Ben Winters
@benwinters
director of AI and privacy at Consumer Federation of America | teaching tech policy law/reg @udclaw | formerly EPIC (the privacy one not the bad ones), and DOJ Civil Rights division| ⚫️⚪️+🗽 | 🐦 🐿 | he/him contact: bwinters@consumerfed.org
they all have this same format — link/feature a product I was looking at (whether I was logged in or not), providing more recs, promoting BNPL and credit card products, and interestingly a claim that the prices will be valid for one week and vary by store
tiktok allowing a blatant scam ad to run where if you click anywhere like you would to even pause it, it takes you to a scam website - so many obvious and straight forward safeguards they could do, but nope - scams over safety
I just can’t imagine this nonsense, scammy ass email strategy feels worth it or is effective - should be embarassing, not even a zip code I live in lol
'such as “Spicy” Imagine Mode...Because these modes may be more irreverent and harsher...they present heightened risks, including reputational harm, the generation of potentially explicit content and misinformation or deceptive outputs, potential nonconsensual or exploitative imagery'
Thrilled to see Santa Clara County suing Meta over these scam ads on Facebook and IG thenextweb.com/news/santa-c...
this is...not what the headline is framing it to be this is not an about face or an increase in regulatory oversight -- probably just a way to make sure they're "not woke" and also see if maybe he can make money off it more directly
Here are just a few of the ads we show in the complaint -- and appreciate the tireless work of @ttp-updates.bsky.social and @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social @reuters.com which was incredibly useful in this effort. This doesnt replace the necessary work of regulators or legislators, but it is past time
NEW: we @consumerfed.bsky.social are suing Meta in DC for knowingly facilitating massive scam losses through ads and misleading consumers about what they're doing to stop it www.wired.com/story/meta-i... thanks to @tyckozavareei.bsky.social @techjusticelaw.bsky.social for repping us.
This story is wild, this man should be studied for how makes the worst looking choice at every single opportunity www.axios.com/2026/04/09/m... Also lol at the ad Meta is running right above it 🙃
sneaky + maddening surveillance pricing practices from Floor & Decor. same product, all labeled “clearance” in DC on normal safari: 6.20 safari private browser: 5.17 @duckduckgo.com 3.88 in VA regular safari: 6.20 VPN buffalo safari: 4.87 @dcattorneygeneral.bsky.social @councilofdc.bsky.social
we love to see one page bills prohibiting AI companies from advertising or representing their system can act as a qualified mental health prof shout out to TN for passing SB1580 and Gov Lee for signing it. straightforward, addresses real danger www.troutmanprivacy.com/2026/04/tenn...
64 orgs led by @consumerfed.bsky.social/@ultraviolet.bsky.social sent letters vehemently opposing Meta's plans to put facial rec into their already creepy glasses products thrilled to be joined by @aft.org, @publiccitizen.bsky.social @epic.org and many many more consumerfed.org/meta-rayban-...
why pay for a Super Bowl ad when you can just buy a newspaper, fire thousands of people, and make the stories advertisements for your creepy surveillance system
Published a quick-hit analysis of Trump's National AI Policy framework on my blog/newsletter from @consumerfed.bsky.social -- eyeonai.substack.com
Last week, the Consumer Federation of America published the Scam Economy report, showing that Americans lost an estimated $119 BILLION dollars in 2024, more than 7x the reported rate from the FBI. It's a devastating and almost unthinkable amount. Behind this number, there are millions of (1/2)
100% earnestly thought these were the please don’t destroy boys lmaoooo
to make matters worse, when i reported the same post with a different reason (bullying), it immediately worked.
it is genuinely hard not to sound all tinfoil hat, but Meta has famously boasted that reports of scams on their platforms has gone down it doesnt feel coincidental that multiple times recently there has been a mysterious error when reporting scams