Age verification is the new trend to de-anonymize the web. 😡

🚨Starting Dec 10, #YouTube #Australia will ask for your age.

The Big Tech already started rolling out an AI-powered age estimation system. Adults are being marked as minors & are forced to submit IDs before regaining full access to decades-old accounts.

Learn how to avoid YouTube's #AI #AgeVerification: https://tuta.com/blog/how-to-turn-off-youtube-ai-age-verification

#anonymity #privacy

Alt...

Screenshot of a Reddit post in the YouTube Subreddit titled: "How do I get past age verification without giving YouTube my id?" with a screenshot of a Google pop up asking how they would like to verify their age.

@autonomysolidarity Aujourd'hui, un amendement à la loi sur la police a été adopté à #Berlin. Il autorise à peu près tout ce qui est possible en matière de surveillance numérique : scanners comportementaux, recherche faciale, analyse de données de type Palantir, trojan d'État....'.

https://netzpolitik.org/2025/neues-polizeigesetz-berlin-wirft-die-freiheit-weg/

#Netzpolitik #Surveillance #Allemagne #Palantir #Reconnaissance faciale #Protection des données #Données #Privacy

‚Heute wurde in #Berlin eine Novelle des Polizeigesetzes verabschiedet. Sie erlaubt so ziemlich alles, was an digitaler Überwachung möglich ist: Verhaltensscanner, Gesichtersuche, Palantir-artige Datenanalysen, Staatstrojaner….‘

https://netzpolitik.org/2025/neues-polizeigesetz-berlin-wirft-die-freiheit-weg/

#Netzpolitik #Überwachung #Deutschland #Palantir #Gesichtserkennung #Datenschutz #Daten #Privacy

Very disturbing. Ohio is sending driver’s license records to Homeland Security, will gain  “unprecedented access” to a federal records database in exchange

#Ohio #data #privacy

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/politics/why-ohio-is-sending-drivers-license-records-to-homeland-security/

Forbes: Google Starts Sharing All Your Text Messages With Your Employer

As reported by Android Authority, “Google is rolling out Android RCS Archival on Pixel (and other Android) phones, allowing employers to intercept and archive RCS chats on work-managed devices. In simpler terms, your employer will now be able to read your RCS chats in Google Messages despite end-to-end encryption.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2025/12/02/google-starts-sharing-all-your-text-messages-with-your-employer/

#privacy #android

Why you should #support W3C? We work to support the community that develops web standards, the building blocks of our digitally connected world.

Show you care about the long-term growth of the open, interoperable web that caters for accessibility, privacy, security, and internationalization. #Donate today https://www.w3.org/support-us/

#GivingTuesday #a11y #i18n #privacy #security #openweb #training

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bXp8Eet0HM

Alt...

circular shape of lines and nodes with text "We are global"

#Quote of the day: "Gutta cavat lapidem" is a Latin proverb meaning "a drop hollows out a stone" or "the dripping water hollows the stone. Let's hollow out #SurveillanceCapitalism :D #privacy #security Join the democratic penguin republic 🐧 🫡 ❄️ #linux #FOSS

Democratic Penguins Republic - Trade War (Official Music Video) #yt

https://youtu.be/HJ8qGOe2K0o

After 2.5 years of discussion in the Council a somewhat weakened version of #Chatcontrol has been approved and is heading for the trilogue. A very sad moment for #privacy and a missed opportunity to invest in efforts to effectively protect children.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bart-preneel-4451412_child-sexual-abuse-council-reaches-position-activity-7399499906241167362-XnzG?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAABzTxqwBB890wy58GCakRwDWVquBKScDezs

For our Dutch followers and people with access to Dutch TV 🇳🇱

Tomorrow Signal's president @Mer__edith in #Buitenhof (pronounce as: "BOW-tun-hoff" but we'll count "TV" as correct)

It's about #signal #privacy & #bigtech

📺 Nov 30, 12:10 CET Channel: NPO1

https://www.vpro.nl/buitenhof/artikelen/buitenhof-30-november-2025

Verifying your devices is becoming mandatory // @element

｢ In April 2026, we will be rolling out a significant update to strengthen the security of your conversations: unverified devices will no longer be able to send and receive end-to-end encrypted messages via Element ｣

https://element.io/blog/verifying-your-devices-is-becoming-mandatory-2/

#element #matrix #privacy #opensource

EFF: How Cops Are Using Flock Safety's ALPR Network to Surveil Protesters and Activists

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/how-cops-are-using-flock-safetys-alpr-network-surveil-protesters-and-activists

#alpr #surveillance #privacy #fascism

🔥 #BLACKFRIDAY DEAL 👇
We've already marked these classes down 50% in the Ivy Cyber store, so you don't even need a promo code!

Meet @JohnKiriakou and @profdiggity in 3 live sessions and get a ton of great #privacy & #security content for your life online *and* offline.

https://ivycyber.com/kiriakou

Wow, if you search for signal messenger on DuckDuckGo using Chrome, the actual @signalapp web site is the *third* entry following ads for “Signal Private Messenger – Free Download” that leads to the site appmaus.com and “Get Signal Messenger | Install Signal App” that leads to the site filelocations.com.

DuckDuckGo should be held criminally liable for anyone who ends up downloading malware because of this.

CC @Mer__edith

#DuckDuckGo #Signal #adtech #teachingPeopleHowToGetPhished #malware #security #privacy #BigTech

Alt...

Screenshot of the state of affairs described in the post.

@exador23

"Yes, I'd like to buy a beer?"

"Can you enter your Social Security Number and birthday first?"

"Okay!"

#privacy

Good essay on how automated license plate readers are abused, and also in particular their threat to women.

The Police State Gets Flocked

"Among those punished: an Ohio officer who pleaded guilty to stalking an ex-girlfriend and who looked up information on her; a Michigan officer who looked up home addresses of women he found attractive; and two Miami-Dade officers who ran checks on a journalist after he aired unflattering stories about the department."

(via @rebeccawatson )

https://skepchick.org/2025/11/the-police-state-gets-flocked/

#alpr #stalking #privacy

RE: https://todon.eu/@MediaActivist/115565069276609507

For those interested, I may have some news on this in the next week! #tech #coop #cooperative #nonprofit #privacy #security #sustainability #inclusion #ethics

I don't trust syncthing-fork anymore.

1. App ID changed with version 2.x, seemingly for no reason.

2. catfriend1, the original maintainer has disappeared with no public announcement.

3. Apparently the Play signing keys were transferred to a Github user with a 5 day old account.

4. The old repo does redirect to this new user's repo.

It could be benign and another case of FOSS devs "moving on," quietly. But my paranoia prevails.

https://github.com/researchxxl/syncthing-android/issues/16
#syncthing #privacy #security #fdroid

Reason 5: in July of this year, copilot-instructions.md appeared, and commits from GitHub Copilot were allowed.

Does @fdroidorg have a stance on the usage of Copilot or GenAI code?

https://github.com/researchxxl/syncthing-android/commits/main/.github/copilot-instructions.md
#AI #copilot #foss #genai #syncthing #syncthingfork #privacy #security #fdroid

⏰ The deadline to submit a proposal for the @w3c workshop on Smart Voice Agents (Feb 2026, virtual) is 27 Nov 2025!

Smart voice agents need clearer use cases, stronger #interoperability, better #LLM -based interaction, and improved accuracy, #accessibility, and multilingual support. Broader concerns include device coordination, #privacy, #security, regulatory gaps and emerging business models.

Don’t miss your chance to present your work and submit now: https://www.w3.org/2025/10/smartagents-workshop/

Alt...

W3C Workshop on Smart Voice Agents - February 2026, Virtual on zoom

RE: https://mastodon.social/@Tutanota/115604026341095175

"We and our 940 partners ..." ???

Only an insane person reading such a statement would voluntarily select "Accept".

#Privacy

Tuta » 🌐 2025-11-24
@Tutanota@mastodon.social

Luckily it's not a thousand.

Alt...

Screenshot of Outlook data processing pop up. "We and our 940 partners process data to: store and/or access information on your device, develop and improve products, personalize ads and content, measure ads and content, derive audience insights, obtain precise geolocation data, and identify users through device scanning"

XScreenSaver for Android - Priacy Policy

https://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/google.html

This truly falls under "malicious compliance." LOL.

#google #privacy #android

Them: "Consider what having to comply with the GDPR means for small and mid-sized businesses!"

Me: "Consider what having small and mid-sized businnesses not complying with the GDPR means for all of us!"

I'm so tired of discussing digital privacy primarily from the point of view of companies, as businesses have always done and many politicians are increasingly doing.

We're talking about a human right! Our right! Don't let them frame it any other way!
--
#privacy #DataProtection #GDPR

FBI Caught Spying on Signal Group Chat of Immigration Activists

Keep a close eye on who’s joining your group chats.

https://newrepublic.com/post/203500/fbi-spy-signal-group-chat-immigration-activists

#privacy #fascism #ice #surveillance #signal

Fascinating thread on #Signal, #XMPP, #OMEMO, #Federation, #Decentralization, #Privacy, and the like:

https://mastodon.bsd.cafe/@NebulaTide/115572746047132036

cc: @NebulaTide

well, there is another way to lock VPN traffic for laws, specifically, for websites to do it.
most of the time, when you sign up for a service, you either will not use a #vpn traffic, or do. not a problem, though, because for some, say, Google, services, they have a permission to completely bypass VPN services on your phone, unless it's just apple.
this means your identity which was on your real IP can be tied back to your VPN IP.
this level of VPN coordination can allow that company to say "ok, this is a VPN IP clearly, let's block it."
then, they can violate your #privacy and, in many ways, #cybersecurity .

plus, they don't exactly protect you if they have your real identity already.

in fact, i'm sure #clownflare will also find ways to censor VPN IPs as well, given their track record.
so from a company standpoint, yes, this is absolutely enforceable.
not so much as from a state government standpoint, and, to an extent, even a US government standpoint. I say, to an extent, because keep in mind the US built #tor so I don't think even they want to ban VPNs themselves.

Is there an open source decentralized alternative to Signal with a similar penchant for strong privacy and security? The AWS outage has me irritated.

#aws #askfedi #opensource #sysadmin #privacy #security

So, apparently Windows 11 Home has a watered down encryption mechanism that is not quite BitLocker.

Is there is no built in way to backup or restore the encryption key. Is there an open source tool that will let me do this? Again this Windows 11 Home Device Encryption not real BitLocker. There device only has a LOCAL account. No MS account is tied to it.

#sysadmin #windows #askfedi #encryption #privacy #security

Mercury News: EFF, ACLU sue San Jose over warrantless access to license plate data
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/18/civil-liberties-groups-sue-san-jose-over-warrantless-access-to-license-plate-reader-data/

#privacy #alpr

AP: Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with ‘suspicious’ travel patterns

"...The predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took. ..."

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-patrol-surveillance-drivers-ice-trump-9f5d05469ce8c629d6fecf32d32098cd

#ALPR #privacy #Fascism #ICE #bigbrother

Alt...

The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious, The Associated Press has found. The predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took. Federal agents in turn may then flag local law enforcement.

Most businesses use #Outlook or Google #Workspace - even doctors and lawyers. Though they should know better!

Today we're comparing Gmail, Outlook, Zoho Mail & Tuta Mail so you don't have to. 🔐✨

If you know any business still not encrypting your data, share this link: https://tuta.com/blog/best-email-for-business

#privacy #digitalsovereignty

Alt...

Comparison table of Tuta Mail, Gmail, Zoho Mail, Outlook, comparing price, inbox size, mobile apps, e2e encryption, desktop apps, EU-based, EU sovereign product

Look out Washington. Flock is going to be lobbying our state sentators to weaken our privacy laws.

https://www.geekwire.com/2025/washington-state-cities-turn-off-license-plate-reader-cameras-amid-ruling-on-data-access

#Flock #WA #Privacy #ICE #CBP #PNW

Oh look, the opportunity to trade all my personal data to Google for "up to" $540 🙄 #privacy #cybersecurity

Alt...

Google details on monitoring your phone

Our postdoc Rafa Gálvez will speak at MyData-Trust's Data Privacy for Health & Life Sciences Summit in Brussels on January 29th on "Privacy-Enhancing Technologies: Enabling Data Innovation Without Compromise": https://www.mydata-trust.com/events/data-privacy-for-health-summit-europe/
#mydata #mydatatrust #privacy

Bart Preneel warns in De Morgen that the new EU chat control still risks the end of private communication. Softened measures don’t hide that scanning messages for child abuse remains intrusive and prone to false positives. #Privacy #ChatControl
https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/afzwakkingen-worden-luid-aangekondigd-maar-over-de-uitbreidingen-wordt-gezwegen-waarom-chat-control-light-problematisch-blijft~bb3863f3/ [paywall]

k-anonymity, the parent of all privacy definitions https://lobste.rs/s/ubkuv0 #privacy
https://desfontain.es/blog/k-anonymity.html

Just a reminder that ALPR and surveillance tech like this is a major problem, and flock is bottom of the barrel choice.

Flock intentionally makes their devices insecure and easy to hack.

https://youtu.be/uB0gr7Fh6lY

#Privacy #Security #Surveillance #Flock