danah boyd

danah boyd

@zephoria.bsky.social

STS researcher who likes to look at things sideways. Founded Data & Society. Topics: Census | Youth | Data | Society Professor of Communication, Cornell https://made-not-found-by-danah-boyd.ghost.io

36.4K followers657 following438 posts

danah boyd reposted

Center for Democracy & Technology
@cdt.org

Kids are finding ways around social media bans. But as CDT’s @aliyabhatia.bsky.social & @mluria.bsky.social, alongside @zephoria.bsky.social, write in MIT Tech Review that’s a signal these policies aren’t working, not a reason to tighten restrictions.

technologyreview.comKids are outsmarting social media bans. That’s not a problem we need to solve.Age gates can be staggeringly counterproductive, pushing kids to darker corners of the web. Closing loopholes will only make things worse.
danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

Do govt bans on social media actually help youth? Probably not. Worse, they basically advertise social media as "cool" just when teens are over it. Do teens who want to access these services find ways around it? You betcha. Here are a few thoughts: www.technologyreview.com/2026/10/16/1...

technologyreview.comKids are outsmarting social media bans. That’s not a problem we need to solve.Age gates can be staggeringly counterproductive, pushing kids to darker corners of the web. Closing loopholes will only make things worse.

danah boyd reposted

EmilyTav
@emilytav.bsky.social

Everyone should read @zephoria.bsky.social’s new book — it’s a story about how the census survived the last wave of attacks. press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

press.uchicago.eduData Are Made, Not FoundAn eye-opening story of the people who make the census, the United States’ largest and most consequential dataset, and the growing threats to their crucial work. By many measures, the US census is the...
Taniel@taniel.bsky.social

NEW: Trump wants to transform the 2030 census in ways that'd dramatically skew representation. So we asked you to send us your questions. And we invited an expert on the census, who just published a new book interviewing 100s of census workers, to answer you. I learned a ton reading her replies:

boltsmag.orgTrump's Attempts to Control the Census: Your Questions Answered - BoltsThe Trump administration plans to upend the census. They’re proposing to exclude noncitizens from the count that determines the distribution of congressional seats, a move that would subtract politica...

danah boyd reposted

Amanda Katz
@katzish.bsky.social

The Trump admin is trying to knock out whole categories of info in the 2030 census and make residence rules that shift population numbers to the south. This Q&A w/ @zephoria.bsky.social is very revealing about the urgency of mobilizing in 2026 to stop it www.porchpartynews.com/p/why-the-us...

porchpartynews.comWhy the US Census is on the brinkResearcher danah boyd watched heroic civil servants pull off the 2020 census amid a global pandemic. But the 2030 count is in peril—and she says the time to save it is now.

danah boyd reposted

Amanda Katz
@katzish.bsky.social

Replying to @katzish.bsky.social

As @zephoria.bsky.social points out in this interview, people think of the 2030 census as taking place all in 2030, but that's wrong—the Congress we elect NEXT MONTH will really be the one making major operational decisions. So be sure you're set to vote! www.porchpartynews.com/p/why-the-us...

porchpartynews.comWhy the US Census is on the brinkResearcher danah boyd watched heroic civil servants pull off the 2020 census amid a global pandemic. But the 2030 count is in peril—and she says the time to save it is now.
danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

I got to honor civil servants & census geeks during the 1st week of book tour. At @politicsprose.bsky.social, I asked all who worked on the 2020 census to stand up. The majority of the room did. The look of gratitude on Al Fontenot's face was priceless. I was teary eyed. Democracy takes a village.

danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

It's the end of an era. The Social Media Collective is shutting down. Thanks to everyone who was a part of this crazy endeavor, but especially @nancybaym.bsky.social, Tarleton Gillespie, and @marylgray.bsky.social. I adore you all! socialmediacollective.org/2026/09/23/s...

socialmediacollective.orgThe Social Media Collective Comes to a CloseIt is with both celebration and sadness that we announce that the Social Media Collective, our research team of critical, humanistic social sciences at Microsoft Research’s New England lab, is comi…

danah boyd reposted

American Sociological Association
@asanews.bsky.social

ASA member danah boyd @zephoria.bsky.social observed and interviewed 100s of government civil servants to learn what it took for the Census Bureau to create the 2020 census amid a global pandemic, natural disasters, and challenging political forces. @uchicagopress.bsky.social

bit.lyData Are Made, Not FoundAn eye-opening story of the people who make the census, the United States’ largest and most consequential dataset, and the growing threats to their crucial work. By many measures, the US census is the government’s largest non-wartime operation, and one of the world’s oldest and biggest data-making endeavors. The 2020 census required more than a decade of planning and technical work—not to mention managing nearly a quarter of a million temporary workers simultaneously—to collect data about the American public. That data was then processed to count each of 331,449,281 residents once—and only once—and in the right place. The operation is also one of the country’s most consequential. Census data determine how political power and federal funding are allocated. Census data make politics, and consequently, politics make census data. In this urgent book, danah boyd explores what it took for the Census Bureau to make the 2020 census, amidst a global pandemic and natural disasters, and while navigating political forces that constrained the budget, micro-managed the schedule, and attacked statisticians’ methods. With rare insider access to the Census Bureau, boyd observed and interviewed hundreds of government civil servants who made the 2020 census. By documenting the perspectives of government workers, Data Are Made, Not Found provides a rare glimpse into what it takes to make democracy’s data. Each chapter reveals a different challenge—ranging from the last-minute fights about a citizenship question to the not-so-helpful help of well-intended stakeholders to avoid undercounts—and shows how civil servants responded to each problem, controversy, and hurdle. Boyd shows how many of the challenges that the Census Bureau faced in 2020 resulted from decades of political operatives, data users, and various stakeholders playing what boyd calls “Jenga politics,” weakening the administrative state for short-term political gains by removing support and adding more requirements. Civil servants saved the 2020 census, but future censuses—and other data-making efforts related to elections, health, and the economy—are precarious. Boyd’s message is clear and compelling: protecting democracy means protecting the people and institutions that produce this data.
danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

Want to see how Dan Bouk plays virtual Jenga? I do. Join Dan, Janet Haven, and I for a virtual discussion on protecting democracy's data on WEDNESDAY September 23 at 1PM ET. datasociety.net/news-events/...

datasociety.netProtecting Democracy's Data - Data & SocietyJoin us as professor, researcher, and Data & Society founder danah boyd discusses her new book and its implications with historian and author Dan Bouk, in a conversation moderated by Data & Society Ex...

danah boyd reposted

Kate Devlin
@drkatedevlin.bsky.social

Us for years: "tech companies should be more responsible" Tech for years: "move fast and break things!" Tech now: "someone please stop us" Us now: "we've been asking you to be more responsible for years" The media now: "why are you criticising these tech guys they are so scared and afraid?"

danah boyd reposted

Craig Newmark
@craignewmark.bsky.social

danah's the real deal!

danah boyd@zephoria.bsky.social

"Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the US Census" comes out in one month! Please pre-order the book if you can (or ask your library for a copy). You can choose French or English, audio, e-book, or hardcover.

danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

Experts from academia and civil society regularly work for govt agencies for short periods to help them succeed. But Trump2 went further, installing partisan operatives to conduct projects to venerate the president. They're undermining the legitimacy of the agencies. www.wired.com/story/a-trum...

wired.comThe Census Bureau Is Overrun With Staffers From a MAGA Think TankThe US Census is home to vast troves of sensitive data on nearly every person living in the country, which is used for apportioning and drawing congressional districts as well as allocating federal fu...

danah boyd reposted

Alexander Howard
@digiphile.bsky.social

As @zephoria.bsky.social writes, “Every important decision about the 2030 census is about to take place NOW.” @whitehouse-47.bsky.social ordered the U.S. Census Bureau to violate the Constitution. Differential privacy abandoned. Critical data delayed. Appointees posted bogus report. Pay attention!

made-not-found-by-danah-boyd.ghost.ioToday's Census News is a Big Dealtl;dr: "American democracy depends on the census. Trump is undermining it" is my new op-ed at the Guardian. Check it out! For census geeks, this summer has been one eeeek after another. Planks of the...
danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

Many politicians are obsessed with the idea that non-citizens vote. The reality is often more complicated. Did you know that American Samoans have a US passport and yet cannot vote or run for office?

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social

Meaningful news earlier today. Many of you read and reacted to this story earlier this year on this Samoan woman in Alaska who was being prosecuted for voting alongside many in her family. A judge tossed her case today—a huge win, if just a first step in her story.

boltsmag.orgAmericans by Name, Punished for Believing It - BoltsIn a small Alaska town, American Samoans face prosecution for voting in the only country they’ve ever known. They live in a limbo, created by colonial expansion, that now confuses even public official...
danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

As I pass by half-mast flags in rural PA, i keep being floored by how universal the love for Dolly Parton was. If anyone needs a delicious book to read, I can’t say enough nice things about “She Come by It Natural” by @sarahsmarsh.bsky.social sarahsmarsh.com/she-come-by-...

sarahsmarsh.comSHE COME BY IT NATURAL: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her SongsInfused with Sarah Smarsh’s trademark insight, intelligence, and humanity, She Come By It Natural is a sympathetic tribute to the icon Dolly Parton and—call it whatever you like—the organic feminism s...
danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

"Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the US Census" comes out in one month! Please pre-order the book if you can (or ask your library for a copy). You can choose French or English, audio, e-book, or hardcover.

danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

In case you have questions….

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social

NEW: We invited the author of a brand new book on the Census to answer questions from our Bolts readers. So now we want to hear from you: What do you want to know about the inner workings of the Census? About how politics shapes it, & how it shapes politics? Let us know!

boltsmag.orgHow the Census Shapes Politics: Send Us Your Questions - BoltsNews broke this month that the Trump administration is working on a plan to order the Census Bureau to exclude undocumented people in 2030, a move President Trump already pushed... Read More
danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

Cynthia Dwork & other privacy experts show why Trump Admin’s politically motivated decision to prevent the Census Bureau from using the best methods to protect confidentiality will end up with worse quality data, less publicly available data, and/or a privacy breach. scottaaronson.blog?p=9902

scottaaronson.blogAn American privacy emergency: Guest post from Cynthia Dwork et al.Scott’s foreword: Cynthia Dwork is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard, and a pioneer in the fields of differential privacy and algorithmic fairness. On my recent travels to…

danah boyd reposted

Hansi Lo Wang (he/him)
@hansilowang.bsky.social

NEW: Researchers & data advocates @apduorg.bsky.social, @copafs.bsky.social, @icpsr.bsky.social, @popassocamerica.bsky.social call for the Trump admin to rescind a ban on “noise infusion” as a way to protect people’s privacy in Census Bureau statistics or allow for public input before data changes

copafs.orgAPC, APDU, COPAFS, ICPSR, and PAA Statement on Commerce’s Disclosure Avoidance for Statistical Products – Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics
danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

My 25th anniversary OII talk mixes old tech, political economy, and new US-based focus group data about youth/AI (in collab with Project Vibes). (Hint: teens' simultaneous use and HATRED of AI....) It's a fun one, so check it out: www.oii.ox.ac.uk/news-events/...

oii.ox.ac.ukOII | OII 25th Anniversary Public Lecture. Dreaming of a Networked World: Reflections on the Political Economy of the InternetIn this talk, danah will weave through internet pasts, presents, and future to shed light on the good, bad, and ugly so that we may leverage our knowledge of what happened in pursuit of a more just an...
danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

I have a new book coming out this fall and now I’m getting SLAMMED with GenAI invitations to join their book community (for a fee of course). I doubt I’m alone. But what I can’t work out is how the economy of these pay-to-play networks is working. Has anyone investigated? Curious minds want to know.

danah boyd
@zephoria.bsky.social

In "Reckoning with the Political Economy of AI," @cyberlyra.bsky.social, Ben Shestakofsky, Alex Taylor, and I are particularly keen to understand how the project of AI involves numerous "decoys" that misdirect critics' attention, undermining efforts to hold AI to account. arxiv.org/abs/2604.16106

arxiv.orgReckoning with the Political Economy of AI: Avoiding Decoys in Pursuit of AccountabilityThe Project of AI is a world-building endeavor, wherein those who fund and develop AI systems both operate through and seek to sustain networks of power and wealth. As they expand their access to reso...

danah boyd reposted

Janet Vertesi
@cyberlyra.bsky.social

🔥🔥 talk at @princetoncitp.bsky.social on the #politicaleconomy of #AI, turning #safety and #regulation into decoys, and how to see the new market-making strategies of monopoly. Joint work with @zephoria.bsky.social, Alex Taylor and Ben Shestakovsky. #academicsky www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7ju...

youtube.comCITP Seminar:Janet Vertesi - Where Fairness Fails: How to Confront Material Political Economy of AIYouTube video by CITP Princeton