Tech Policy Blog
The Tech Policy Blog features students and staff writing based on tech policy-related events at Duke, coursework, lab research, and/or global news. Blog posts are a reflection of the author's viewpoints and not a reflection of the Tech Policy Program, Sanford School of Public Policy, or Duke University.
AI’s Unique Threat to Musicians
A New Type of Music Industry Over the past 15 years, the music industry has shifted toward music streaming, away from individual music purchases. This has given rise to a handful of oversized conglomerates. Music streaming accounts for 84% of all music revenue. Spotify, Apple, and Amazon control 90% of music streaming. The streaming model…
Spotify is Paying Musicians Poverty Wages. Why are Antitrust Laws Protecting Them?
Imagine you’re a vocalist. Since you were a young child, you spent countless nights rehearsing to sing your heart out every Sunday for the church choir. You always knew singing was your passion, and now you’re finally at an age where you can make your musical dreams come true. You want to record your first…
Duke University Tech Policy Lab Announces New Supply Chain Project
The global technology supply chain is becoming more complex, interdependent, and interconnected every year. Whether software on mobile phones, hardware and firmware used in critical infrastructure, or semiconductors powering cloud computing and the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI), technology components are routinely sourced from and then used around the world. The components and applications…
Twitter’s Potential Engagement with Data Brokers
In December 2022, after Elon Musk dissolved Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council, concern grew about Twitter restructuring its content moderation and data usage policy. Due to the concern over the lack of transparency into Twitter’s protection of data, I thought that it was pertinent to better understand the company’s Privacy Policy. When describing who Twitter…
Fortune 500 Companies’ Selling and Sharing of Employee Data
Many companies report their employee data to data brokers who manage employment records, conduct background checks, and calculate credit scores. Sharing employee data is often assumed to be a standard procedure, but there is little transparency over how this process happens and what information is reported. The need for transparency is increased by the fact…
Examining TikTok’s Potential Engagement With Data Brokers
TikTok’s Privacy Policy states: “We may collect information about you from third-party services, such as advertising partners, data providers, and analytics providers.” This line suggests that not only does TikTok collect information about users through the application, it may also buy or acquire information about users from third parties, including data brokers. (“Data providers” appears…
Credit Reporting Agencies Don’t Just Report Credit Scores
The United States has three primary credit reporting agencies, which provide information on individuals’ bill payment history, loans, and other financial activity to prospective lenders, banks, and other institutions. These companies are Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. As credit reporting agencies, they are governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a piece of legislation that…
This Court Case You’ve Never Heard of Directly Impacts Your Sensitive Data
Data breaches are so frequent today that we hardly bat an eye when one breaks the news. Credit cards, Social Security numbers, addresses, and other types of personally identifiable information are routinely stolen-or even leaked because of poor security practices-oftentimes affecting thousands, if not millions, of people simultaneously. Class action litigation has been a common…
Data Brokers and Data Breaches
Data brokers-companies that collect, infer, and buy people’s information and then sell, license, and otherwise share or monetize it-have given people’s information, without their full knowledge and consent, to a range of buyers. Banks, health insurance companies, prospective employers, predatory lenders, law enforcement agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of…
Examining Data Broker Equifax’s Relationships with Millions of Employers
Equifax is one of the largest data brokers in the United States. In 2021, according to its report to investors, Equifax made $4.923 billion, a 19% increase over 2020. The company’s data brokerage offerings are wide-ranging: for example, Equifax advertises that it has gathered a large amount of data on individuals, including data on 45%…