DHS monitors Reddit users calling for peaceful ICE protests, per leaked intelligence bulletin. 🔍

No violence indicated, yet agency flags it for "operational and reputational risks" near Border Patrol sites—raising free speech concerns ⚠️

Surveillance without warrants erodes user privacy and civil liberties 🛡️

🔗 https://boingboing.net/2026/02/10/dhs-is-stalking-reddit-users-online.html

#TechNews #Privacy #DHS #Surveillance #Reddit #FreeSpeech #Cybersecurity #DataProtection #CivilLiberties #ICE #Censorship #Government #Protest #Violence #Police

Homeland Security Seeks Social Media User Data Amidst Anti-ICE Content Scrutiny

US government agency asks social media companies for information on users who post content critical of ICE. Concerns about free speech and privacy.

#DHS, #ICE, #SocialMedia, #FreeSpeech, #Privacy

https://newsletter.tf/dhs-social-media-user-data-critics/

US Homeland Security Seeks Social Media User Identities Linked to Anti-ICE Content

The US Homeland Security wants to know the names of social media users who post things against ICE. This raises questions about privacy and free speech.

#ICE, #Privacy, #FreeSpeech, #USGovernment, #SocialMedia

https://newsletter.tf/us-government-social-media-ice-names/

The US government wants to find out who is posting online about ICE. They are asking social media companies for names. This is causing worry about people's privacy and their right to speak freely.

#ICE, #Privacy, #FreeSpeech, #USGovernment, #SocialMedia

https://newsletter.tf/us-government-social-media-ice-names/

I've heard reports of Discord using Persona for Age Verification in the UK.

For those that don't know, Persona is a Peter Thiel funded venture. Persona is facing several class action lawsuits in Illinois for allegedly using biometric data to train GenAI models. Persona, of course, denies this.

With that, I have a couple questions:

To UK Users: Has Discord always used Persona for AV? Or did they switch very recently?

To users in other regions that mandate AV: Is Discord using k-ID? Or are they using Persona (or other AV Vendor)?

Regardless, it's scummy for Discord to advertise k-ID as their AV Vendor yet use Persona without disclosure (at bare minimum). I get that Discord is kinda forced to implement AV or face the wrath of various governments, but still.

#Privacy #FreeSpeech #Censorship #DigitalRights #SocialMedia #Internet #AgeVerification #US #UnitedStates #EU #Europe #UK #UnitedKingdom #Canada #Australia

On Its 30th Birthday, #Section230 Remains The Lynchpin For Users’ Speech

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/02/its-30th-birthday-section-230-remains-lynchpin-users-speech

#FreeSpeech #privacy #politics

Op-ed: Weakening #Section230 Would Chill Online Speech

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/02/op-ed-weakening-section-230-would-chill-online-speech

#privacy #FreeSpeech #politics

NPR:"....“She's using the city's license plate readers not to combat a wave of armed robberies, but to track down the everyday movements of an everyday citizen who dared to write the Kansas City Star and express their opinion,” Rhodes said...."

#alpr #privacy #bigbrother #freespeech #licenseplatereaders #flock

Canadians!

Bill S-209 is due for a section by section consideration in the Senate this Thursday (i.e. the equivalent of a full committee markup to Americans)!

Reminder: This bill would mandate privacy invasive Age Verification as well as give the Canadian government the ability to block ANY website that isn't compliant (search engines, Wikipedia, social media, etc.), not just "commercial pornographic websites" like the bill claims! One of the bills' sponsors essentially admitted this!

If this bill passes, it would be massively chilling to privacy and free speech in Canada! The Canadian government would control what you're allowed to see!

VPNs are, at best, a temporary solution here.

Call your Senators and House of Commons Representatives ASAP!

#Privacy #FreeSpeech #Censorship #DigitalRights #Internet #SocialMedia #Canada #AgeVerification #BillS209

Canadians!

Bill S-209 is due for a section by section consideration in the Senate this Thursday (i.e. the equivalent of a full committee markup to Americans)!

Reminder: This bill would mandate privacy invasive Age Verification as well as give the Canadian government the ability to block ANY website that isn't compliant (search engines, Wikipedia, social media, etc.), not just "commercial pornographic websites" like the bill claims! One of the bills' sponsors essentially admitted this!

If this bill passes, it would be massively chilling to privacy and free speech in Canada! The Canadian government would control what you're allowed to see!

VPNs are, at best, a temporary solution here.

Call your Senators and House of Commons Representatives ASAP!

#Privacy #FreeSpeech #Censorship #DigitalRights #SocialMedia #Internet #Canada #BillS209 #AgeVerification

Proton VPN Warns of the Dangers of Michigan’s VPN Ban Bill

Age verification laws have become more dangerous to civilians as VPNs become increasingly targeted. Michigan is one example.

https://www.freezenet.ca/proton-vpn-warns-of-the-dangers-of-michigans-vpn-ban-bill/

#Censorship #News #Privacy #Security #AgeVerification #FreeSpeech #Michigan #ProtonVPN #VPN

While this bill seems good on the surface, it could have a chilling effect on free speech and privacy due to the following reasons:
1: No protections for satire/parody
2: No protections against bad faith lawsuits (ex: politicians could use it to suppress unflattering photos/videos).
3: Could potentially force platforms to implement a "shoot first, ask questions later" approach to take-downs to avoid lawsuits. This would lead mass censorship of protected speech.

I hope @eff@mastodon.social and the like have legal action prepared.

#Privacy #FreeSpeech #Censorship #Internet #SocialMedia #US #UnitedStates

RE: https://mastodon.social/users/verge/statuses/115889838548116153

RE: https://mastodon.social/@verge/115889838548116153

While this bill seems good on the surface, it could have a chilling effect on free speech and privacy due to the following reasons:
1: No protections for satire/parody
2: No protections against bad faith lawsuits (ex: politicians could use it to suppress unflattering photos/videos).
3: Could potentially force platforms to implement a "shoot first, ask questions later" approach to take-downs to avoid lawsuits. This would lead mass censorship of protected speech.

I hope @eff and the like have legal action prepared.

#Privacy #FreeSpeech #Censorship #DigitalRights #Internet #SocialMedia #US #UnitedStates

The Open Rights Group warns that the UK's Online Safety Act is stifling free speech by forcing platforms to over-censor content, impose age verification on sites like Reddit and Spotify, and even block Palestine protest discussions. 🚨 Small sites are shutting down under the burden. Learn more & act:
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/campaign/stop-state-censorship-of-online-speech/
#FreeSpeech #OnlineSafetyAct #DigitalRights #Newz

https://proton.me/blog/2025-lifetime-fundraiser-results

Proton's 2025 Lifetime Account Charity Fundraiser generated over $1.27 million to directly support organizations defending privacy, free expression, and a freer internet.

#InternetFreedom #Proton #Charity #Privacy #FreeSpeech

EFF warns new online age‑verification mandates risk expanding surveillance, censorship, and exclusion for adults and kids alike. 🪪
They’ve launched a resource hub to track these laws and defend privacy, anonymity, and free expression online. 📚

@eff

🔗 https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/01/effecting-change-human-cost-online-age-verification

#TechNews #Privacy #Surveillance #Censorship #Data #Rights #Security #AI #Policy #Regulation #DigitalRights #FreeSpeech #Internet #USA #EFF #AgeVerification #Exclusion #Inclusion

@eff Lawmakers who draft/enact Age Verification and similar policies insist that said policies are about "child safety." But anyone with even rudimentary critical thinking skills knows that is not true

The true purposes of these policies are as follows:
-Make organizing protests virtually impossible
-Erase marginalized groups from the internet
-Make accessing vital resources much harder, if not impossible
-Erase anything that dilutes the state's ability to brainwash the populace (Palestine, Environmentalism, LGBTQ+ rights, Voting Rights, Reproductive Rights, Immigration, etc.).
-To "return" sexuality and expression in general back to their "proper" place in society and make adult art, sex work, etc. more precarious, more exploitable, and with less recourse to any law or institution
-General petty spite towards people who don't treat lawmakers like deities

Overall, de-anonymization won't make kids safe and it won't result in a more polite internet (just look at Facebook and LinkedIn).

Anyone who advocates for these policies shouldn't complain when their ID/Credit Card/Biometric data is inevitably leaked to the dark web and they have to deal with ID theft and such for years/decades.

They also shouldn't complain when they can't access a vital service and/or get jailed because either 1: The government didn't approve of what they said or 2: The extremely error prone AI that scans their messages thought the innocuous pic of their kids/pets was CSAM/Bestiality.

#Privacy #DigitalRights #FreeSpeech #Censorship #Internet #SocialMedia #US #UnitedStates #EU #Canada #Australia

The only drawback is this.

There is a troll farm on Usenet. The purpose of the troll farm is to annoy and harass people with fake, lunatic, and disingenuous posts to try to drive them off Usenet. Once you learn to identify such posters, just put them in your killfile spam filter and move on.

Some of the discussion threads are fake, generated by the troll farmers.

Also, if you ever post a good idea on Usenet, the troll farmers will launch a tirade of malicious criticism to try to drive you away.

It's kind of like the Fediverse. Lots of mockingbirds lurk to pounce on any sentiment disapproved by their masters.

Here's the upside. Censorship is almost impossible. If someone wants to see your articles, they will. Unlike the Fediverse, which champions comformity, viewpoint bullying, and mockingbird enforcement hall monitors at the instance level, any Usenet sysop engaging in gratuitous censorship would lose all respect in the eyes of the Usenet crowd.

#censorship #usenet #nntp #freespeech

Trump’s Attempt to Abridge Free Speech
https://consortiumnews.com/2025/11/13/trumps-attempt-to-abridge-free-speech/
Andrew P. Napolitano responds to a memo by Donald Trump calling antifa — which is an ideology — a domestic terrorism “organization” and directing federal law enforcement to disrupt its gatherings. By Andrew P. Napolitano While the country’s attention was drawn to…
#Politics #Censorship #CivilRights #Commentary #Constitution #FreeSpeech #Legal #TrumpAdministration #U.s. #U.s.SupremeCourrt #UntilThisDayHistoricalPerspectivesOnTheNews #10ThAmendment #BrandenburgV.Ohio #FirstAmendment #NationalSecurityPresidentialMemorandum7(nspm7) #PresidentWoodrowWilson #SeditionActOf1918 #U.s.PresidentDonaldTrump #WorldWarI

Craig Murray: London Opposes Review of Palestine Action Terrorist Proscription
https://consortiumnews.com/2025/11/14/craig-murray-london-opposes-review-of-palestine-action-terrorist-proscription/
Although the U.K. government continues in its attempt to prevent a challenge to Palestine Action being labeled a terrorist group, there are numerous reasons to believe they should be unsuccessful. The activist group Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist…
#Politics #AntiColonialism #Gaza #Genocide #GreatBritain #International #Israel #Legal #Palestine #Scotland #UnitedKingdon #CraigMurray #Elbit #FreeSpeech #PalestineAction’ #ProscribedTerroristGroups #Protest #U.k.HomeSecretaryYvetteCooper

Judge Permanently Blocks #NationalGuard Deployments to #Portland for #ICE #Protests

With her temporary block expiring, Judge Karin Immergut said the fascist #Trump admin had failed to prove that protesters were *hampering* Trump’s policies.

#law #immigration #Constitution #FirstAmendment #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech #CivilRights #DueProcess #military #PosseComitatusAct #HumanRights #ResistYAll #resist
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/us/politics/portland-oregon-national-guard.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

#Cornell University reached an agreement with the #Trump admin Friday that would restore hundreds of millions in federal #funding to the #university, acc/to university & govt ofcls.

The agreement would also end government *investigations* that have placed the #school under months of federal scrutiny over accusations of *antisemitism* [#FreeSpeech] & *discrimination* [#diversity initiatives] in admissions.

#law #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #extortion

…El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, who…heads the #migration cmte of the #US #bishops' conference, said the conference is discussing whether to issue a statement about the #Trump admin's treatment of #immigrants during its annual meeting, to be held in Baltimore from Nov 10-13.

"Without question, this issue will be a major, if not the major, topic that we undertake during the bishops' meeting," he said.

#immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #CivilRights #HumanRights #law #FreeSpeech #FreedomOfReligion

…#PopeLeo, originally from the #Chicago area, …has been steadily increasing his criticisms of #Trump.

…Cardinal Michael Czerny, a close advisor to Leo, said the pope is "expressing the concerns that should be in the heart of every #Christian & of every citizen."

"The Golden Rule, in other words: Do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you," said Czerny.

#immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #CivilRights #HumanRights #law #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech #FreedomOfReligion #FirstAmendment

Cupich, who leads an archdiocese including about 2 million #Catholics, said the #Church's teachings about helping #immigrants cannot be disregarded.

"This is not some abstract value that people who say they are #Christian can easily ignore," said the cardinal. "No, this is the kind of moral imperative that is tested in the here and now."

#Trump #immigration #Chicago #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #CivilRights #HumanRights #law #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech #FreedomOfReligion #FirstAmendment

"Pope Leo's comments strengthen the resolve of those of us in the United States who remain deeply committed to welcoming the stranger," said Kerry Alys Robinson, president & CEO of Catholic Charities USA, a national federation of 168 #Catholic #charity agencies.

#PopeLeo, the first #US pope, has been ramping up his disapproval of the #Trump admin's treatment of #immigrants.

#immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #CivilRights #HumanRights #law #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech #FreedomOfReligion

“It’s about their practices targeting #journalists, targeting #clergy & people exercising their constitutional rights,” said Craig Futterman, atty for the #media orgs. “We have #children, #parents & #grandparents who will forever be afraid to exercise their very rights that make this country great, assaulted by the very people assigned to protect those freedoms.”

#Trump #Chicago #law #immigration #ExcessiveForce #PoliceBrutality #Constitution #FreeSpeech #RightToProtest #CivilRights #ICE #CBP

US District Court Judge Sara Ellis said she will issue a sweeping injunction limiting the #UseOfForce by federal #immigration agents in the #Chicago area after she found a litany of violations were committed in recent weeks.

Ellis on Thursday painstakingly detailed instances across the Chicago area in which #BorderPatrol agents used force against residents in violation of her #TRO.

#law #PoliceBrutality #RightToProtest #FreedomOfAssembly #FreeSpeech #TrumpLies #Trump
https://news.wttw.com/2025/11/06/federal-judge-says-border-patrol-chief-greg-bovino-lied-about-being-hit-rock-deploying

About 5 neighbors stood nearby, shouting at the agents [#FreeSpeech] who gave verbal warnings they would deploy #TearGas. They never did.

Klim & the other man had been working on the house for a couple weeks, acc/to Brendan Ek, a neighbor across the street. “It seemed a little ridiculous, honestly. Big waste of #taxpayers’ money, if you ask me,” Ek, 30, said.

#Trump #law #Chicago #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #fascism #Tyranny #MilitaryState #Gestapo

#GiftArticle

#ICE & #BorderPatrol’s use of #TearGas injures, sickens & *tests* [breaks] the #law

Federal #immigration agents say chemical agents are needed to disperse *violent* [people exercising their right to #FreeSpeech] protesters. But videos show officers directly firing at people in aggressive & “unorthodox” ways.

#Trump #Chicago #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #PoliceBrutality #fascism #MafiaState #MilitaryState #WhiteSupremacy
https://wapo.st/47h99gA

#California, the nation’s largest Democratic-led state, has passed a #law restricting what #teachers can say in the classroom, & has walked back an effort to require high school students to take classes in ethnic studies.

…these developments have also set off alarms among #FreeSpeech advocates, as the #Trump admin pushes to punish speech it dislikes & to impose its patriotic vision of #US #history on #schools.

#education #AcademicFreedom #Constitution #FirstAmendment

lol, let's start burning Union Jacks then if that's the game.

"Right to offend" 🔥 🇬🇧

#UniteTheKingdom #Flagwankers #Islamophobia #UKPOL #UKPOLITICS #Fascism #Racism #FreeSpeech

Alt...

Man fined for burning Qur'an in London wins appeal against conviction Judge says Hamit Coskun has ‘right to offend’ and overturns conviction for religiously aggravated public order offence

I really, really dislike when people (like @FediTips, whom I often really appreciate) push for the Fediverse to defederate from unfavored speech. “If there be time to expose through discussion, the falsehoods and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.”

Pushing for #Bluesky to use its ill-advised centralization to make it more like regular corporate social media that picks winners and losers is antithetical to what we should desire in the decentralized, open web. It's also the exact sort of thing "regimes" like to do.

Speaking of that term: there is plenty of room to criticize any administration, including Trump's. I've criticized the administration and some of its use of social media on here, in fact. But calling a duly elected administration a "regime"... persuades precisely zero people of anything. I've disliked that flex when the Right used it and I dislike it when the Left uses it, too. It also obscures that it is in the public interest for us to know what the White House says, both when we agree and disagree with it.

#FreeSpeech #Fediverse https://social.growyourown.services/@FediTips/115396451982308613