David Sullivan
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davidsullivan.bsky.social
David Sullivan
@davidsullivan.bsky.social
3.2K followers 1.1K following 500 posts
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
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davidsullivan.bsky.social
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
davidsullivan.bsky.social
per Anu Bradford
screenshot from anu bradford article available here: https://www.promarket.org/2024/12/11/the-false-choice-between-digital-regulation-and-innovation/
January 18, 2026 at 10:37 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
The usual suspects will still find a way to benefit...
Ad for IBM digital sovereignty offering
January 18, 2026 at 10:33 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
Tim Wu literally doing "it's time for same game theory" on the other site 🫠
screenshot from X/twitter post by Tim Wu discussing game theory and the trump administration
January 8, 2026 at 4:03 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
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
clip of Boston Herald op-ed by Charlotte Willner and David Sullivan, "Visa misstep will help predators, scammers" available at https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/12/19/willner-and-sullivan-visa-misstep-will-help-predators-scammers/
December 22, 2025 at 5:09 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
All of the copyright experts are here in Boulder today, with @pamelasamuelson.bsky.social giving a treatise on disruptive tech, copyright, and genAI
Pamela Samuelson giving a keynote at Silicon Flatironz Wide shot of Pamela Samuelson and a slide
November 7, 2025 at 4:58 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
This was a fun conversation, thanks @kevintfrazier.bsky.social for having me on the pod!

There's a real chance for mutual gains when responsible AI and T&S folks work together to focus on safer products.
predator handshake meme: trust and safety + responsible AI = product safety
October 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
Here we go at #TSRConf, with @dwillner.bsky.social taking on the @mmasnick.bsky.social impossibility theorem!
Dave Wilner presenting at Stanford
September 25, 2025 at 3:46 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
Day 2 at #TrustCon underway, with Kenya Fairley from Bumble reflecting on parallels between T&S and the movement against gender based violence.
Panel discussion at TrustCon 2025
July 22, 2025 at 4:51 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
Very proud to have the Safe Framework (ISO/IEC 25388) on the #trustcon board of projects among so many other initiatives I greatly admire!
Slide from trustcon keynote with T&S projects, podcasts, journals, etc
July 21, 2025 at 4:53 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
#TrustCon2025 kicking off with a barn burner of a speech from @charlottewillner.bsky.social
Charlotte Wilner speaks at TrustCon Charlotte Wilner speaks at TrustCon
July 21, 2025 at 4:14 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
#IGF2025 opening ceremony kicking off
Very large screen that says IGF Norway
June 24, 2025 at 9:03 AM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
I’m no aviation geek, but I am pretty excited to fly on this chonk plane today. #a380
Lufthansa Airbus a380 at a gate in Denver
June 22, 2025 at 9:18 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
The #Boulder Daily Camera needs to work on its headline writing. FFS.
Headline says Boulder hosts antisemitism summit, should have said a summit against antisemitism
June 10, 2025 at 1:56 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
we need this chart, but for the MAGA/broligarchy
a very confusing chart about the factions fighting in Syria from 2014. see https://archive.thinkprogress.org/why-the-middle-east-is-now-a-giant-warzone-in-one-terrifying-chart-b2b22768d952/
June 6, 2025 at 2:33 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
Hail picking up in Boulder #cowx
May 18, 2025 at 9:11 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
time for some belated #volcano posting from Sunday's visit to Kīlauea
May 14, 2025 at 8:10 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
If you, like me, got turned on to Spier and Mackay menswear by @dieworkwear.bsky.social, tariffs just got real!!!
screenshot showing a $761.60 tariff charge on a $448 sportcoat
April 30, 2025 at 8:40 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
So this is something I'm excited about that arrived in the mail this week...
Cover of Volume 2023, Issue 1 of the Colorado Technology Law Journal First page of the article, A Portfolio Approach to Trusted Intermediaries for Online Content and Conduct
April 25, 2025 at 6:18 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
Hello, NYC!
Lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn from out the window of a plane
April 22, 2025 at 6:35 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
Wow #Boulder #HandsOff protest spanned nearly 1.5 miles. Huge turnout!
Screenshot from maps showing the distance from the south Boulder Whole Foods to 27th Way, all filled with protesters today.
April 5, 2025 at 9:42 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
There’s no widely agreed definition of human intelligence either, says Harry Surden opening the #SiliconFlatirons conference on AI and autonomous systems.
Harry Surden presenting at CU law school
March 7, 2025 at 4:13 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
#Boulder folks, avoid the Table Mesa area
Screenshot from twitter of Boulder Police Dept post with shelter in place shaded area that includes South 40th and 41st streets between Table Mesa and Martin Dr. Text from post: We have issued a shelter in place to this shaded area. We have also activated SWAT to take an armed male into custody. Please avoid the area. This is connected to the initial incident on the @CUBoulder campus
February 24, 2025 at 11:11 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
some of the public comments so far are pretty good, which i attribute to @aricohn.com's entreaty for folks to weigh in.

my favorite:
The idea of treating social media moderation as an "unfair" practice is, um, ridiculous? The right to free speech isn't the right for anyone to want to listen to you. If people start yelling expletives in a Wendys, we ask them to leave. If they stay, we call the cops. Quietly moderating/banning them is far more polite than that, and probably more polite than they deserve.
February 20, 2025 at 10:46 PM
davidsullivan.bsky.social
The GNI Principles and Implementation Guidelines are meant for tech companies dealing with government demands that infringe on human rights.

They might also be helpful for government employees dealing with repressive government demands! In particular:

globalnetworkinitiative.org/implementati...
excerpt from the GNI implementation guidelines: 3.2 When required to restrict communications, or remove content, or to provide personal information to government authorities, participating companies will: a. Require that governments follow established domestic legal processes when they are seeking to (1) restrict freedom of expression or (2) access personal information. b. Request clear written communications from the government that explain the legal basis for government restrictions to freedom of expression and government demands for personal information, including the name of the requesting government entity and the name, title, and signature of the authorized official. Application Guidance: Written demands are preferable, although it is recognized that there are certain circumstances, such as where the law permits verbal demands and in emergency situations, when communications will be oral rather than written. c. Keep — where the law permits verbal demands and in emergency situations, when communications will be oral rather than written — records of these demands. d. Interpret government restrictions and demands so as to minimize the negative effect on freedom of expression. e. Narrowly interpret and implement government demands that compromise privacy. f. Narrowly interpret the governmental authority’s jurisdiction so as to minimize the negative effect on freedom of expression. g. Narrowly interpret the governmental authority’s jurisdiction to access personal information, such as limiting compliance to users within that country.
February 6, 2025 at 10:28 PM