Across the Field

Policymakers and advocates need stronger methods to challenge automated decisions.

We seek to lay a strong foundation to challenge automated decisions across our issues. We look for structural opportunities to improve how governments and companies measure racial disparities, and to support advocates by expanding both legal protections and access to the information necessary to produce independent analyses. This work also includes detailed investigations into specific platforms, such as Facebook’s role in driving discrimination using targeted online advertising.

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Imperfect Inferences: A Practical Assessment

Aaron Rieke, Mingwei Hsu, Vincent Southerland, and Dan Svirsky

Our empirical assessment of racial inference methodologies, using self-reported demographic information from Uber riders.

Latest work in this issue area

All work in this issue area

Proposals for the Biden Administration to Address Technology’s Role in Discrimination

We sent a letter urging the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy to fully incorporate the Biden administration’s commitment to racial equity into its AI and technology priorities.

Harlan Yu, Aaron Rieke, and Natasha Duarte

Comments on OSTP's Biometrics Technologies RFI

We submitted comments in response to the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s request for information on public and private sector uses of biometric technologies.

Emily Paul and Harlan Yu

Amicus Brief in Muslim Advocates v. Zuckerberg et. al.

Together with other amici, we argue that Facebook is governed by the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, even though it does not charge its users a cash price.

Aaron Rieke and Natasha Duarte

Amicus Brief in Henderson v. Source for Public Data

This amicus brief urges the Fourth Circuit to preserve critical and longstanding obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act that require consumer reporting agencies to ensure the accuracy of records used to make decisions about people’s access to housing, employment, credit, and other basic needs.

Aaron Rieke, Natasha Duarte, Urmila Janardan, and Logan Koepke

Selected press and events

WIRED Facebook’s Ad System Might Be Hard-Coded for Discrimination

WIRED covers Upturn’s research on how Facebook’s ad delivery system may perpetuate bias.

The Verge Facebook’s ad delivery could be inherently discriminatory, researchers say

Coverage from The Verge on Upturn’s research into how Facebook’s ad system can skew delivery outcomes.

Economist Facebook’s ad system seems to discriminate by race and gender

The Economist covers Upturn’s research on Facebook’s seemingly discriminatory ad system.

Reuters Facebook's ads system leans on stereotypes for housing, job ads: study

“Facebook’s algorithms, which match marketing messages with viewers, leans on stereotypes when it comes to housing and jobs, according to [Upturn’s empirical work].”