Weakening Speech Protections Will Punish All of Us—Not Just #Meta

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/dont-weaken-speech-protections-just-punish-meta

#privacy #Section230 #FreeSpeech #Google #YouTube #Instagram #Facebook

#Google and #Amazon: Acknowledged Risks, and Ignored Responsibilities

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/google-and-amazon-acknowledged-risks-and-ignored-responsibilities

#privacy #surveillance #ProjectNimbus #politics

'#NoVoice' #Android #malware on #GooglePlay infected 2.3 million devices

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/novoice-android-malware-on-google-play-infected-23-million-devices/

#Google #cybersecurity #privacy #WhatsApp #Meta

#Google fixes fourth #Chrome zero-day exploited in attacks in 2026

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-fixes-fourth-chrome-zero-day-exploited-in-attacks-in-2026/

#cybersecurity #tech #technology

#GoogleDrive #ransomware detection now on by default for paying users

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-drive-ransomware-detection-now-on-by-default-for-paying-users/

#Google #cybersecurity

This is the script from my national network radio report last Monday on recent court decisions holding #Meta and #Google's #YouTube liable in cases involving their impact on children. As always there may have been minor wording variations from this script as I presented this report live on air.

- - -

Yeah, so this is a rather complicated situation and frankly I don't think most of the media is doing a really good job explaining this, though I don't feel that they're doing this on purpose, there's just a lot of layers to understand.

So there have been new court rulings that found Meta and Google's YouTube liable for issues related to how their social media platforms interact with children. YouTube I should note insists that it's a video streaming platform not a social media platform per se, and there is some merit in that argument though as we'll see this is something likely to be determined down the line.

The overarching principle here is that some observers view these kinds of outcomes as being Big Tech's "tobacco" moment, drawing parallels with historical court cases related to smoking and cancer. But many legal experts who've looked at this in depth are less certain where this will all go. There are of course differences between someone physically addicted to cigarettes vs. the assertion that someone's mental state has been negatively affected -- by some percentage -- by say social media, along with all the other components that also affect mental state.

A fundamental complication of course is that for example while you can measure the amount of nicotine in the blood and determine the degree of addiction and direct effects like lung cancer, trying to make similar determinations regarding complex factors such as one's mental state seems like a different kind of problem, even if you could somehow separate out the various influences in a rigorous manner. So putting this all together it appears to many in the legal community that as these cases move up the court system, and I believe the companies have already pledged to appeal, appellate courts may take a different view than the lower courts when they consider these same issues and associated matters such as the first amendment, privacy and other concerns surrounding attempts at age verification, and so on -- issues we've talked about here in the past.

So in a very real way it's widely felt that there is a long road ahead likely all the way to the Supreme Court, which has already expressed some skepticism about broadly blaming Big Tech social media for these kinds of issues. This is one situation where it's not at all clear how the current Supreme Court might actually rule, especially because these issues are controversial among both political parties.

However, I do want to draw a sharp line where often it seems that very different issues are being inappropriately blurred together. And that's the difference between social media and large language model AI, e.g. AI chatbots. And this seems like a very different category than social media. Social media traditionally has mostly dealt with third party content and been protected by what's called Section 230, and the controversies regarding that protection are deeply enmeshed within this entire complex of issues.

But at least in my view, #AI chatbots -- which you'll recall have been implicated in suicides and a murder -- represent FIRST party content on the part of their Big Tech firms, and without any doubt these firms should be held fully responsible for all effects that their chatbots have on individuals.

And this difference between third party content and first party content IS something that is all too often muddled in discussions about Big Tech, and I don't think that kind of confusion helps solve these problems. These issues will be getting more complex. For example, Google is now facing a new class action related to their AI Search and the Epstein victims. We're NOWHERE near the end of these controversies. We've really only just begun.

- - -

L

Proton reports a 770% rise in Big Tech data requests, with Google, Apple, and Meta sharing data from millions of accounts with authorities. Centralized data collection enables disclosure, raising risks for children’s privacy and long-term digital profiles 🔍

🔗 https://proton.me/blog/big-tech-government-requests-parenting

#TechNews #Proton #BigTech #Privacy #DataRequests #Surveillance #DigitalRights #Encryption #DataProtection #Security #AI #Technology #Internet #Families #IT #Google #Apple #Meta

Ars Technica: Google bumps up Q Day deadline to 2029, far sooner than previously thought. “Google is dramatically shortening its readiness deadline for the arrival of Q Day, the point at which existing quantum computers can break public-key cryptography algorithms that secure decades’ worth of secrets belonging to militaries, banks, governments, and nearly every individual on earth.”

This new #OpenSource office suite wants to replace #GoogleDocs and #MicrosoftOffice

https://www.howtogeek.com/this-new-open-source-web-editor-wants-to-replace-google-docs-and-microsoft-office/

#Google #Microsoft #EuroOffice #FOSS

RE: https://mastodon.social/@noybeu/114262003439129906

Ready for another joke? 🥁

The Irish Data Protection Commission, which is responsible for most major technology companies (#Meta, #Google, #Apple, #OpenAI, #Microsoft,...) actually imposes fines in just 0.26% of the cases it handles. And even when a fine is imposed, the money is almost never collected. 🤡

#HappyAprilFools

@firedragon It does not matter how the bits travelled through the ether.

Will #Zapstore bow down to #Google and become a registered dev? A registered store? If not... then 3.9 billion users can't install zapstore-1.0.0.apk. The end.

@knuxbbs Not sure #Google qualifies as our boss... 😹

ICYMI: Judge approves Google RTB settlement forcing new user privacy control: A federal judge approved the Google RTB privacy class-action settlement on March 26, 2026, requiring a new opt-in control limiting data shared in ad auctions, with $21.8M in attorney fees. https://ppc.land/judge-approves-google-rtb-settlement-forcing-new-user-privacy-control/ #Google #RTB #Privacy #DataProtection #AdTech

Busy week? Catch up on essential tech news (Meta and Google social media ruling), the latest reviews (the Sonos Play speaker), and more from @TechRadar:

https://flip.it/sGLT-M

#Tech #TechNews #SocialMedia #Meta #Google #Sonos #SocialMediaLawsuit

Judge approves Google RTB settlement forcing new user privacy control: A federal judge approved the Google RTB privacy class-action settlement on March 26, 2026, requiring a new opt-in control limiting data shared in ad auctions, with $21.8M in attorney fees. https://ppc.land/judge-approves-google-rtb-settlement-forcing-new-user-privacy-control/ #Google #Privacy #DataProtection #RTB #AdAuctions

iPhone users are threatening to defect to Android over new iOS age verification push

https://www.techradar.com/phones/ios/i-cant-believe-this-is-happening-iphone-users-are-threatening-to-defect-to-android-over-new-ios-age-verification-push-and-id-do-the-same

#Apple #iPhone #iOS #AgeVerification #IDVerification #Google #Android #technology #enshittification #dystopia

#Apple Can Create Smaller On-Device #AI Models From #Google's #Gemini

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/25/apple-google-gemini-distill-models/

#privacy #Siri

The EU Parliament voted to end Chat Control, stopping mass scanning of private messages by Meta, Google, and Microsoft, effective 4 April 2026. ✋📩
This decision restores digital privacy for European citizens and ends indiscriminate surveillance of private chats. 🔒

🔗 https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/end-of-chat-control-eu-parliament-stops-mass-surveillance-in-voting-thriller-paving-the-way-for-genuine-child-protection/

#TechNews #EU #Europe #Parliament #Government #ChatControl #Privacy #DigitalRights #FOSS #Meta #Google #Microsoft #Surveillance #Encryption #OpenInternet #UserControl #FreedomOfSpeech #Freedom #Security

I love the whole #cyberdeck concept but havent built one yet. However with all the #ageverification stuff going on right now i cant help thinking that if we're to stay online in the next few years the cyberdeck will be the only way. Everyone else will be enslaved by their #Apple #google devices but i dont intend to be part of that, and neither I suspect will you!

#Google bumps up #QDay deadline to 2029, far sooner than previously thought

https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/03/google-bumps-up-q-day-estimate-to-2029-far-sooner-than-previously-thought/

#cybersecurity #QuantumCryptography #cryptography #PQE

https://winbuzzer.com/2026/03/25/google-android-17-quantum-resistant-encryption-pqc-xcxwbn/

Android 17 Gets Quantum-Safe Encryption Across Full Security Stack

#Google #Android #QuantumCryptography #QuantumComputing #Encryption #Cybersecurity #PostQuantumCryptography #BigTech #GooglePlay #GoogleChrome

Students are being funneled into #Google’s ecosystem

https://proton.me/blog/ed-tech-student-privacy

#education #parenting #privacy

A Top #Google Search Result for #Claude Plugins Was Planted by Hackers

https://www.404media.co/a-top-google-search-result-for-claude-plugins-was-planted-by-hackers/

#cybersecurity #malvertising

A Reddit investigation reveals Meta allegedly routed over $2B through nonprofits to push age-verification laws in 45 U.S. states, shifting compliance from social media platforms to Apple and Google. 🧐

🔗 https://winbuzzer.com/2026/03/18/reddit-user-uncovers-meta-2b-lobbying-age-verification-xcxwbn/

#TechNews #Privacy #DataSecurity #Lobbying #BigTech #AgeVerification #UserFreedom #PrivacyRisks #DigitalRegulation #TechPolicy #ChildSafety #Antitrust #Google #Apple #Meta #DataProtection

Google continues to operate the most comprehensive surveillance system in human history.

Through search, Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Android, the company collects vast amounts of data on every aspect of users' lives. Each query, each movement, each interaction is added to a digital profile. Algorithms analyze this data to predict behavior and manipulate choices. Then advertisers buy access to target users based on demographics, interests, location, and even psychological traits.

This is the business model. Users are not customers. Users are the product.

Regulatory efforts have consistently failed to keep pace with technological advancement. While privacy advocates raise alarms, Google maintains its dominant position through a system designed to extract as much personal data as possible.

But alternatives are growing. Privacy-focused search engines like DuckDuckGo, Startpage, Qwant, and Brave Search offer genuine protection without tracking. Decentralized meta-search engines like SearXNG aggregate results from multiple sources while preserving anonymity.

Platforms such as search.vir.group represent the next step: search systems with no data storage, no user identification, open-source transparency, and no central point of control.

This is not just a technical choice. It is a fundamental decision about whether privacy remains a human right or becomes a commodity to be traded.

#privacy #google #surveillance #search #decentralization

https://newsgroup.site/google-surveillance-data-tracking-2026/

The paper on the security analysis of Google Fast Pair has been accepted at IEEE S&P (Oakland) 2026. It presents the first in-the-wild security analysis of Fast Pair and uncovers systemic ecosystem-wide failures.

#whisperpair #google #fastpair #bluetooth

https://whisperpair.eu/

#Google details new 24-hour process to #sideload unverified #Android apps

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/google-details-new-24-hour-process-to-sideload-unverified-android-apps/

#KeepAndroidOpen #privacy #cybersecurity

@Tutanota

straight to a change.org petition
https://c.org/yznMQjcTZc

#google #Android

I was only using my #Gmail account for my planning work as a volunteer because the person in charge had issues with my former email account. She *ignored all* my notifications about my new @Tutanota account and kept sending emails to Gmail. I also sent her this link: https://tuta.com/blog/degoogle-list
No reaction.

I’ve just pulled the plug, deleted Gmail. Now I’m curious to see what happens. Some people have to learn it the hard way.

#EuropeanAlternatives #dataSafety #Google #deGoogle

#Google Says Developer Verification Makes #Android Safer. Critics Say It Just Makes Android More Closed

https://itsfoss.com/news/android-developer-verification/

#KeepAndroidOpen

#Google’s #PersonalIntelligence feature is expanding to all US users

https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/17/googles-personal-intelligence-feature-is-expanding-to-all-us-users/

#AI #privacy

#ChatGPT, Other Chatbots Approved for Official Use in the #Senate

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/politics/us-senate-chatgpt-ai-chatbots.html

#AI #Gemini #Copilot #OpenAI #Google #Microsoft #politics

Keep Android Open!

https://keepandroidopen.org

#android #keepandroidopen #google

Google photos keeps telling me backups are off and tried to force me to turn them on. Is there any way to tell Google you don't consent to them stealing your data?

#Enshitification #Google

Google's Developer Verification mandates real-identity registration for app developers starting September 2026 on certified Android devices 📱.

F-Droid, EFF, and FSF warn it threatens open-source repos, centralizes Google control, and endangers developer privacy 🔒.

@fdroid
@eff
@fsf

🔗 https://itsfoss.com/news/android-developer-verification/

#TechNews #Android #Google #Privacy #OpenSource #FOSS #Developers #Security #Freedom #Sideloading #EFF #F-Droid #UserChoice #Regulation #DigitalRights

ICYMI: Google's Merchant Center for Agencies goes live in the US and Canada: Google launched Merchant Center for Agencies on March 11, 2026, giving digital marketing firms a single dashboard to manage all client accounts, diagnostics, and ad opportunities. https://ppc.land/googles-merchant-center-for-agencies-goes-live-in-the-us-and-canada/ #Google #MerchantCenter #DigitalMarketing #PPC #AdTech