algorithmic accountability

Europe names 19 platforms that must report algorithmic risks under DSA

The European Union has confirmed the names of over a dozen platforms that will face the strictest level of regulation under its recently rebooted and expanded e-commerce rules, aka the Digital Service

Europe spins up AI research hub to apply accountability rules on Big Tech

As the European Union gears up to enforce a major reboot of its digital rulebook in a matter of months, a new dedicated research unit is being spun up to support oversight of large platforms under the

Gig platform report calls for transparency to fix abuse

A not-for-profit set up by a former Uber driver who successfully challenged the ride-hailing giant’s misclassification of drivers’ employment status in the U.K. has published a timely repo

Uber faces legal action over ‘racially discriminatory’ facial recognition ID checks

Ride-hailing giant Uber is facing a legal challenge over its use of real-time facial recognition technology in a driver and courier identity check system that it uses in the U.K. The App Drivers &

Italy’s DPA fines Glovo-owned Foodinho $3M, orders changes to algorithmic management of riders

Algorithmic management of gig workers has landed Glovo-owned, on-demand delivery firm Foodinho in trouble in Italy where the country’s data protection authority issued a €2.6 million penalty (

Dutch court rejects Uber drivers’ ‘robo-firing’ charge but tells Ola to explain algo-deductions

Uber has had a good result against litigation in the Netherlands, where its European business is headquartered, that had alleged it uses algorithms to terminate drivers — but which the court has

Italian court rules against ‘discriminatory’ Deliveroo rider-ranking algorithm

A court in Italy has dealt a blow to unalloyed algorithmic management after a legal challenge brought by three unions. The Bologna court ruled that a reputational-ranking algorithm used by on-demand f

Big tech’s ‘blackbox’ algorithms face regulatory oversight under EU plan

Major Internet platforms will be required to open up their algorithms to regulatory oversight under proposals European lawmakers are set to introduce next month. In a speech today Commission EVP Margr

Uber’s ‘robo-firing’ of drivers targeted in latest European lawsuit

Uber is facing another legal challenge in Europe related to algorithmic decision making. The App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) filed a case, yesterday, with a court in the Netherlands seeking to

Twitter may let users choose how to crop image previews after bias scrutiny

In an interesting development in the wake of a bias controversy over its cropping algorithm, Twitter has said it’s considering giving users decision-making power over how tweet previews look, sa

UK commits to redesign visa streaming algorithm after challenge to ‘racist’ tool

The U.K. government is suspending the use of an algorithm used to stream visa applications after concerns were raised the technology bakes in unconscious bias and racism. The tool had been the target

UK Uber drivers are taking the algorithm to court

A group of U.K. Uber drivers has launched a legal challenge against the company’s subsidiary in the Netherlands. The complaints relate to access to personal data and algorithmic accountability.

The damage of defaults

Apple popped out a new pair of AirPods this week. The design looks exactly like the old pair of AirPods. Which means I’m never going to use them because Apple’s bulbous earbuds don’t

Instagram’s Adam Mosseri to meet UK health secretary over suicide content concerns

The still fresh-in-post boss of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, has been asked to meet the UK’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, to discuss the social media platform’s handling of content that pro

Watch Google CEO Sundar Pichai testify in Congress — on bias, China and more

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has managed to avoid the public political grillings that have come for tech leaders at Facebook and Twitter this year. But not today. Today he will be in front of the House Ju

Applied gets $2M to make hiring fairer — using algorithms, not AI

London-based startup Applied has bagged £1.5M (~$2M) in seed funding for a fresh, diversity-sensitive approach to recruitment that deconstructs and reworks the traditional CV-bound process, drawing o

IBM launches cloud tool to detect AI bias and explain automated decisions

IBM has launched a software service that scans AI systems as they work in order to detect bias and provide explanations for the automated decisions being made — a degree of transparency that may

How (and how not) to fix AI

While artificial intelligence was once heralded as the key to unlocking a new era of economic prosperity, policymakers today face a wave of calls to ensure AI is fair, ethical and safe.

Why self-regulation is better than legislative regulation

Self-imposed third-party algorithm audits should become the norm to prevent overly restrictive government regulations.

In the public sector, algorithms need a conscience

In a recent MIT Technology Review article, author Virginia Eubanks discusses her book Automating Inequality. In it, she argues that the poor are the testing ground for new technology that increases i
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