Public Policy @DuckDuckGo. Used to spend too much time thinking about my privacy, and then gave most of it away on whatever this platform is.
Joined March 2009
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Starting today I'll be working on public policy for @DuckDuckGo. I'm amped to get back into policyland on the side of a company dedicated to building a more private internet. I've been away from tech policy for a bit, so this post also serves as an open request to get coffee!
Joseph Jerome retweeted
It is illegal for a company with market power force a buyer to purchase another product as a condition of obtaining the primary tying product, when it has a big impact on the market.
Like, Google making kids use AI in order to use search.
Tying is illegal. Talk to your AGs.
Breaking: Google will turn off web search for schools that opt out of A.I. for kids.
nytimes.com/2026/11/03/us/go…
Joseph Jerome retweeted
Wow. Google is going to block their search engine in schools if they don't use their AI.
Meanwhile DuckDuckGo lets you choose if you want AI in search or not. Here's how schools can make DuckDuckGo the default search engine: start.duckduckgo.com/duckduc…
Get in touch for help.
Schools choosing to restrict AI altogether will no longer be able to access Google Search, as AI features are now integrated into the search engine.
spr.ly/6012BHx8JK
Joseph Jerome retweeted
Most innovative company on the planet.
Google admits AI search makes less money, but it's fixing that with more ads arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026…
Joseph Jerome retweeted
We're proud to donate $1M to a diverse group of organizations around the world that promote privacy, digital rights, access to information online, and a healthier online ecosystem.
This is made possible through your support of DuckDuckGo, thank you! 🎉
spreadprivacy.com/2026-duckd…
Joseph Jerome retweeted
Google is the OG and patient zero of a/c priv abuse culture by Big Tech, but hats are next level
"A California federal judge ordered Meta on Tuesday to rereview privilege designations on 300 documents in social media addiction litigation, after plaintiffs' lawyers cited a 'culture of privilege abuse' epitomized by Instagram swag hats embroidered with 'a/c priv'"
From Law360: law360.com/articles/2528578
Continues to be astonishing to me that federal judges find violations of our competition laws, and then spend a year drafting remedies that do nothing to address the violations they find.
Joseph Jerome retweeted
1 in 3 AI users have told a chatbot something they kept from trusted people in their lives like a doctor or close friend.
We surveyed nearly 2,000 U.S. adults about AI privacy. The results suggest that people are sharing secrets with AI that Big Tech doesn’t keep.
All I can think of Daniel Day-Lewis saying “I drink your milkshake.” news.bloomberglaw.com/bankru…
Surprised this doesn’t suggest that Dems give these fine folks more data centers, as well.
Dems are gonna face an oversight choice if they take back a chamber of Congress: focus on Trump Admin, or on companies?
I get the interest in corporate oversight. The professional left remains invested in a "corporate villains" narrative (even if actual voters are less enamored of it). Unlike Trump, companies and CEOs will comply with subpoenas; easier for Dems to land clean punches on companies. Plenty of lobbyists/firms are pitching themselves are helping companies prepare for tough hearings/letters.
But - having thought about this a lot - I see three reasons why Dems should focus their oversight on the Trump Admin.
1. It's what midterm voters want. Midterm voters are way more pissed off about Trump corruption than they are about companies giving $ to the ballroom. The former is a major motivator of Dem midterm voters, while the latter is more of Beltway obsession.
2. It has a political benefit. A major goal of Dem congressional oversight should be to weaken JD Vance ahead of 2028; Admin-focused oversight does that. Company-focused oversight might feel like satisfying payback after the annoyance of seeing CEOs kiss the ring at Mar-A-Lago, but it has no clear partisan atmospheric benefit.
Consider: After Dems won the 2018 midterms, the Ways & Means committee started what became a two-year oversight push to release Trump's tax return. The ultimate release in 2022 benefited Dems against Trump. That's oversight w/ partisan benefit.
3. We Dems gotta learn from the Biden Admin mistakes. They went after tech, believing it was gonna be popular with working class voters. But then Harris lost both working class vote share AND the support of the Valley. My colleague @DaveV15 called this "lose-lose politics in his great retrospective (progresschamber.org/project/…).
Yesterday, @DuckDuckGo filed an amicus brief in Google’s absurd appeal that it isn’t a monopoly. We explain how Google’s actions harmed not just competition but also undermined people’s ability to protect their privacy.
Full brief and our blog about what this means for AI are here: spreadprivacy.com/google-app…
Joseph Jerome retweeted
Sen. @HawleyMO on surveillance pricing: "This is one of the biggest scams in American history [...] AI surveillance pricing is the unholy trinity of everything Americans hate: spying on people, ripping them off, and taking away jobs."
Joseph Jerome retweeted
NEW: OMI amicus brief argues Google should not be allowed to preserve its search monopoly through billions in payments that keep Google as the default search engine.
openmarketsinstitute.org/pub…
Joseph Jerome retweeted
🚨 Today, @publicknowledge filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in the landmark search case of U.S. v. @Google, urging the court to reaffirm the finding that Google had maintained an illegal monopoly in the search and search ad markets.
This isn’t true in the slightest, but also unsurprising the Chamber wouldn’t have heard the expression "Let the one without sin cast the first stone.”
I was out last week when this new thing ⬇️ launched, but it looks like at least 80% of @LittleTechOrg's members are just @ycombinator portfolio companies.
It's YC's portfolio, repackaged as a "trade association." Presumably YC is picking up the costs.
teapaw.org/LittleTechOrg/status/2…
Joseph Jerome retweeted
Congress agrees AI chatbots need guardrails for kids —but they very much do not agree on how. Policy Analyst Morgan Wilsmann breaks down why @SenMarkey's Youth AI Privacy Act is the right model:
Joseph Jerome retweeted
Resolving the privacy paradox gabrielweinberg.com/p/resolv…
Revealed preference arguments often have hidden flaws
Joseph Jerome retweeted
I'm also seeing an increasing trend of Big Tech firms labeling anything they don't like as "European," even when it is American legislation written by American members of Congress based on American antitrust principles and enforced by American courts.
Joseph Jerome retweeted
Google is a dangerous monopoly.
As Missouri AG, I sued Google for its illegal search monopoly and won the first-ever Big Tech antitrust case.
The D.C. judge gave Google a slap on the wrist. Now @SenAmyKlobuchar and I are filing the SEARCH Act to finish the job and impose order.
