.social · 4d
Breaking News! MIT became the first university to reject the Trump administration’s compact of demands, after its president Sally Kornbluth said the practices of the school already “meet or exceed many standards outlined” by the federal government.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/10/b...
MIT becomes first school to reject proposed ‘compact’ with Trump administration - The Boston Globe
MIT president Sally Kornbluth said the university’s practices already “meet or exceed” the federal government’s list of demands.
www.bostonglobe.com
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Reposted by Gavin A. Schmidt, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Julie L. Lockwood , and 1 more

jameeljaffer.bsky.social
Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 4d
MIT's response to the Trump admin's proposed "compact" is excellent and should be a model for other universities. orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...
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michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 5d
::Staring at Apple::
theverge.com
The Verge @theverge.com · 5d
Amazon’s giant ads have ruined the Echo Show
Amazon’s giant ads have ruined the Echo Show
Alexa, stop the ads.
www.theverge.com

Reposted by Michael Zimmer

lukesteuber.com
Luke Steuber @lukesteuber.com · 5d
What a shitty thing to have to worry about
Norway braces for Trump’s reaction if he does not win Nobel peace prize
US president may impose tariffs, demand higher Nato contributions or even declare Norway an enemy, analyst says
www.theguardian.com
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Reposted by Michael Zimmer

theverge.com
The Verge @theverge.com · 5d
Amazon’s giant ads have ruined the Echo Show
Amazon’s giant ads have ruined the Echo Show
Alexa, stop the ads.
www.theverge.com
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michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 6d
Pleased to contribute my perspective to “Growing Demand for Ethics Expertise to Evaluate AI Tools Before Use in Healthcare” in latest Medical Ethics Advisor.

Building responsible AI systems requires not just technical rigor, but also ethical discernment. www.clinician.com/articles/gro...
Growing Demand for Ethics Expertise to Evaluate AI Tools Before Use…
In this article we cover Growing Demand for Ethics Expertise to Evaluate AI Tools Before Use in Healthcare. Stay up to date on the latest in healthcare…
www.clinician.com
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michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 6d
Port Washington's $8 billion artificial intelligence data center campus project saw its strongest showing of vehement opposition since the project was announced in January.

But the swell of pushback may be arriving too late to stop the project.
www.jsonline.com/story/commun...
Port Washington's $8 billion AI data center sees swell of pushback. It may come too late
Port Washington's $8 billion AI data center project saw its strongest showing of opposition from area residents on Oct. 7. But it may be too late.
www.jsonline.com

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Rebecca Solnit, Jonathan A. Eisen , and 27 more

darrigomelanie.bsky.social
Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 7d
I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.
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Reposted by Michael Zimmer

walthickey.bsky.social
Walter Hickey @walthickey.bsky.social · 7d
this is a bfd sherwood.news/markets/orac...
Oracle tumbles after report that it’s lost nearly $100 million from renting out access to Nvidia’s Blackwell chips
Early returns from the AI boom look tiny for Oracle, per The Information....
sherwood.news
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Reposted by John F. McCarthy, Adam Bonica, John Collins , and 6 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 7d
Bondi to Blumenthal: "You lied. How dare you? I'm a career prosecutor. Don't you ever challenge my integrity. Do not question my ability to be fair and impartial."
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Reposted by Michael Zimmer

mudataethics.bsky.social
Marquette Center for Data, Ethics, and Society @mudataethics.bsky.social · 7d
It was so exciting to see the community turn out for @alexhanna.bsky.social's talk on "The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want" at @boswellbooks.bsky.social Boswell Book Company last night.
(crowd photo via Melissa Shew)
Image of Alex Hanna at a podium in a bookstore holding a copy of "The AI Con" Image from the back of the room with a seated audience listening to Alex Hanna discussing her book "The AI Con"
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michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 7d
Hey Apple, please make something and take my money....
theverge.com
The Verge @theverge.com · 7d
The company says it’s still committed to smart displays, as Amazon doubles down on the category.
Google hints at a new Nest Hub
The Nest Hub may live again
www.theverge.com

Reposted by Michael Zimmer

theverge.com
The Verge @theverge.com · 7d
The company says it’s still committed to smart displays, as Amazon doubles down on the category.
Google hints at a new Nest Hub
The Nest Hub may live again
www.theverge.com
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Reposted by Philip N. Cohen, Janet Murray, Michael Zimmer

sivav.bsky.social
Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 8d
I wrote about the “compact” for higher education

newrepublic.com/article/2013...
Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down
How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education
newrepublic.com
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Reposted by Michael Zimmer

forbes.com
Forbes @forbes.com · 9d
Trump’s youngest son taught his dad a thing or two about crypto. Now the NYU sophomore is making a fortune before he even turns 20.
How 19-Year-Old Barron Trump Is Worth $150 Million
Trump’s youngest son taught his dad a thing or two about crypto. Now the NYU sophomore is making a fortune before he even turns 20.
www.forbes.com
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Reposted by Daniel Aaron, Michael Zimmer

radiofreetom.bsky.social
Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 9d
I think this is right:
"We've slid into some form of authoritarianism," says Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard. "It is relatively mild compared to some others. It is certainly reversible, but we are no longer living in a liberal democracy."
www.npr.org/2025/04/22/n...
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Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Michael Zimmer

dickius.bsky.social
Scarewolf Bar Kochba @dickius.bsky.social · 9d
Wow, it must be terrible being told that you can’t use the bathroom.
'Very difficult situation': Kristi Noem whines locals not letting ICE agents use restrooms
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem complained that her agents were not being permitted to use restrooms in Chicago because of opposition from residents.During a Sunday interview on ...
www.rawstory.com
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michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 10d
I'm listening to "The Gutenberg Parenthesis" by @jeffjarvis.bsky.social and am really enjoying revisiting some of the core ideas (McLuhan, Ong, Eisenstein) from my graduate work in Media Ecology through the lens of a contemporary writer who has suffered through the internet age.
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Reposted by Michael Zimmer

zackwhittaker.com
Zack Whittaker @zackwhittaker.com · 10d
Discord said late on Friday that hackers stole users' government-issued IDs (passports and driver's licenses) from one of its customer support databases.

I wrote a few words about the risks of age verification laws, and why collecting people's government IDs is bad for security and privacy.
Discord says users' government IDs used for age checks stolen by hackers
Thanks to age verification laws, expect more data breaches of users' government-issued passports and driver's licenses.
this.weekinsecurity.com
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Reposted by Mark Bray, Brendan Nyhan, Trevon D. Logan , and 3 more

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 10d
*A Republican lawmaker objected to reference to Charlie Kirk holding “often racist and controversial views” in local Alaska news
*The corporate owner took down the story and edited it
*The journalists resigned

This feels like more and more of our media now.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...
Journalists at 3 Newspapers Quit Over Edits to a Charlie Kirk Story
www.nytimes.com
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Reposted by Colin F. Camerer, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan , and 11 more

oregonian.com
The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 11d
Federal officer blasts chemical spray into vocal but nonviolent Portland protester, video shows

The interaction illustrates how federal law enforcement officers do use aggressive tactics against protesters who yell and needle officers but don’t appear to present clear physical threats.
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Reposted by Michael Zimmer, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe

lataco.bsky.social
L.A. TACO @lataco.bsky.social · 12d
DHS posted their response on X: “To be clear: We will NOT comply with Gavin Newsom’s unconstitutional mask ban." LAPD has kept quiet, following several L.A. TACO requests for comment.

By Aisha Wallace-Palomares

The full story: lataco.com/masked-law-e...
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