$375m

Dear Citizens,

Some big news out of New Mexico, where Meta was ordered to pay a cool $375m over child safety violations, and out of California, where another jury found the company liable for intentionally addicting a young woman and harming her mental health. Sure, they just wasted $80b on their now-shuttered Metaverse, but this is huge—juries are finding that Meta misled consumers about the safety of its platforms, enabling sexual exploitation of young users and hooking people on dangerous algorithms. A massive week, and some long-overdue accountability.

Here’s what else to know, watch and do this week.

🗳️ ONE READ: AI Storms the Midterms 🗳️

How is AI upending politics? In the United States, scholars Nathan Sanders and Bruce Schneier say AI is sparking a ‘populist uprising’ that could upend the 2026 election. From their essay in The Guardian -

Populism versus institutionalism is a better way to frame this debate in the context of US politics … This frame is shattered by Trump’s AI order, which unabashedly serves economic elites at the expense of populist consumer protections. It is part of an ongoing courting process between Maga and big tech, where the Trump political project sacrifices the interests of consumers and its populist credentials as it cozies up to tech moguls.

👉 Read the whole piece here.

(And another read here on the anti-AI uprising in Chile, the Philippines and more.)

👉 Bonus read: Not everyone is laughing at the aforementioned shuttering of Meta’s “Horizon World.” From 404 Media … “The way they have behaved here is profoundly harmful and I would deem it a type of psychological torture from corporate neglect.”

🇨🇳 ONE WATCH: AI Isn’t All Bad… 🇨🇳

An AI-generated cartoon about the US-Iran conflict produced by Chinese state media? Don’t mind if we do!

✈️ ONE ACTION: De-ICEing ✈️

ICE is now cosplaying airport security across the United States. Have someone traveling who could be at risk? Here are some pointers and a community guide.

And speaking of which… the next “No Kings” in the US is March 28th - that’s this weekend! Let’s get out there, Citizens!

That’s all for this week,
Team Citizens

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