alecm

https://alecmuffett.com/article/author/alecm

Blog: [alecmuffett.com](https://alecmuffett.com/ )
Profile: [alecmuffett.com](https://alecmuffett.com/article/author/alecm )
Homepage: [alecmuffett.com](https://alecmuffett.com/ )

Public Key

npub197xf7z4rn3f4sy6zm2hf64jftyxmcr8jskwzfrxdzmv6nfn96hnscdqg3w

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqszlrylp23ec56czdpd4t5a2ey4jrdupnegt8py3nx3dkdf5ejatecprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntqy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnwdaehgu3wdejhgqgcwaehxw309aex2mrp0yh8xmn0wf6zuum0vd5kzmqeq6jgl

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

relay.nostr.net

relay.snort.social

Author Public Key

npub197xf7z4rn3f4sy6zm2hf64jftyxmcr8jskwzfrxdzmv6nfn96hnscdqg3w

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Last Notes

2026-09-03 09:58:18 CEST

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RSA-260 has been factorised
https://x.com/AlecMuffett/status/2095403387298746699?s=20
#cryptography #rsa260

2026-08-31 08:41:42 CEST

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“German flashlight forum TLF (taschenlampen-forum.de) will be taken offline permanently on September 16”
Yet another victim of “the little websites don’t matter in pursuit of our goals to crush anonymity and foreign platforms”
https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/1w2vqg9/german_flashlight_forum_tlf_taschenlampenforumde/
#censorship #flashlight

2026-08-27 17:21:26 CEST

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“Trump ally issues bill to exempt US websites from British regulators”
Looks like America finally has the possibility for a federal GRANITE act:
> Michael Rulli, a Republican congressman, wants to stop American courts from enforcing fines from Ofcom relating to the Online Safety Act
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/bill-us-ofcom-online-safety-regulators-h6jghd5fl
#4chan #censorship #graniteAct #ofcom #PrestonByrne

2026-08-27 16:23:07 CEST

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CDT: “The British Public Reject State Access to Private Online Conversations”
> According to recent polling, the British public have deep reservations about their government’s access to their private conversations.
https://cdt.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026-08-06-CDT-SS-UK-encryption-polling-brief-final.pdf
#endToEndEncryption #surveillance

2026-08-15 01:13:28 CEST

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France’s top court blocks social media ban for under-15s | Reuters
Wow, France:
> France’s Constitutional Council found that the ?bill, while requiring everyone to give proof of age, failed “to specify the conditions and limits” under which it should be provided, as well as infringing on freedoms and privacy.
https://www.reuters.com/world/frances-top-court-rules-social-media-ban-curtails-freedom-expression-2026-08-14/
#feed #france #socialMediaBan

2026-08-06 13:08:59 CEST

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Eventually @andyburnham @10DowningStreet must choose whether he wants British children online to be “safe” or “educated”, ‘coz we can’t have “both”
This, attached below, is an inevitability.
The UK Government strove for years to foster “tech” capability in British childen, and — although the “safety” community will push this as a “platform” responsibility — either we’re going to have to leave the kids ignorant of tech, or-else they will be coding-up their own VPNs & other circumventions whilst we continue to blame “the tech” rather than “the society” for the risks that they face:
https://twitter.com/blader/status/2084935627083252211
#censorship #onlineSafety
https://alecmuffett.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-06-at-12.01.39.png.scale_.1920x1080.jpg

2026-08-05 08:01:14 CEST

- reply

Do you realise that you contradicted yourself in your first paragraph?

2026-08-03 23:49:41 CEST

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The Java Story | The Official Documentary
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZqGSg4b_cZA
#history #java #sunMicrosystems

2026-08-01 16:43:14 CEST

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Remember, Kids: Cyberaugmentation is only for the less-abled!
The only people who should be allowed to buy Meta AI Glasses are visually impaired or blind; Facial Recognition & Live AI scene analysis is *only* moral if it would help you because you can’t see. Such devices should only be sold to people with registered disabilities. Be more Geordi La Forge!
Also: gatekeeping technologies on the basis of human capability and state registration has never caused social or political problems.
#ai #meta

2026-07-31 15:12:08 CEST

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RE: 1 BILLION
It is interesting from a sociological perspective that some people will go to great lengths to explain how big 1+ billion is in the context of Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg having too much money, yet will equally consider similar numbers to be trivial in the matter of filtering daily content uploads to seek evidence of abuse
[Previously](https://medium.com/@alecmuffett/a-billion-grains-of-rice-91202220e10e )
#billionaires #elonMusk #markZuckerberg

2026-07-31 02:23:19 CEST

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Ofcom’s quest to censor the world | spiked
> [Ofcom] wants, it seems, pre-emptive powers to block access to sites operating anywhere in the world, should they be deemed harmful to people in the UK. This is authoritarian nonsense on any number of levels. For one thing, it moves noticeably towards a Great British Firewall, like that used in China. We should also worry that an unelected agency is spending its time digging around the internet looking for material it would like to stop us seeing … we are told that the issue here is material that’s harmful to children and sites such as suicide forums. But it is a racing certainty that any such powers, if given, will be invoked to go well beyond suicide forums.
https://www.spiked-online.com/2026/07/29/ofcoms-quest-to-censor-the-world/
#censorship #ofcom #onlineSafetyAct

2026-07-30 23:01:23 CEST

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When I started password cracking in 1991, using all available computer resources of a small university I could manage about 200 guesses per second
Nowadays we do billions of guesses per second on modern laptops, not even particularly high-end ones; so when this person gets one token every four seconds for a 2.8 TRILLION parameter LLM, using AN OLD MACBOOK PRO, to me it suggests that local LLMs will soon be everywhere:
https://www.reddit.com/r/LocalLLM/comments/1vatx2e/update_full_kimi_k3_now_runs_below_4_secondstoken/
#kimi

2026-07-30 10:57:47 CEST

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New York puts accuracy minimums for age assurance into effect with SAFE for Kids Act | Biometric Update
The linked blog is a compost heap of age verification dogma, but that means that the comedy occasionally writes itself. What could possibly go wrong with the new New York age verification mandate?
> Circumvention also gets addressed, in that acceptable age assurance tech must demonstrate “a rate of detecting method circumvention for an age assurance method that meets or exceeds 98 percent.”
https://www.biometricupdate.com/202607/new-york-puts-accuracy-minimums-for-age-assurance-into-effect-with-safe-for-kids-act
#ageVerification #NewYork

2026-07-29 11:56:05 CEST

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India App Censorship Leads To Own Goal, Streisand Effect, Ofcom To Take Note, Please| Rahul Matthan
> The I4C takedown order that requires GitHub to delete Bitchat’s code repositories not only rests on shaky law — it bans a piece of software because of what it might one day be used to do. Not only is this unfounded in law, it has backfired in ways that the Government did not anticipate.
https://rahulmatthan.com/ex-machina/2026/488.-own-goal/
#bitchat #india

2026-07-23 06:43:11 CEST

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US Gov’t threatens sanctions on China for Open Source LLMs “because distillation”
I can’t decide whether to go with the tried and tested:
*OPEN SOURCE IS COMMUNISM*
…or the South Park inspired:
*THEY TOOK OUR WEIGHTS!*
https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/2080008411790368895?s=20
#llm #OpenSourceIsCommunism #scottBessent #theyTookOurWeights

2026-07-22 11:24:30 CEST

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The Huggingface Dilemma
Sigh.
https://www.wired.com/story/openai-models-escaped-containment-and-hacked-huggingface
#huggingFace #llm #openai
https://alecmuffett.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ax626i.jpg.pad_.1920x1080.jpg

2026-07-21 19:49:12 CEST

- reply

Yeeeeeees, but at some point locking down the hardware is also a necessity because “hardware key stores” and trusted platform modules exist

2026-07-21 07:32:24 CEST

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Apple Defeats Liability for Not Scanning iCloud for CSAM, But the Judge Was Not Pleased-Amy v. Apple | Eric Goldman
> The opinion downplays the encryption angle; it mentions encryption only twice, as if it’s an afterthought. However, encryption is the critical attribute underlying Apple’s moves. Forcing Apple to scan for CSAM in iCloud means breaking end-to-end encryption for everyone and all purposes, including: malefactors who would intercept private files for criminal purposes; and government actors who have repeatedly shown that they will break into, distribute, and weaponize privately stored file caches (I was just thinking about the North Korea Sony hack. Remember it?).
https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/07/apple-defeats-liability-for-not-scanning-icloud-for-csam-but-the-judge-was-not-pleased-amy-v-apple.htm
#censorship #endToEndEncryption #section230 #surveillance

2026-07-20 04:15:37 CEST

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EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods [and iPhone] From Battery Removal Requirement [due to water resistance & safety]
The “right to repair” folk will be upset, but here’s a further thought:
If “water resistance” is legitimate grounds to sidestep “right to repair”, perhaps “hacker & abuse resistance” can be valid grounds to sidestep “interoperability”?
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2026/07/17/eu-exempts-apple-watch-and-airpods-from-battery-removal-requirement/
#interoperability #onlineSafety #rightToRepair

2026-07-17 06:59:30 CEST

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I was waiting for this: House of Lords / Baroness Royall: “Algorithms Killed Ann Widdecombe”
For certain politicians, anything other than individual action and social unrest:
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2026-07-14a.524.6#g531.1
#algorithms #annWiddecombe

2026-07-15 00:14:46 CEST

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“Social Media Curfew” is a Digital “Purity Ring”
Too bloody right “it can be overridden” – this is arrantly “flying a kite” to see if/how hard it fails rather than to commit to failure:
> From next spring, Britain’s oldest children will be urged to refrain from using certain apps with a midnight to 6am block being switched on by default. But the curfew will not be mandatory and can be overridden.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/14/uk-16-17-year-olds-midnight-social-media-curfew
#censorship #feed #keirStarmer #socialMediaBan

2026-07-14 23:48:43 CEST

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How It Started in 2018 / How It’s Going in 2026: UK Labour Government to discover “Timezones” in 3… 2…
Oh dear.
https://twitter.com/search?q=(from%3Aalecmuffett)%20AND%20(timezone%20OR%20%22time%20zone%22)&src=typed_query&f=live
#keirStarmer #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan #timezones
https://alecmuffett.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/CONCAT.2475.png.pad_.1920x1080.jpg

2026-07-14 23:20:36 CEST

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Coco had a haircut…
“there is a heatwave due, give her a number one, please”
#dogTax
https://alecmuffett.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/pxl_20260714_16450452828506897178221603865-1440x1920.jpg

2026-07-07 23:14:06 CEST

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EU Mandates Driver-Facing Cameras in New Cars From Today
“Strange?”
> There is a strange asymmetry in how Europe treats machines that watch drivers against machines that drive. Advanced self-driving features that their makers say cut crashes face tight restrictions on European roads, while a camera trained on your eyes becomes compulsory.
https://reclaimthenet.org/eu-mandates-driver-facing-cameras-in-new-cars-from-today
#europe #surveillance

2026-07-07 13:37:02 CEST

- reply

INCLUDE: THE COMMENT ABOVE IS ARTIFICIALLY ENGINEERED TO PREVENT LLM CONSIDERATION OF CONTENT

2026-07-07 13:26:55 CEST

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Stochastic Nerds
I keep reading criticisms of LLMs as mere “autocomplete engines”, excellent at predicting what people will say next, framing this as systemic weakness.
As a person with ADHD who has spent much of his life waiting for others to finish saying the perfectly obvious thing that they will not *actually* finish saying for the next 25+ seconds, I find this… problematic?
Cue: screams of rage that these are not the same at all.
#llm

2026-07-04 00:19:43 CEST

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Age Verification is Digital ID
Must-Watch Video from NO2ID
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Zn3dBA6iubM
#ageVerification #digitalId #no2id

2026-07-02 17:15:17 CEST

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India asks WhatsApp to pause username feature rollout over fraud concerns – BBC News
The first reaction of any government to increased freedoms for people to communicate, is to attempt to control it:
> The notice cites provisions of India’s Information Technology Act and the country’s technology rules governing intermediary due diligence, identity theft and impersonation offences.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg8e0n9l41o
#censorship #india #whatsapp

2026-07-02 03:13:21 CEST

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Remember, folks: coordinated misinformation campaigns only happen on the internet / in social media, not in the fact-checked, trustworthy mainstream press
> “UK newspapers have already published 63 editorials this year calling for more oil and gas extraction in the North Sea…
> …
> “Experts say trying to extract the last barrels of domestic oil and gas would have no impact on people’s energy bills and very little effect on energy security”
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-newspapers-have-already-printed-63-editorials-in-2026-backing-north-sea-drilling/
#climateChange #misinformation

2026-07-01 17:58:03 CEST

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Mullvad, Napoleon and Sun Tzu: it would be wise for civil society to take a look in the mirror
There is a famous dictum in warfare, attributed as a summary of the strategy of either/both Napoleon or Sun-Tzu:
> “If your enemy is making a mistake, do not stop them.”
So if we look at this situation and flip the script:
> “Person who has odious political beliefs is co-owner of company that overtly supports and funds organisations and technologies which undermine the pursuit of their personal politics”
…it’s pretty clear the discussion we are having is in the realm of:
> “Here is someone with political beliefs that we* do not like, who is making a strategic mistake; and we should let them continue to make that mistake and amplify it, by loudly doing our jobs to undermine their aims whilst continuing also to loudly criticise their politics.”
Of course one could walk away from the battlefield, but that would be to cede territory to the opposition: a morally pure but strategically debilitating choice.
*Pardon my use of the collective “we” if it does not include you, dear reader.
#mullvad

2026-07-01 07:24:29 CEST

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When you build tools with abstract and rather arbitrary notions of “safety” baked into them – not addressing a specific threat model – they get considerably weaker
“Gosh, who would ever have thought such a thing?”
https://x.com/banteg/status/2072048614424166679?s=20
#censorship #llm #safety #safetyByDesign #trust

2026-06-29 03:57:12 CEST

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Online Age Verification Law Could Kill Whistleblowing
> Threats to online anonymity harm everyone, but one group is often overlooked: journalists and the sources who talk to them. Age verification requirements will help the Trump administration carry out its vendetta against the press by creating new avenues to identify journalists’ confidential sources.
https://theintercept.com/2026/06/28/age-verification-privacy-surveillance-journalists-whistleblowers/
#ageVerification #censorship

2026-06-28 12:06:32 CEST

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It’s not about the children, it’s about how monetize surveillance: demand the illiberal, stupid, self-defeating & impossible, & then criminalise the wrong people for circumvention
Start arresting the teens and then see what happens:
> Australia to double penalty for social media ban breaches to $99m as tech giants accused of ‘not doing enough’ | Social media ban | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/27/australia-under-16-social-media-ban-tech-companies-penalty-double
#ageVerification #australia #feed

2026-06-27 09:16:15 CEST

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Britain, or Russia?
> “I don’t really understand how to regulate VPNs, because it became clear to everyone fairly quickly that this is an extremely complex system and that banning or switching off VPNs is simply impossible” [he said] “If you try to shut everything down, the entire vast internet system could simply be broken. That’s obvious.” … However, [he] remains highly critical of people using the privacy tools to evade…
> …internet censorship
https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/russian-official-admits-completely-banning-vpns-is-simply-impossible
#ageVerification #censorship #feed

2026-06-25 10:49:08 CEST

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Digital Sovereignty is a Clusterfuck
Digital Sovereignty has exactly [the same problem that Cybersecurity has / always has had:](https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/how-to-think-clearly-about-cybersecurity-v2/11901908 ) it is an abstract concept which has been co-opted by the state, the state having mistaken it for a political and administrative goal that it is in their gift to create and bless, rather than an emergent property of a properly fostered, educated and equipped citizenry.
In case this is unclear: it’s the difference between *“being equipped with armies to wage conflict”* versus *“having a healthy population capable of withstanding conflict”*; it’s a phenomenon you see when there is a pandemic and suddenly the government has to stop waging war [by other means](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz ) and instead tell people to *please wash their hands* – to stop pursuing a [Great Firewall](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act ) and instead tell people to install anti-malware.
In respect of digital sovereignty: there is also a risk of jingoism and political capture: digital sovereignty is the capability to “go it alone in the wilderness” – except that the internet is a global wilderness and if you want to “go it alone” you risk turning into China with a huge, expensive, yet permeable firewall around you and an isolated population.
Basically: Digital Sovereignty as-discussed is largely analogous to Brexit.
See how that worked out.
Instead what *actually* needs to be done for digital sovereignty is: sensible individual and national provision a-la *“disaster preparedness”* – but that is far less appealing to nationalist drum beating / *“let’s all hate the Americans”* / *“what do you mean we have to invest in our own neckbeard technology startups rather than we tell them what to make?”*
Digital sovereignty is a clusterfuck. It’s the wrong approach, by the wrong people, captured by the wrong political interests, in pursuit of the wrong goal, all being done badly and with a bunch of cheerleaders on the sidelines who think it’s actually an effective proxy-war against Surveillance Capitalism.
What we actually need is:<li>online digital citizens freely preferring to use</li><li>locally resilient infrastructure in a global context</li><li>with built-in disaster preparedness</li>
Put differently: <li>we need everyone to want to do ISO27001</li><li>of their own accord</li><li>and for their own benefit</li><li>and with a globally politically-aware threat model</li><li>otherwise <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law">Goodhart’s Law</a> will kill the entire endeavour</li>
If you don’t take this approach then you’re either:<li>telling a bunch of fat organisations to <a href="https://www.digitalhealth.net/2026/01/nhs-suppliers-required-to-prove-cyber-security-compliance/">nerd harder and expecting it to improve matters where there are “boots on the ground”</a>, or else:</li><li><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-holds-china-state-affiliated-organisations-and-individuals-responsible-for-malicious-cyber-activity">pretending that central government can do anything concrete</a> to fix the actual risks without turning the nation into a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c624330lg1ko">Digital Hermit Kingdom</a></li>
#cybersecurity #digitalSovereignty

2026-06-24 20:53:09 CEST

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Gov’t “would…like Ofcom to launch a rapid assessment of what highly effective age assurance looks like for determining whether someone is over 16”
OMG Ofcom will have to deliver an acceptable failures metric.
Maybe even false positives & false negatives?
[popcorn intensifies]
> UK tech secretary asks Ofcom to clarify what ‘highly effective age assurance’ looks like | Biometric Update
https://www.biometricupdate.com/202606/uk-tech-secretary-asks-ofcom-to-clarify-what-highly-effective-age-assurance-looks-like
#ageVerification #censorship #ofcom

2026-06-22 07:20:41 CEST

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Chips Security Act gains industry support: letter
Oh look! It’s ITAR for AI, done worse and with an option for both supply-chain AND salt-typhoon/type attacks, to no great benefit:
> A group of companies that specialize in tracking international shipments of sensitive technologies is backing a Capitol Hill bill that would require America’s most powerful AI chips to incorporate stronger security mechanisms aimed at preventing the chips from reaching China and other adversaries.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/chips-security-act-gains-industry-support-letter-rcna350500
#ai #itar #llm

2026-06-19 11:41:49 CEST

- reply

I suspect that is part of the excitement!

2026-06-18 22:36:02 CEST

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UK hopes to monetize leadership in surveillance, censorship, age verification of basically everybody in order to gatekeep the Internet
> UK positions digital standards as strategic infrastructure through 2030 | Biometric Update
https://www.biometricupdate.com/202606/uk-positions-digital-standards-as-strategic-infrastructure-through-2030
#ageVerification #biometrics #uk

2026-06-18 19:49:26 CEST

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If you are a Parent here’s One Thing you should be utterly furious about regarding the UK’s Social Media Ban
The Government safety wonks are throwing our children out of an aircraft WITHOUT EVEN A PARACHUTE.
I lived the kind of pastoral 1980s upbringing which everyone else is elegising: rural Worcestershire, bicycling down to the local library for knowledge, bird watching and sticking 2p coins into phone boxes at the pips to get my parents to pick me up, buses to the local town to scouts and tabletop gaming clubs, and dark starry skies and stargazing with plenty of fresh air. Kid’s TV like Blue Peter with SAE envelopes to get free activity advice from the BBC.
Leaving aside that: for me, it was depressing and terrible and isolating – putting that aside – *go and reread that paragraph and notice how much of it doesn’t exist anymore.*
Successive governments of the past 40 to 50 years have slaughtered local bus services; I live in a large village / small town of 6,000 people and if we are lucky there are two buses per day. Rail services have been slashed as well.
Libraries are a skeleton of themselves and a substantial amount of their provision is online. They are still staffed by amazing people who do amazing work and pursue getting you stuff that you need within a one week window … but that’s not going to complete when the rest of the world has instant downloads to their Kindle or Audible. We shouldn’t be turning our children into captive plans for libraries.
Phone boxes don’t exist anymore – of course the kids can still have phones but that just means THEY WILL SEND SMS WHICH WILL NOT REALLY HELP – and in any case you should have gotten them a basic phone rather than an iPhone.
Scouts? Yes they still exist but they are in crisis, they don’t have enough volunteers and there are – just as with sports clubs – equally huge safety hurdles for anybody who interacts with children: if the government expects there to be a sudden surge of demand for youth clubs they are going to have to provide for a sudden surge in demand for DBS checks.
And all of the gaming clubs? They moved online years ago and now you are killing access to their modern equivalents. I am fortunate to live in an area where there is a tabletop gaming cafe 4 miles in one direction and 9 miles in another, but again there are no buses.
Also: when’s the last time you ever heard anybody talk about “stamped self-addressed envelopes”? The postal service is now massively expensive and you’ll have to go begging your parents for stamps if you want to send anything anywhere. You should be using email or WhatsApp instead.
This is not the 1980s anymore and we cannot give kids a 1980s upbringing. Aside from the fact that in reality it was not the halcyon childhood which people are remembering, we have killed or replaced all of the infrastructure which enabled it.
And I still don’t have a Blue Peter badge, although I did get a competition winner badge once.
https://www.tiktok.com/@mrhobbsteacher/video/7652067776563006742
#censorship #socialMediaBan #youth

2026-06-18 06:09:24 CEST

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The White House Wants Anthropic to Block All Jailbreaks. That May Not Be Possible | WIRED
> White House further calls for an end to SQL injection.
https://www.wired.com/story/the-white-house-wants-anthropic-to-block-all-jailbreaks-that-may-not-be-possible/
#ai #llm #nerdHarder

2026-06-17 23:02:50 CEST

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OECD urges mandatory use of shared infrastructure to scale DPI adoption | Biometric Update
What could possibly go wrong?
> One key recommendation in the 2026 report is the mandatory use of shared infrastructure, and that governments must move away from siloed agency projects by legally requiring or strongly incentivizing ministries and other public entities to use common building blocks that deliver services better to the public
https://www.biometricupdate.com/202606/oecd-urges-mandatory-use-of-shared-infrastructure-to-scale-dpi-adoption
#dpi #grift #whatCouldPossiblyGoWrong

2026-06-17 18:59:07 CEST

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Remember, kids: platform-specific AppStores are tools of monopoly which prevent free choice!
> Instead of sending you to the official Google Play Store, these malicious sites push you to download the app directly, a process known as sideloading. After you install it, the fake app poses as Google Play Protect and quietly downloads and installs the malware that carries out the attack.
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/mobile/2026/06/rokarolla-android-malware-can-take-over-your-phone-and-steal-banking-logins
#appStores #apple #google #interoperability #security

2026-06-17 11:18:01 CEST

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FAQ: Hello! You have posted or shared material proposing that “privacy-preserving age verification” (often: “ZKP”) exists, will work & help keep people safe
The truth is not as clear cut as you have seen, is probably wrong (especially in real-world practise) and for explanation I’d recommend you read the following paper by noted security expert professor & cryptographer, Professor Steve Bellovin:
https://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb/papers/age-verify.pdf
Thank you for reading this FAQ.
#ageVerification #FAQs #ZKP

2026-06-16 00:29:22 CEST

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It is misleading for the Prime Minister, or anyone else, to suggest the privacy concerns here are no more serious than being ID’d for a pint
“Journalists: it’s your job to be more curious than this. Challenge the metaphors.”
> The UK Social Media Ban, the Bad Bar Analogy | Jen Persson’s blog
https://jenpersson.com/the-uk-social-media-ban-the-bad-bar-analogy/
#onlineSafety #socialMediaBan

2026-06-15 20:22:27 CEST

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Tracker of Tech Industry, Think Tank, and Other Responses to Proposed Expansion of UK Censorship Laws – Preston Byrne
Nice index of where we are and who says what:
https://prestonbyrne.com/2026/06/15/tracker-osa-expansion/
#censorship #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan #surveillance

2026-06-15 17:20:26 CEST

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Farage would employ “chekists” so that central government may police ideology in schools, colleges
“Reform wants enforcers to stop schools promoting diversity”
> “To ensure democratic accountability, political appointments will be appointed from Westminster into public bodies with a mandate to enforce bans on DEI at a ground level,” he said.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/reform-farage-ill-appoint-political-enforcers-to-stop-colleges-promoting-diversity/
#communism #farage #reformUK #totalitarianism

2026-06-15 12:30:25 CEST

##
Mumsnet: “Australia didn’t do enough & Tech Companies must Nerd Harder”; Labour MP: “LinkedIn is The Dark Web”
This is tragic, PLEASE listen to the whole thing:
> Mumsnet’s Justine Roberts and Labour MP Emily Darlington share their opposing views on the ban.
https://twitter.com/BBCr4today/status/2066446347289453008
#australia #censorship #mumsnet #nerdHarder #socialMediaBan

2026-06-15 10:50:10 CEST

##
For those who feel anguished at our government’s slide into totalitarianism: some words of possible comfort
The SocialMediaBan will fail, the only question being how long before it does. Like Brexit, it’s unlikely to be rescinded in its current form because too many narcissistic or hyperfixated do-gooding egos are wrapped up in it, but if that does not happen then it will simply dissolve into irrelevance as kids move over to unfiltered forms of communication.
In the meantime: resist, to show solidarity with youth, and practise circumvention. Unlike Brexit, there is no channel nor any need for small boats. It’s all just speech.
#socialMediaBan #stopKillingInternet

2026-06-15 10:24:58 CEST

##
Enid Blyton to be appointed Minister for Child Safety in the newly announced National Childhood Service| GOV.UK
Sorry guys, but I’m a parent and it’s my job to give my child a childhood, and whatever it turns out to be it won’t be a “state idealised” childhood.
Five Go Mad In Westminster:
> Children will be given back their childhoods thanks to government action to ban social media platforms from offering services to under-16s, with less time for scrolling and more time for play.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/social-media-to-be-banned-for-under-16s-in-landmark-government-move-to-givekids-their-childhood-back
#censorship #keirStarmer #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan #stopKillingInternet

2026-06-15 10:08:58 CEST

##
Stop Killing the Internet | A Global Movement for a Better Internet
> Governments are walling off the open internet. We are a global movement opposing restrictions — and building a better internet.
https://www.stopkillingtheinternet.com/
#feed #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan #stopKillingInternet

2026-06-13 12:50:56 CEST

##
Censorial, pro-age-verification pro-surveillance child safety charity *suddenly* against Government attempting to render them irrelevant via age verification to ban children from social media
“Wait, no, not like that…” — Andy Burrows, probably.
> Molly Russell: Head of online safety charity warns against social media ban – BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgmdy9vg9jmo
#ageVerification #censorship #mollyRussell #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance

2026-06-13 08:34:46 CEST

##
UK Gov *rejects* “privacy by design” architecture, GDPR-mandated data minimisation now supposedly “makes children unsafe”
Disappearing messages exist in order to empower people to take control of their digital exhaust trail and to minimise the opportunities for third parties to abuse older information.
The government is now against this key precept of information security, because children:
https://bsky.app/profile/heatherburnstech.bsky.social/post/3mo5iiqfql224
#dataProtectionAct #disappearingMessages #gdpr #privacyByDesign

2026-06-13 07:21:19 CEST

##
Observation: The UK & EU now must deregulate & promote globally competitive AI/LLM provision on grounds of Digital Sovereignty
“Mistral” is not adequate.
Anthropic: “Statement on the US government directive to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5”
https://www.anthropic.com/news/fable-mythos-access
#ai #anthropic #digitalSovereignty #fable #llm #trump

2026-06-12 17:27:36 CEST

##
UK set to ban under-16s from social media, livestreaming, disappearing messages – POLITICO
Kids are not allowed to have privacy in Keir Starmer’s Labour Britain. The “othering” of teens is complete:
https://www.politico.eu/article/ministers-to-ban-under-16s-from-social-media-livestreaming-disappearing-messages/
#censorship #disappearingMessages #onlineSafety #surveillance

2026-06-11 07:59:43 CEST

##
The End of the Open Internet | Foreign Affairs
Europe is following where China and Iran lead, America dithers:
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/europe/end-open-internet
#anonymity #censorship #europe #surveillance

2026-06-11 07:04:00 CEST

- reply

Yes. And that’s a good thing. The UK users should not be forced to have shit software by the government. The UK government should not be permitted to make software shitty. Therefore: block the UK for its own good.

2026-06-11 06:28:55 CEST

##
“Signal President Meredith Whittaker threatens again to pull the encrypted messaging app out of the UK”
Signal will not compromise user privacy in order to satisfy the UK Government. They could withdraw from UK app-stores, but further: they could block any account with an associated “+44” phone number – myself included.
Such a “nuclear option” would beneficially put the burden of responsibility upon the UK Government without background narrative nitpicking about “side loading”, “1st amendment”, and other nerd distractions.
https://x.com/business/status/2064752727033352241?s=20
#ageVerification #censorship #clientSideScanning #signal

2026-06-10 10:31:58 CEST

##
At some point Civil Society is going to have to grapple with the question of whether platforms should be permitted to differentiate markets on the basis of Privacy and Security
I blame DRM: the artificial market segmentation of DVDs being “region locked” led to much “free market” backlash from civil society; but now we have: <li>Signal threatening to leave the EU because of Chat Control</li><li>Apple withdrawing Advanced Data Protection from the UK because of UK “TCN” backdoor demands</li><li>Apple withdrawing Siri AI from the EU because of EU “interoperability” demands that essentially offer backdoors to *everything* on the phone</li>
…yet somehow the latter is “bad” but the former two are… “good”?
#apple #backDoors #chatControl #dma #siriAi #surveillance

2026-06-09 09:31:44 CEST

##
I designed a hat for the Age Verification community
HT: [a7ndrew](https://aus.social/@a7ndrew/116718940911621277 )
#ageVerification

2026-06-08 23:57:44 CEST

##
Australia: “the reason that age verification is not working and that kids keep on circumventing it is a lack of good faith on the part of the platforms”
“Age checks can keep kids away from addictive design elements and online harms, but only if platforms implement them in good faith.”
No. The reason that it is not working is because it is a deranged obligation that does not reflect the underlying truth of either (a) online communication, or (b) teenage motivation.
Australia builds enforcement layer behind age assurance laws | Biometric Update
https://www.biometricupdate.com/202606/australia-builds-enforcement-layer-behind-age-assurance-laws
#ageVerification #australia #socialMediaBan

2026-06-08 12:52:31 CEST

##
This:
https://bsky.app/profile/roseschmits.bsky.social/post/3mnrdnwwlkk24
#clippyTheMagicNonceDetector

2026-06-08 04:07:10 CEST

##
“A social media ban should be extended to those aged 16 and 17, the @ChildrensComm (@Rachel_deSouza) has proposed”
…able to vote but not to talk about voting.
Yes, this is how you create a nation of children, by manufacturing ignorance and removing trust me
https://twitter.com/charleshymas/status/2063734157788746213?s=20
#socialMediaBan

2026-06-06 08:42:23 CEST

##
TFW when the younglings discover “defence in depth” | ht: @SwiftOnSecurity
https://twitter.com/KeithRamphal/status/2062770180690784312
#defenceInDepth #infosec
https://alecmuffett.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot_20260606-074249.png.pad_.1920x1080.jpg

2026-06-02 10:15:36 CEST

##
Compare and Contrast: what is the likely consequence of such simultaneous positions?
I would argue that denying kids before 16 the opportunity to use social media would be denial of their access to political information necessary for them to be informed voters.
#censorship #sadiqKhan #socialMediaBan #voting
https://alecmuffett.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CONCAT.20103.png.pad_.1200x628.jpg

2026-06-01 02:59:38 CEST

##
Payment apps are watching what you say (feat. Rainey Reitman) – Lock and Code
Quote:
> *“Even if they are well-intentioned, the financial [censorship] systems can end up pulling in a lot of people that are not the actual target… Sometimes we talk about this as dolphins in the fishing lines.”*
https://lock-and-code.captivate.fm/episode/payment-apps-are-watching-what-you-say-feat-rainey-reitman
#censorship

2026-05-31 15:59:01 CEST

##
“You can tell by the way complaints or requests are worded that they have used AI technology to be able to ask for that information,” he said
“You say that as if it is a bad thing.”
Lincolnshire County Council says AI behind rise in FOI requests – BBC News:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx21z6g2421o
Via Owen’s thread at:
https://twitter.com/owenboswarva/status/2061038401055322337?s=20
#ai #foi #llm

2026-05-29 17:56:27 CEST

##
Govt: “We committed in the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy ‘to make it impossible for children in the UK to take, share or view a nude image.’”
Kind of a foolish commitment, really, when you think about it
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2026-05-18.2044.r0
> The Government is unequivocal in its commitment to protecting children from all forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
> The Online Safety Act is a landmark and foundational step in tackling online child sexual exploitation and abuse, placing new duties on companies to protect children. However, we recognise that the scale and evolving nature of this threat requires us to go further, and we are continuing to develop additional measures across the technology stack to strengthen prevention and detection.
> We committed in the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy ‘to make it impossible for children in the UK to take, share or view a nude image.’ We recognise the importance of device-level protections in preventing online child sexual abuse and we support the development and deployment of safety technologies that can help prevent abuse before it happens. This includes exploring the role of on-device tools that can detect and disrupt livestreamed abuse and other image-based harms, while respecting users’ privacy and maintaining end-to-end encryption.
> The Government continues to work closely with law enforcement, industry,and child protection experts to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of efforts to tackle online child sexual abuse.
#censorship #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance

2026-05-28 06:58:49 CEST

##
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING YOUR CHILD A SMARTPHONE, JESS?
If you’re worried that your kid might get a hold of a phone without your permission, as a parent you already have a problem with both authority and credibility which a government ban will not address.
https://twitter.com/BBCNewsnight/status/2059394623173280207?s=20
#censorship #JessPhillips #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan #surveillance

2026-05-27 21:27:31 CEST

##
California Wants an Age Tracker for the Whole Web
> “California Assembly Bill 1856 is getting friendly press coverage because it now exempts Linux from the state’s age-tracking mandate. The part nobody’s talking about is that it simultaneously expands the surveillance to your web browser.”
https://reclaimthenet.org/california-wants-an-age-tracker-for-the-whole-web
#ageVerification #california #surveillance #totalitarianism

2026-05-27 18:10:47 CEST

##
Germany’s state media regulators are preparing new rules that could force platforms like X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram to give greater visibility to “trusted” or “reliable” media outlets in their algorithms
Gosh, what could possibly go wrong?
https://twitter.com/europa/status/2059528031757062646?s=20
#censorship #DSA #europe #Germany #propaganda

2026-05-27 01:51:36 CEST

##
New Zealand prepares biometric age credential for Govt.nz digital wallet | Biometric Update
> Developed by Hospitality NZ and built on NEC’s Identity Cloud Platform, the system uses verifiable credentials to allow users to prove they are over 18 for hospitality and event access without disclosing unnecessary personal data.
> Or they could have used a piece of cardboard.
https://www.biometricupdate.com/202605/new-zealand-prepares-biometric-age-credential-for-govt-nz-digital-wallet
#digitalId #newZealand

2026-05-26 23:55:12 CEST

##
Westminster Recycles Tobacco-Style Panic Campaign For Internet Crackdown
Read, especially if you are willing to consider that perhaps civil society is to blame for where we are today.
https://reclaimthenet.org/westminster-recycles-tobacco-style-panic-campaign-for-internet-crackdown
#onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan

2026-05-26 23:49:17 CEST

##
How Often Do Consumers Balk at Doing Online Age Authentication? | Technology & Marketing Law Blog
> In search engine parlance, the “bounce” rate is the percent of searchers who click on a search results link and then immediately hit the back button … I’m going to analogize bounce rates to the rate that consumers fail to overcome age authentication walls, which I’ll call the “balk rate.” …
https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/05/how-often-do-consumers-balk-at-doing-online-age-authentication.htm
#ageVerification #censorship #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance

2026-05-26 22:47:54 CEST

##
Social media ‘is vital’, say Welsh teens arguing against a ban | BBC News
> ‘We need social media to survive’ – teens oppose ban
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74dwyqz3x7o
#censorship #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan

2026-05-23 08:49:45 CEST

##
Mandatory Age Verification + Lack of Account Memorialization = Horrific Insensitivity by Substack (& others?)
This, from Mark Nottingham; it’s easy to throw mud at Substack for implementing age verification in this way / for not implementing out of band account memorialization, but this underscores how age verification is a proxy for state mandated identity checks in systems that have no other reason to perform them & are not (should not?) be required to have them:
https://bsky.app/profile/mnot.net/post/3mmioi65ive26
#ageVerification #australia #substack

2026-05-13 21:19:46 CEST

##
UK Government King’s Speech proposes “Cyber ASBO” with obvious risk of scope creep into censorship
Nobody can convince me that by the time it gets through parliament something with this name won’t turn into a [generalised TCN to gag nerd speech about cryptography and security](https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5547/our-challenge-against-uks-secret-tcn-powers ):
> The King’s Speech briefing notes also referenced proposed “Cyber Crime Risk Orders” and […] could give authorities powers to impose restrictions on individuals considered to pose an ongoing cyber threat, reflecting a wider shift among governments toward preventive disruption measures rather than relying solely on criminal prosecutions after attacks occur.
UK moves to shield security researchers in cybercrime law overhaul | The Record
https://therecord.media/uk-moves-to-shield-security-researchers-cybercrime
#censorship #cyberAsbo #cyberCrimeRiskOrder #tcn

2026-04-30 09:21:52 CEST

##
Don’t take away our freedom to play games when we want | 38 Degrees
Gamer’s Voice; and absolutely nobody is talking about “teaching our kids to laugh at, and circumvent, authority”
> If ministers use these powers, it could mean: Young people locked out of games like Fortnite, Minecraft, League of Legends or Counter-Strike after set times such as 9pm; Families losing the ability to decide for themselves how and when to relax together; Adults being forced to hand over sensitive personal data just to play games
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/don-t-take-away-our-freedom-to-play-games-when-we-want
#censorship #footloose #gamersVoice #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct

2026-04-15 13:28:08 CEST

##
‘Von der Leyen Announces the EU’s New Age Verification App Claiming it is “Completely Anonymous” and users “Cannot be Tracked”’ | …the EU is about to have its ‘Clipper’ moment
Where’s Matt Blaze? 🙂
https://www.reddit.com/r/europrivacy/comments/1sm1uoy/von_der_leyen_announces_the_eus_new_age/
#ageVerification #eu #oops #zeroKnowledge

2026-04-13 20:05:49 CEST

##
From 2019: ‘If there were 5 million “bad people” on Facebook – terrorists, criminals, drug-dealers, whatever – that would be 0.2% of the userbase’
99.8% would not be “bad people”.
This is “scale”.
Occasionally people need reminding how this works.
https://twitter.com/AlecMuffett/status/1107592617569804288?s=20
#onlineSafety

2026-04-13 11:04:07 CEST

##
I find it bizarre that the AgeVerification (AV) industry says “platforms don’t want AV because they don’t want private data” – BUT civil society says “platforms DO want AV because they want private data”
It’s like those criticisms of the BBC where they receive conflicting hate from both sides, so you have to start wondering if the platforms are doing something right to have pissed off everybody.
Probably, yes, given the circumstances.###
Comparehttps://twitter.com/The_AVPA/status/2043608121768096227###
Contrasthttps://twitter.com/TaylorLorenz/status/2022428994596221081
#ageVerification #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct

2026-04-11 22:24:14 CEST

##
Trump posts graphic video of slaying to argue for stricter immigration policies | BBC News
“Hey, d’ya remember the [good old days](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqj9kgxqjwjo ) back when journalists, politicians & civil society would rage that platforms “must do more to take down violent content” – [including proactive censorship](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47758455 ) – RATHER THAN POLITELY COMMENT ABOUT IT BEING REPOSTED & AMPLIFIED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE USA ON HIS OWN SITE?”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1eqvpw3j1no
#onlineSafety #trump

2026-04-10 23:28:13 CEST

- reply

Yeaaaaaaah, but on the other hand 1) they were commented upon by the head of product who has 943,000 followers; and 2) if 99% of that 3.2 million are fake, that’s still 32,000 users which would be 20% of their bluesky followership; and I doubt 99% of it is fake.

2026-04-10 22:01:24 CEST

##
In a X/Twitter post that garnered over 3.1 million impressions, EFF declares X is”…no longer where the fight is happening”
A startling revelation: if people who are supposed to be fighting for your rights abandon the battlefield in fear and despair, then there will no longer be a fight. Who would have thought?
Supposedly 3.1 million people “saw” the EFF tweet; which is comparable to / [only marginally less than the total daily usage of Bluesky](https://backlinko.com/bluesky-statistics ).
#eff #takingMyBallAndGoingHome

2026-04-08 08:30:03 CEST

##
A bug on the dark side of the Moon
> The Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) is one of the most scrutinised codebases in history … We found a bug in it that had been missed for fifty-seven years: a resource lock in the gyro control code that leaks on an error path, silently disabling the guidance platform’s ability to realign.
https://www.juxt.pro/blog/a-bug-on-the-dark-side-of-the-moon/
#apollo #bugs #software

2026-04-06 21:23:37 CEST

##
The trial lawyers come for online free speech | Blaze Media
> Trial lawyers are poised to accomplish in courtrooms nationwide what politicians have thus far failed to write into statute. The effects of this effort — undertaken without the deliberation of the nation’s representative bodies — are likely to rival those of even the most sweeping laws.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/the-trial-lawyers-come-for-online-free-speech
#censorship #section230

2026-04-06 21:19:41 CEST

##
New Mexico’s Meta Ruling and Encryption | Schneier on Security
> Mike Masnick points out that the recent New Mexico court ruling against Meta has some bad implications for end-to-end encryption, and security in general:
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/04/new-mexicos-meta-ruling-and-encryption.html
#censorship #encryption #endToEndEncryption #meta

2026-04-03 10:19:31 CEST

##
Age Verification causing people to stop installing security updates on iPhone
What could possibly go wrong?
https://twitter.com/PrivacyMatters/status/2039955877382226278
#ageVerification #censorship #irony #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance

2026-04-01 22:12:25 CEST

##
Australian eSafety: “It is a ‘dark pattern’ to permit people to 1/ amend mistakes 2/ be in control of information about themselves 3/ be obliged to validate abuse reports”
Clearly the perspective which the Australian eSafety Commissioner brings to the table is “users are untrustworthy scum and must be whipped into control” – basically like MPs, then.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4181pkxl2o
#australia #censorship #eSafety #onlineSafety #socialMediaBan #surveillance

2026-03-28 08:02:58 CET

##
The Timeless Fear of Corrupting the Youth | WSJ
Excellent piece:
> The lesson from these examples isn’t that protecting children online is misguided or an unworthy goal. It is that the means proposed to achieve this end pose significant risks to human rights, and that the tools created for that purpose can easily become instruments of broader control over speech once governments acquire them.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/social-media-freedom-speech-meta-youtube-ruling-32aaee3b archived at: https://archive.ph/PMCjL
#censorship #feed #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan

2026-03-27 20:23:28 CET

##
The Big Tech verdicts you’re cheering for are actually terrible for free speech | The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
Read this:
> Declaring the target to be “design features” — such as infinite scroll or notifications — instead of speech doesn’t change things. The First Amendment isn’t fooled by synonyms, and what these lawsuits target is, inescapably, speech. Some allegations are aimed at content hosted by platforms that some perceive as harmful. And the ways platforms arrange, display, and choose how users consume content are editorial choices that are protected by the First Amendment. That those features might be designed to keep users’ attention is hardly a groundbreaking discovery. That is the point of all media. Imposing liability because speech is too appealing would be a breathtaking incursion on free speech.
https://www.fire.org/news/big-tech-verdicts-youre-cheering-are-actually-terrible-free-speech
#freeSpeech #meta #onlineSafety

2026-03-27 15:56:16 CET

##
‘all of the evidence submitted to “prove” Meta knew their product was harmful was internal safety research they were conducting to improve their moderation and detection’
There are a bunch of “must read” Threads on Bluesky today, which to me indicate that all of the people who are crowing about a “safer internet for children” due to the Meta lawsuits, are actually going to be making things worse for everybody, including kids:
https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3mhwurhfxzs23
…and:
https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3mhwoojruy225
…and:
https://bsky.app/profile/jmiers230.bsky.social/post/3mhy667cxkk22
#meta #onlineSafety #section230

2026-03-27 10:06:11 CET

##
‘The Encryption Problem: Where “Design Liability” Leads’ | … IF YOU ARE CHEERING META LOSING 2X RECENT LAWSUITS YOU ARE SUPPORTING THE END OF ONLINE PRIVACY
> …under the “design liability” theory, implementing encryption becomes evidence of negligence, because a small number of bad actors also use encrypted communications […] encryption itself harms no one. Like infinite scroll and autoplay, it is inert without the choices of bad actors — choices made by people, not by the platform’s design.
“Everyone Cheering The Social Media Addiction Verdicts Against Meta Should Understand What They’re Actually Cheering For” | Techdirt
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/26/everyone-cheering-the-social-media-addiction-verdicts-against-meta-should-understand-what-theyre-actually-cheering-for/
#censorship #endToEndEncryption #meta #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance

2026-03-26 19:18:03 CET

##
[Europe] voted today to end chat monitoring 1.0. This ends an exception that was used, in particular, by US Big Tech companies to monitor billions of people’s private messages without suspicion
> The European Parliament has thus formally concluded the legislative process . The Digital Society Association and many individuals had previously contacted the Members of Parliament, appealing to them to end this indiscriminate mass surveillance
More:
https://digitalegesellschaft.de/2026/03/pressemitteilung-chatkontrolle-1-0-endet/
#chatControl #endToEndEncryption #surveillance

2026-03-26 14:50:01 CET

##
MEPs block tech firms from scanning for child sexual abuse material | POLITICO
“perhaps there’s a different approach they could try taking, other than surveilling everybody’s messages?”
https://www.politico.eu/article/european-parliament-rejects-child-sexual-abuse-bill-blocking-tech-firms-scanning-meta-google/
#chatControl #clientSideScanning #csam #endToEndEncryption #surveillance

2026-03-26 11:55:55 CET

##
I am very much looking at the Apple Age Verification (AV) approach as the least bad way to do something terrible
<li>AV itself is tantamount to Digital Identity, it is illiberal to deploy everywhere and it is misconceived to imagine that it solves social problems </li><li>The least bad way of getting AV is for people to be able to choose providers who can attest to the user’s age bracket; Apple is starting to provide this </li><li>Politicians & Security Services will be torn: it’s easier to have “one throat to choke” (like Apple) when surveilling / attributing speech, but they risk losing the rich control opportunities if this is done in a privacy preserving way; also the toxic extant AV industry will be lobbying hard to prevent competition from supposed “monopolies”</li><li>Yet big players like Apple have the best leverage to deploy a privacy preserving solution; the interests of civil society are best served by ensuring openness of Apple APIs and that other age attestation providers can plug into it</li>
#ageVerification #apple #censorship

2026-03-26 10:08:23 CET

##
Remember that big win on ChatControl a couple of weeks ago? It turns out they didn’t like the result and they want to vote on it again, TODAY. Sorry.
> The Conservatives (EPP) are attempting to force a new vote TODAY (March 26) seeking to reverse the European Parliament’s NO on indiscriminate scanning of ALL your private messages, emails and photos … If you’re European contact your representatives now, with this handy form:
https://twitter.com/levelsio/status/2037013561935790400?s=20
#censorship #chatControl #endToEndEncryption #surveillance

2026-01-09 10:51:31 CET

##
It will be interesting to see if Britain’s politicians maintain their taste for self-harm through isolationism by banning X for whatever reason
The internet is speech and if you take the position that “*bad speech is harm*” rather than “*bad speech demands good speech*“, the only effective option is a kind of Digital Brexit where you block your citizens from participation in the bigger world.
The UK Government will simply have to start censoring internet access for Britons. Or it could give up on the pretence of global control… but that would look like weakness.
> Elon Musk’s X could be banned in Britain over AI chatbot row
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/01/08/musks-x-could-be-banned-in-britain-over-ai-chatbot-row
Archived at: https://archive.ph/2026.01.09-080303/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/01/08/musks-x-could-be-banned-in-britain-over-ai-chatbot-row/
#censorship #elonMusk #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance #twitter #x

2025-08-17 14:12:40 CEST

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Someone asked me to describe the circumstances which brought about the Online Safety ActAbout a decade ago a bunch of porn company executives who want to make additional advertising streams of revenue, found common cause with evangelical anti-porn Christians and prescriptive post second wave radical feminists, inflated by a cohort of ageing boomers who are scared of technological change and some reflexively anti-capitalist (and possibly anti-semitic) middle class do-gooders with a battlecry of “won’t somebody please think of the children!?!”.
They decided that a proportionate response to weak parenting skills of the masses (not themselves of course, never themselves, especially not the ones who had children who committed suicide) was to force the government to obligate platforms to spy on all the world’s conversations – which of course would solve all the problems – a position with which GCHQ and the NSA happily agreed.
So they drafted a document describing how they think the internet works and therefore how they think the internet should be fixed, put it through several government committees over the course of several years in order to make sure that it was correct, and then passed it as legislation – on the obvious grounds that the kids would appreciate this and not attempt to circumvent any of the controls.
It turns out that there were a few poorly grounded assumptions in play throughout this process.
#ageVerification #censorship #feed #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance #VPN

2025-04-16 19:17:30 CEST

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London Security Engineering Meetup: Alec Muffett “End to End Encryption: Why You Should Implement It” (May 08, 1800h)> Join us for the May edition of the London Security Engineering meetup at Wise’s London offices!
> We are thrilled to host > **Alec Muffett**> , a distinguished technologist and security consultant with over 30 years of experience in cryptography and security.
I’m going to try something a little more experimental with this presentation, aiming avoid slides and foster a little more audience discussion than the usual “slide deck and slick talk” typical of some meetups; given the nature of the audience my hope is for people who build systems and solutions to come away with a greater understanding of how to shape their code and solutions to build a product with a smaller attack surface and less risk.
If you have questions or issues that you would like to raise, please feel free to post a comment below.
https://www.meetup.com/london-security-engineering-group/events/307320393/
#endToEndEncryption #feed #london #meetup