Chhaya Kapadia
@chhayakapadia.bsky.social
Chief of Staff at Open Technology Institute, tech policy geek, inveterate public interest-ite, native of Boston, but home is DC. Opinions are all mine. #taxationwithoutrepresentation
Watching a Japanese figure skater compete to Stevie Wonder in the #winterolympics in Italy on global tv, and I guarantee most viewers knew the (awesome) song. The soft power of cultural dominance ain’t nothing.
February 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Watching a Japanese figure skater compete to Stevie Wonder in the #winterolympics in Italy on global tv, and I guarantee most viewers knew the (awesome) song. The soft power of cultural dominance ain’t nothing.
Reposted by Chhaya Kapadia
The FBI was able to access Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's Signal messages because she used Signal on her work laptop. The laptop accepted Touch ID for authentication, meaning the agents were allowed to require her to unlock it. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 31, 2026 at 5:59 PM
The FBI was able to access Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's Signal messages because she used Signal on her work laptop. The laptop accepted Touch ID for authentication, meaning the agents were allowed to require her to unlock it. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Chhaya Kapadia
ICE isn’t just brutal. It’s also big business. From 2008 to 2021 ICE spent *$1.2 billion* on geolocation tracking, $561M on data analysis, $252M on government databases, and $97M on data brokers. Most of that went to companies who will lobby for this system to stay in place.
January 28, 2026 at 9:17 PM
ICE isn’t just brutal. It’s also big business. From 2008 to 2021 ICE spent *$1.2 billion* on geolocation tracking, $561M on data analysis, $252M on government databases, and $97M on data brokers. Most of that went to companies who will lobby for this system to stay in place.
A trenchant insider warning on how tech co's shameless pivot for short-term gain will bite them. He's right abt the coming techlash. It's already starting w/ people pushing back on AI data centers, gov't + corps sharing data, state AI preemption, kids on social media, privacy x.com/kumareth/sta...
Kumar Abhirup on X: "The big techlash is coming, and we will deserve it." / X
The big techlash is coming, and we will deserve it.
x.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:32 PM
A trenchant insider warning on how tech co's shameless pivot for short-term gain will bite them. He's right abt the coming techlash. It's already starting w/ people pushing back on AI data centers, gov't + corps sharing data, state AI preemption, kids on social media, privacy x.com/kumareth/sta...
I feel ya, guy - we don't want you here any more than you want to be here. washingtonian.com/2026/01/21/a...
An Anonymous DC National Guardsman Tells All
“This is not what I signed up to do.”
washingtonian.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:28 PM
I feel ya, guy - we don't want you here any more than you want to be here. washingtonian.com/2026/01/21/a...
Reposted by Chhaya Kapadia
Again, "I only make CSAM for money" would not help an ordinary person's defence, but would aggravate their sentencing.
Now only paying subscribers can make violent non-consenual sexual imagery of women and children -
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery
X to limit editing function to paying subscribers after platform threatened with fines and regulatory action
www.theguardian.com
January 9, 2026 at 10:04 AM
Again, "I only make CSAM for money" would not help an ordinary person's defence, but would aggravate their sentencing.
Wildly off topic…but I want to express my gratitude for every single ice dance team who didn’t use the Backstreet Boys as part of their rhythm dance music this season. I have my Backstreet moments I guess but So. Much. Backstreet. #figureskating #prevagenuschamps
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 AM
Wildly off topic…but I want to express my gratitude for every single ice dance team who didn’t use the Backstreet Boys as part of their rhythm dance music this season. I have my Backstreet moments I guess but So. Much. Backstreet. #figureskating #prevagenuschamps
Reposted by Chhaya Kapadia
64 days in Chicago: The story of Operation Midway Blitz. Our team fanned out to cover the before, during and after of the federal government’s months-long raid on an American city. This is worth your time to understand the United States today
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...
64 days in Chicago: The story of Operation Midway Blitz
President Donald Trump’s federal immigration enforcement operation led to most surreal autumn in Chicago history. What happened during those 64 days will be remembered for a long time.
www.chicagotribune.com
December 28, 2025 at 2:20 PM
64 days in Chicago: The story of Operation Midway Blitz. Our team fanned out to cover the before, during and after of the federal government’s months-long raid on an American city. This is worth your time to understand the United States today
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...
Reposted by Chhaya Kapadia
“Within days, Claudius had given away nearly all its inventory for free—including a PlayStation 5 it had been talked into buying for “marketing purposes.” It ordered a live fish. It offered to buy stun guns, pepper spray, cigarettes and underwear.”
We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars.
An AI agent ran a snack operation in the WSJ newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish—and taught us lessons about the future of AI.
www.wsj.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:43 AM
“Within days, Claudius had given away nearly all its inventory for free—including a PlayStation 5 it had been talked into buying for “marketing purposes.” It ordered a live fish. It offered to buy stun guns, pepper spray, cigarettes and underwear.”
A good explanation from @meredithmeredith.bsky.social on why AI agents present a risk to our privacy, our security (hello, encryption back door), and the future of encrypted comms tools like @signal.org. Hopefully these are all things we can agree on over the Thanksgiving weekend!
Signal’s Meredith Whittaker on AI hype and the end of privacy by POLITICO Tech
megaphone.link
November 25, 2025 at 6:32 PM
A good explanation from @meredithmeredith.bsky.social on why AI agents present a risk to our privacy, our security (hello, encryption back door), and the future of encrypted comms tools like @signal.org. Hopefully these are all things we can agree on over the Thanksgiving weekend!
Reposted by Chhaya Kapadia
Love this on the power of listening and being heard. Alyssa is one of the very best.
www.notus.org/perspectives...
www.notus.org/perspectives...
The Washington Post Got 21,000 Emails After It Didn't Endorse. I Read Them All.
Reading and editing letters gave me a theory about what is wrong with America — and how it could be fixed.
www.notus.org
November 8, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Love this on the power of listening and being heard. Alyssa is one of the very best.
www.notus.org/perspectives...
www.notus.org/perspectives...
We need to know how much our internet bill is going to cost so we can manage our budgets, and that's what the broadband nutrition label tells us. Yet the FCC is considering chipping away at it. Tell 'em what you think under “Proceeding 22-2,” choose “Express Reply” here: www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/...
November 6, 2025 at 10:02 PM
We need to know how much our internet bill is going to cost so we can manage our budgets, and that's what the broadband nutrition label tells us. Yet the FCC is considering chipping away at it. Tell 'em what you think under “Proceeding 22-2,” choose “Express Reply” here: www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/...
Reposted by Chhaya Kapadia
New America in the news:
1️⃣ @kevincarey1.bsky.social for @usatoday.com https://bit.ly/3XaeGj4
2️⃣ @ehaspel.bsky.social for @theguardian.com https://bit.ly/4qPiAvy
3️⃣ @chhayakapadia.bsky.social in @washingtonpost.com https://wapo.st/4omP4eH
1️⃣ @kevincarey1.bsky.social for @usatoday.com https://bit.ly/3XaeGj4
2️⃣ @ehaspel.bsky.social for @theguardian.com https://bit.ly/4qPiAvy
3️⃣ @chhayakapadia.bsky.social in @washingtonpost.com https://wapo.st/4omP4eH
November 6, 2025 at 8:49 PM
New America in the news:
1️⃣ @kevincarey1.bsky.social for @usatoday.com https://bit.ly/3XaeGj4
2️⃣ @ehaspel.bsky.social for @theguardian.com https://bit.ly/4qPiAvy
3️⃣ @chhayakapadia.bsky.social in @washingtonpost.com https://wapo.st/4omP4eH
1️⃣ @kevincarey1.bsky.social for @usatoday.com https://bit.ly/3XaeGj4
2️⃣ @ehaspel.bsky.social for @theguardian.com https://bit.ly/4qPiAvy
3️⃣ @chhayakapadia.bsky.social in @washingtonpost.com https://wapo.st/4omP4eH
Divali 2025: late but not ignored. Biryani, lapsi (sorta Gujarati bulgar pudding), candles for light to banish the darkness, a gin and tonic to make the darkness easier to manage, and a playoff baseball game that will make someone’s baseball dreams might come true. #divali #lightoverdarkness
October 21, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Divali 2025: late but not ignored. Biryani, lapsi (sorta Gujarati bulgar pudding), candles for light to banish the darkness, a gin and tonic to make the darkness easier to manage, and a playoff baseball game that will make someone’s baseball dreams might come true. #divali #lightoverdarkness
Reposted by Chhaya Kapadia
Special #BannedBooksWeek edition of the @projectcensored.bsky.social show with Youth Honorary Chair Iris Mogul, ALA President @samhelmick.bsky.social, and Lee Rowland from @ncacensorship.bsky.social.
https://www.projectcensored.org/banned-books-week-censorship-1984/
https://www.projectcensored.org/banned-books-week-censorship-1984/
Banned Books Week: Censorship Is So 1984, Read For Your Rights!
Celebrate Banned Books Week with voices defending the freedom to read and the fight against censorship on the Project Censored Show.
www.projectcensored.org
October 7, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Special #BannedBooksWeek edition of the @projectcensored.bsky.social show with Youth Honorary Chair Iris Mogul, ALA President @samhelmick.bsky.social, and Lee Rowland from @ncacensorship.bsky.social.
https://www.projectcensored.org/banned-books-week-censorship-1984/
https://www.projectcensored.org/banned-books-week-censorship-1984/
Glad to see more on the risks of an AI bubble. Yes, and...will lack of value to people be what slows the AI train enough to let public interest & human rights impacts (finally) catch up to the tech? Or do open source AI models (see: DeepSeek) demonstrate VC $$$$ aren't nec to build AI for all uses?
Regulations that ensure appropriate AI safety and governance serve to protect fundamental rights and the public interest, but also make good economic sense by tempering unsustainable market valuations, writes Tech Policy Press contributing editor Amber Sinha.
The AI Deregulation Agenda Has Helped Create an AI Bubble and May Hasten a Crash | TechPolicy.Press
Digital deregulation may exacerbate risks to the market from unregulated artificial intelligence products and services, writes Amber Sinha.
buff.ly
September 10, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Glad to see more on the risks of an AI bubble. Yes, and...will lack of value to people be what slows the AI train enough to let public interest & human rights impacts (finally) catch up to the tech? Or do open source AI models (see: DeepSeek) demonstrate VC $$$$ aren't nec to build AI for all uses?
Enjoying today’s OTI’s 15th anniversary event today, and looking forward to a great discussion with OTI’s former and current leaders @saschameinrath.bsky.social @abdavidson.bsky.social @bankston.bsky.social @lcoral.bsky.social and Sarah Morris.
🎊 Today's the day! 🎊 We're celebrating OTI's 15th anniversary with a community of advocates, researchers, organizers & innovators. They're joining us for timely conversations around the future of tech policy.
Don't miss the livestream of #OTIat15: events.newamerica.org/opentechnolo...
Don't miss the livestream of #OTIat15: events.newamerica.org/opentechnolo...
September 9, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Enjoying today’s OTI’s 15th anniversary event today, and looking forward to a great discussion with OTI’s former and current leaders @saschameinrath.bsky.social @abdavidson.bsky.social @bankston.bsky.social @lcoral.bsky.social and Sarah Morris.
Reposted by Chhaya Kapadia
FABBS is hiring a short-term Tech Policy Fellow to focus on behavioral science and AI (link below). Share with early career policy wonks
@ilpfoundry.bsky.social @asa-scipol.bsky.social @scipolguy.bsky.social @abankston.bsky.social @matthourihan.bsky.social @snapcoalition.bsky.social #scipoljobs
@ilpfoundry.bsky.social @asa-scipol.bsky.social @scipolguy.bsky.social @abankston.bsky.social @matthourihan.bsky.social @snapcoalition.bsky.social #scipoljobs
August 27, 2025 at 12:01 AM
FABBS is hiring a short-term Tech Policy Fellow to focus on behavioral science and AI (link below). Share with early career policy wonks
@ilpfoundry.bsky.social @asa-scipol.bsky.social @scipolguy.bsky.social @abankston.bsky.social @matthourihan.bsky.social @snapcoalition.bsky.social #scipoljobs
@ilpfoundry.bsky.social @asa-scipol.bsky.social @scipolguy.bsky.social @abankston.bsky.social @matthourihan.bsky.social @snapcoalition.bsky.social #scipoljobs
I just gave to support @51st.news and you should too if you can.
National news is important but local news coverage is how you learn about the stuff that impacts your day to day living, which is even more valuable, so I’m glad to support.
National news is important but local news coverage is how you learn about the stuff that impacts your day to day living, which is even more valuable, so I’m glad to support.
Three days remain to hit the goal in our campaign to hire @maustermuhle.bsky.social full-time.
We know there's a ways to go, but with less than half left to raise...we could reach it easy peasy if each person who donated asked one friend to give too. givebutter.com/SsQ8CG
We know there's a ways to go, but with less than half left to raise...we could reach it easy peasy if each person who donated asked one friend to give too. givebutter.com/SsQ8CG
Time to Grow The 51st
Help us hire Christina and Martin Full-Time!
givebutter.com
August 7, 2025 at 12:49 AM
I just gave to support @51st.news and you should too if you can.
National news is important but local news coverage is how you learn about the stuff that impacts your day to day living, which is even more valuable, so I’m glad to support.
National news is important but local news coverage is how you learn about the stuff that impacts your day to day living, which is even more valuable, so I’m glad to support.
“The societal benefit of a comprehensive guide to the cultural sector can’t be readily calculated on a balance sheet.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
This was me too, and the ground level awareness of what was out there to see and do was so eye-opening for me.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
This was me too, and the ground level awareness of what was out there to see and do was so eye-opening for me.
A Love Letter to Music Listings
Publications like Time Out New York were my bible and my road map.
www.theatlantic.com
August 3, 2025 at 5:38 PM
“The societal benefit of a comprehensive guide to the cultural sector can’t be readily calculated on a balance sheet.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
This was me too, and the ground level awareness of what was out there to see and do was so eye-opening for me.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
This was me too, and the ground level awareness of what was out there to see and do was so eye-opening for me.
If we really want to "win the global race to AI," it makes no sense to toss out gov't goals for faster speed and decide it doesn't matter whether people can afford their internet bills. Speed/service goals matter if you want people to use AI...as does being able to pay your internet bill.
FCC to eliminate gigabit speed goal and scrap analysis of broadband prices
Analysis of broadband affordability deemed “extraneous” by FCC chair.
arstechnica.com
July 22, 2025 at 6:22 PM
If we really want to "win the global race to AI," it makes no sense to toss out gov't goals for faster speed and decide it doesn't matter whether people can afford their internet bills. Speed/service goals matter if you want people to use AI...as does being able to pay your internet bill.
Reposted by Chhaya Kapadia
DHS is urging law enforcement to treat even skateboarding and livestreaming as signs of violent intent during a protest, turning everyday behavior into a pretext for police action. www.wired.com/story/dhs-te...
Skateboards and Livestreams: DHS Tells Police That Common Protest Activities Are ‘Violent Tactics’
DHS is urging law enforcement to treat even skateboarding and livestreaming as signs of violent intent during a protest, turning everyday behavior into a pretext for police action.
www.wired.com
July 10, 2025 at 10:06 PM
DHS is urging law enforcement to treat even skateboarding and livestreaming as signs of violent intent during a protest, turning everyday behavior into a pretext for police action. www.wired.com/story/dhs-te...
I haven’t read Judge Alsup’s AI #fairuse case yet [she adds to stack/tabs], BUT noting that “training AI” makes it sound like it’s a person learning how to write by reading lots of books, to which they add their own thought and life experiences to create something original. /1
June 26, 2025 at 10:37 PM
I haven’t read Judge Alsup’s AI #fairuse case yet [she adds to stack/tabs], BUT noting that “training AI” makes it sound like it’s a person learning how to write by reading lots of books, to which they add their own thought and life experiences to create something original. /1
Here's how much of my personal data DOGE has access to. The results aren’t pretty. Take the quiz yourself now to discover how much of your sensitive info is now exposed. (And props to my colleagues at @techanddemocracy.newamerica.org!) #HandsOffMyData dogequiz.newamerica.org/share/?share...
Quiz: What Does DOGE Know About You?
The Department of Government Efficiency has unauthorized access to millions of Americans' data. Take New America's quiz to see how much of your data is at risk.
dogequiz.newamerica.org
June 25, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Here's how much of my personal data DOGE has access to. The results aren’t pretty. Take the quiz yourself now to discover how much of your sensitive info is now exposed. (And props to my colleagues at @techanddemocracy.newamerica.org!) #HandsOffMyData dogequiz.newamerica.org/share/?share...