← Feed

Posts

• View post

  My main fedi account is now @thenexusofprivacy@gotosocial.thenexus.today ... that said only about half of my followers migrated there, so I'm going to reactive this and will boost posts from here (and check notifications) at least for a while.

• View post

  I'm in the process of migrating my account to @thenexusofprivacy@gotosocial.thenexus.today ... wish me luck! And, apologies in advance if I don't reply to you any notifications here. I'll try to check back from time to time.

• View post

  RE: https://mastodon.social/@Sarahp/116976112778021574 What's up on Bluesky? Oh they're just evolving their "AI-assistant" into an "open social research" tool that rummages through your data to help people perform "Quests". At some level, whatever, it's all public and there are already plenty of "AI" tools rummaging through the data there. Still, it'll be very interesting to see if they honor the opt-out flags about "AI" usage....

• View post

  Oh a lot more than 4 cities in WA -- Skamania County, Olympia, Mountlake Terrace. Redmond, Lynnwood, Edmonds, and Mount Vernon have all turned cameras off and in some cases even cancelled their contracts. That ACLU piece is great, one of the people giving public comment in Redmond read a bunch of excerpts from it. @yolo@defcon.social

• View post

  @yolo@defcon.social Totally agree that it shows the momentum (and it turns out that it's four -- there's discussion in Auburn too). And not just in Washington, it's happening across the country. Also agreed on how deliberatiely misleading "licence plate reader" is. The most effective arguments here in Washington are that the mass surveillance of these AI-enabled ALPR cameras puts people at risk, especially immigrants. Also especially LGBTQIOA2S+ people, people seeking...

• View post

  Flock is on the agenda this week at the Renton, Issaquah, and Redmond city councils! Washington state continues to be one of the leaders in the fight against Flock and other ALPRs ("automated license plate readers", which despite their name actually also allow law enforcement to search for cars based on their color, make, or what bumper stickers are on them). https://thenexusofprivacy.net/flock-is-on-the-agenda-this-week-at-the-renton-issaquah-and-redmond-city-councils/ #flock #su...

• View post

  RE: https://cosocial.ca/@mhoye/116935907960319144 Great thread!

• View post

  Aha, @fight@mastodon.fightforthefuture.org also has an action on STOP CSAM and it looks great when shared. The intro can similarly be tweaked to make sure it mentions the NDAA. https://www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/defend-encryption-say-no-to-stop-csam/

• View post

  🚨 The STOP CSAM Act has been attached to the NDAA 🚨 Shenanigans! The NDAA is a "must-pass" bill, so this is an attempt to sneak STOP CSAM through without a vote on it. Still, it's far from over; Senate Democrats blocked this version of the NDAA for other reasons, so there may still be a chance to strip things out. And, once the Senate passes something, there will be cross-chamber negotiations. EFF's Oppose STOP CSAM: Protecting Kids Shouldn’t Mean Breaking the Tools Th...

• View post

  👀 Punchbowl News is reporting that Senate Commerce is looking at July 29 for a "kids and AI" markup -- likely to include KOSA as well as Cruz' chatbot bill and perhaps some other AI bills. The date isn't finalized yet, so keep your eyes peeled! (Via Ben Brody on Xitter) #KOSA #AI #privacy #USpol

• View post

  N things you can do today to fight bad internet bills across the world (1/N) Say NO to bills that surveil and censor the internet, say YES to privacy and free expression! Here's a page with links to actions if you're in the EU, US, and Canada. https://fighting-bad-interenet-bills.leaflet.pub/3mpw5ytbvxk2x #privacy #surveillance #ChatControl #KOSA

• View post

  Unfortunately the House passed the KIDS Act (including their version of KOSA) 267-117 today. Senate KOSA supporters say that the House version is dead on arrival in the Senate, because it doesn't have a duty of care ... but digital rights organizers say the Senate version is at least as bad as the House. So hopefully the House and Senate won't be able to come to agreement on anything. Fierce activism killed KOSA when they tried to sneak it through late in the year in 2022 and 2024...

• View post

  Solidarity over surveillance: The time is now to rein in the surveillance state https://thenexusofprivacy.net/solidarity-over-surveillance/ #surveillance #privacy #activism

• View post

  RE: https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@EUCommission/116766280029168108 "W Social" is launching their beta today today, following Eurosky as another European AT Protocol based Bluesky-compatible platform. W's distinctiveness is that it requires identity verification, using the separate "W identity" app that "scans your passport or national identity card and verifies you directly on your own device." Unsurprisingly, W has a lot of backing from EU power struct...

• View post

  1000%. https://infosec.exchange/@thenexusofprivacy/115744566383286139 touches on some of the same points - including the need for vigilance. As things worked out Fedi was just a positioning spin and contingency plan for them. That said they were clearly hoping it would be more an accelerator in some way or they wouldn't have dumped the resources into it that they did ... and if it seemed like they were really making progress they would have invested more. The fierce and high-profile resi...

• View post

  "We are planning to publish a feature explainer detailing our decisions (for example, how to let users control if they want to be included in a Starter Pack) in the coming weeks ..." 👀 -- and really glad to hear you're thinking about that! Bluesky's failure to provide that control has really been a problem. FYI @onepict@chaos.social -- Mastodon thinking about consent, gotta like that! @MastodonEngineering@mastodon.social

• View post

  UPDATE: the amendment failed! Thanks everybody who boosted and called. Here's an update. ..... In the usual FISA last-minute drama, Republicans dropped an amendment in the middle of the night and are scheduling the vote almost immediately. The reports I'm seeing are that the final vote potentially in a couple of hours (2:15 am eastern). The amendment has a fake warrant requirement; The Brennan Center's analysis says it actually broadens the use of FISA for criminal cases. And...

• View post

  Acorn, a platform for growing and managing communities on decentralized infrastructure -- new from Blacksky! https://blackskyweb.xyz/introducing-acorn-community-infrastructure-that-grows-with-you/ "It started, as most things do at Blacksky, with moderation." There's so much to like about Blacksky that this aspect doesn't always get the attention it should, but think about it: how many other social networks have started with a focus on moderation, as opposed to initially ign...

• View post

  RE: https://mastodon.social/@eff/116286171180527753 Really exciting news: Nicole Ozer is EFF's new Executive Director!

• View post

  Here;s Digital Defense Fund’s Abortion Privacy Guide, created with the input of abortion workers, legal experts, digisec experts, and patients. DDF's materials are always extremely high quality and this is no exception! There's also a Canva version available with QR codes to download signal and instructions on how to erase your digital history. #abortion #privacy

• View post

  Mastodon and today's fediverse are unsafe by design and unsafe by default – and instance blocking is a blunt but powerful safety tool Part 1 of "Golden opportunities for the fediverse – and whatever comes next" https://privacy.thenexus.today/unsafe-by-design-and-unsafe-by-default/ Over the course of this multi-part series, I'll discuss Mastodon and the fediverse's long-standing problems with abuse and harassment; the strengths and weaknesses of curre...