Welcome, fellow travelers! There’s a lot happening lately, at Rally and beyond, and we wanted to share some real-world developments that our users’ data donations made possible.
In late April, just after we launched this newsletter, our friends at The Markup — an award-winning nonprofit newsroom specializing in data-driven journalism — launched the first in a series of stories made possible by the Facebook Pixel Hunt, a partnership powered by the data-sharing tools we’re building here at Rally.
And just last Wednesday, members of the U.S. Congress — responding directly to that Markup story — sent a sharply worded letter to a member of President Biden’s Cabinet, insisting that his department explain what’s been going on.
| From Mozilla and the team at Rally, this is the second edition of Rally Round. It’s a newsletter for the community we’re building here — a community rooted in the idea that data about people and their digital lives should benefit those people, not just the big-tech players who know how to mine it. Right Out of the Gate, An Eye-Opening Story Welcome, fellow travelers! There’s a lot happening lately, at Rally and beyond, and we wanted to share some real-world developments that our users’ data donations made possible. In late April, just after we launched this newsletter, our friends at The Markup — an award-winning nonprofit newsroom specializing in data-driven journalism — launched the first in a series of stories made possible by the Facebook Pixel Hunt, a partnership powered by the data-sharing tools we’re building here at Rally. And just last Wednesday, members of the U.S. Congress — responding directly to that Markup story — sent a sharply worded letter to a member of President Biden’s Cabinet, insisting that his department explain what’s been going on. |
| Now, it’s always exciting when good old-fashioned reporting turns up a story. When the story involves a government agency and nonconsensual data collection, it’s maybe less exciting than alarming. And when the story is that the Department of Education’s FAFSA website has been sending students’ data to Meta — Facebook’s parent company — without asking the students or their parents? That’s downright disturbing. The background: Most everybody who applies for college financial aid has to use FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. And many of those millions of annual applicants are minors.Yet as The Markup discovered using user-donated data from Rally, FAFSA applicants’ names, email addresses and ZIP codes were being shipped to Facebook until recently via a bit of code called the Meta Pixel. The gory details are in The Markup’s main story and its sidebar on methodology. (One reason we trust The Markup as a partner: They always show their work.) Bottom line, for me: It is terrifying to recognize that knowingly or not, data collected from prospective students (many of them minors) was being sent to places they did not agree to. How that happened, and who knew what, when, is for another story. But as illustrated by the reactions to The Markup’s reporting — including a stern official response from high-ranking members of the House and Senate education committees — the ability to change things starts with knowing what is going on.One potential change model that the Rally team is exploring, one we’re deeply excited about, is this: What happens if we ask? What happens if we set up a marketplace that centers consent? And we mean real consent. Not “Check a box after a long TOS statement where you can’t use the product if you don’t say ‘Yes.’” An entirely voluntary process where you understand what’s happening from the beginning.Data collection is part of everyday life. And it’s been set up so haphazardly and accelerated so rapidly that even the people collecting your data don’t always seem to be sure what they’re doing with what they’ve grabbed.Among those working to create better options, Rally isn’t one of the larger players —yet. But with your help, we helped make a real impact in a pretty short time. We’re just getting started, but we’re already getting things done.— Sydette |
We Need To Talk
No really: When we describe Rally as being grounded in consent and community, we’re not playing. We want your input as we continue to build and evolve Rally’s platform and products, because we want Rally to work for you. If you’d be down to chat with the team about topics like data, privacy, and the products we’re putting together, please fill out this form and we’ll be in touch!
The Rally Crew Is Reading
Being a regular roundup of reportage, explainers, and occasional curiosities that catch the attention of the folks working to build the Rally platform and community (and others in the wider Mozilla flotilla).
> This series on how AI is fueling a new digital colonialism,covering everything from privatized surveillance-state issues in South Africa to gig-worker solidarity among ride-hailing drivers in Indonesia. – Amulya Aradhyula, Rally User Researcher (San Francisco Bay Area)
> This fascinating explainer from Cory Doctorow on how the opacity of content-moderation algorithms complicates the lives — and threatens the livelihoods — of content creators everywhere. (And how some creators are using tech to fight back.) – Kim Bryant, Rally Head of Operations (Washington, D.C.)
> This groundbreaking documentary about the baked-in biases that make an increasingly AI-driven world such a potentially perilous place. Heads-up: There’s a free first-anniversary watch party and talkback scheduled for this Friday, May 20. – Sydette Harry, Rally Communications, Content, and Community