David Sullivan
banner
davidsullivan.bsky.social
David Sullivan
@davidsullivan.bsky.social
Tech policy, human rights, trust & safety. Raised in Brooklyn, based in Boulder. @david_msullivan elsewhere. Posts auto delete.

I'm on Germ DM 🔑
https://ger.mx/A1Y8CYx9TUtTxirjHuY_ibg6kbSF7BF5inQ7c-04zOPv#did:plc:sqd3wsj7e6w6do6i26nn62r2
Pinned
I'm not used to seeing my byline in a tabloid, but nonetheless glad to see the Boston Herald publish our op-ed on State's stupid and counterproductive visa policy for trust and safety workers.

lnkd.in/g5_U7QvR
Heading to Europe for work and fun later this week.

I know January isn't exactly peak season for the Benelux, but damn if this seat map doesn't say something about the current state of transatlantic relations...
January 19, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Stop whatever you're doing and read @farzdusa.bsky.social rejoinder to "digital sovereignty" at @futurefreespeech.org's Bedrock Principle:
How Digital Sovereignty Will Lead to The Slow and Fast Erosion of The Internet
Sovereignty is not a synonym for autonomy; it is instead the uncompromising authority to impose a single will upon others.
www.bedrockprinciple.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Reposted by David Sullivan
What I appreciate most about @dwillner.bsky.social and @samidh.bsky.social is their tendency towards action. A very timely labeler and prompt to detect non consensual intimate imagery (NCII) solicitation:

zentropi.ai/labelers/eb6...
Zentropi - Build Custom Content Labelers Instantly
zentropi.ai
January 13, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by David Sullivan
I have an op-ed in the NYT today about the Grok scandal, sharing my research from last year finding that legal risk hinders AI companies from making their models safer against CSAM - an echo of the years where white-hat hackers were chilled from good-faith research. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/o...
Opinion | There’s One Easy Solution to the A.I. Porn Problem
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by David Sullivan
Poland's President vetoed the implementing legislation for the DSA there?!?

The DSA is a Regulation, not a Directive. So in principle it applies anyway. But Member States are still supposed to do things like designate a national level regulator (a DSC).

Big h/t to @jeczjan.bsky.social on this one!
Polish president aligns with Trump to block Brussels’ Big Tech law
Nawrocki called EU social media law “Orwellian,” echoing Washington’s main line of attack.
www.politico.eu
January 10, 2026 at 12:20 AM
tiny deer energy
BIG FIGHT AT POLAND’S WROCLAW ZOO!!!
January 9, 2026 at 9:46 PM
I may be a huge nerd, but I love the bingo card podcast organizing structure from the first Ctrl-Alt-Speech of 2026!

@mmasnick.bsky.social, did you guys come up with this or adapt it from others?
Ctrl-Alt-Speech Podcast
The latest news in online speech, from Techdirt's Mike Masnick and Everything in Moderation's Ben Whitelaw
ctrlaltspeech.com
January 9, 2026 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by David Sullivan
As of 18:45 UTC (10:15 PM local), traffic to Iran has stopped as the country has completely severed itself from the global internet.
January 8, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by David Sullivan
Having trouble doing anything else, so had to write out how fucking angry I am about what happened yesterday and how the MAGA world is trying to rewrite the story.
January 8, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by David Sullivan
4 pieces of good news today:

1) Hochul and Mamdani are working on free pre-K
2) Tish James got a SECOND Trump makebelieve US Attorney DQed
3) 9 Republicans backed Jeffries' ACA subsidies discharge petition
4) 5 Republicans voted for cloture Kaines' WPR prohibiting more invasion in VZ
January 8, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Tim Wu literally doing "it's time for same game theory" on the other site 🫠
January 8, 2026 at 4:03 PM
America withdraws from the Freedom Online Coalition (among many other intl orgs) putting itself firmly on the side of lack of freedom online www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United
www.whitehouse.gov
January 8, 2026 at 2:40 AM
Reposted by David Sullivan
Wrote about the State Department's made up censorial rationale for banning visas for some folks based on their speech. It's nonsense.

www.ms.now/opinion/marc...
Opinion | Marco Rubio is using real censorship to fight fake censorship
Mike Masnick: In the name of protecting free speech, the U.S. government just banned five Europeans from entering the country because it doesn’t like their speech.
www.ms.now
December 27, 2025 at 5:40 PM
i've been wondering about this: what % of drivers genuinely think it's ok to drive around with their brights on perpetually?
It’s been a minute since I drove at night and I am now radicalized about fucking LED HEADLIGHTS
December 26, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Reposted by David Sullivan
Good news; a judge has blocked the detention of a technology researcher that the State Department had slated to deport.

However, this is just the start of what will certainly be a longer-term challenge. What can we do about this? A thread.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/u...
Judge Blocks Detention of British Researcher Who Scrutinizes Online Hate
www.nytimes.com
December 26, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by David Sullivan
A small (personal) example of this book’s intellectual dishonesty:

My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.

Huh? When did I say that?!
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by David Sullivan
BREAKING: Supreme Court DENIES Trump’s emergency appeal to send National Guard troops into Illinois against the wishes of local officials

Apparent 6-3 ruling with Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch in dissent @courthousenews.bsky.social
December 23, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Reposted by David Sullivan
Fire is estimated to be about one acre in size and slowly spreading.

Winds are decreasing in the area and humidity is increasing. Hope that helps firefighters get a handle on this.

#COwx
Wild Turkey Fire near Crisman (Boulder County) is prompting evacuations in the area highlighted below, via Watch Duty.

#COwx
December 23, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Reposted by David Sullivan
🔥 🚨 NEW WILDFIRE EVAC IN BOULDER COUNTY: Wildfire occurring in the area of In the Area of 519 Wild Turkey Trail in Fourmile Canyon. Use Evening Star Road for Evacuations. Avoid Wild Turkey Trail. #wildturkeyfire #cofire
December 23, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Reposted by David Sullivan
I'm not used to seeing my byline in a tabloid, but nonetheless glad to see the Boston Herald publish our op-ed on State's stupid and counterproductive visa policy for trust and safety workers.

lnkd.in/g5_U7QvR
December 22, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Speaking as someone with a modest follower account here and there, who strictly uses X to disseminate work stuff:

The same post that got amplified by a big account and has racked up a healthy amount of reposts and likes here has gotten (checks notes)...

...9 views on X

bsky.app/profile/davi...
Honestly sick of people telling me they "have to" stay on X "for the reach."

"It's where the people I need to reach are." No, it's not. You can bring them here.

"The people I want to follow are there." You can bring them here too.

Lots of other people have. You can too.
This has always been a Bluesky-first campaign. But as of today, we will no longer be using Twitter. At all.

And I'm calling on other candidates to follow suit.
December 22, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I'm not used to seeing my byline in a tabloid, but nonetheless glad to see the Boston Herald publish our op-ed on State's stupid and counterproductive visa policy for trust and safety workers.

lnkd.in/g5_U7QvR
December 22, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Excellent and incisive overview of the dilemmas and tradeoffs posed by online age restrictions, from @joanbarata.bsky.social

www.techpolicy.press/the-age-of-a...
The Age of Age Restrictions Poses Policy Dilemmas for Kids Online Safety | TechPolicy.Press
The adoption of legal and regulatory frameworks around children's online safety must strike a proper balance, Joan Barata writes.
www.techpolicy.press
December 22, 2025 at 4:41 PM
seems to me like a good first step to making America great would be getting a Waffle House somewhere in between Denver and KC on 70
December 22, 2025 at 2:53 PM