If the government has its way, we'll be vulnerable to our data being used against us and less able to do anything about it.

Here's what's wrong with the #DataGrabBill ⬇️

🦾 Take action: https://action.openrightsgroup.org/hands-off-our-data

#HandsOffOurData #DataGrab #GDPR #DPDI #DPDIBill #dataprotection #privacy #ukpolitics

Tiny Mastodon Tip About Blocking Threads/Meta ​​

With this week's news
about Meta starting to test Threads integration with ActivityPub (the protocol that makes the Fediverse interconnected): https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/13/meta-starts-testing-threads-integration-with-activitypub/

Many people, like myself,
might feel uneasy about this. There are many reasons to be:

Whether it is due to Meta's (mal)practices when it comes to moderation, disinformation, politics, or problematic privacy, to say the least, your discomfort with this is very valid ​

On Mastodon,
know that you can pre-block a whole domain at the account level ⛔️

Now, this is not a complete solution and might not prevent all of your data from passing through, but it should prevent Threads accounts on these instances from following you and seeing most of your posts, and you theirs.

HOW TO ❓

1. On desktop, go to "Preferences" > "Import and export"

2. On your computer, create a text file and copy the 2 following lines in it:

threads.instagram.com
threads.net

3. Change the ".txt" extension of this file to ".csv"

4. Go back to Mastodon's Preferences and go to the "Import" section in the left side menu.

5. There, for "Import type" select "Domain blocking list"

5.1. On the right, make sure to select "Merge" and not Overwrite in order to keep your previously blocked Domains, if you had any.

5.2. In "Data" on the left, click on "Browse" and select the ".csv" file you just wrote.

5.3. Click "UPLOAD" at the bottom.

6. You will then see a message to confirm. Click "CONFIRM" ​

7. Done! And good riddance! ​​✨

#TinyMastodonTip #Mastodon #Meta #Threads #Facebook #Privacy

#QR Codes Can Hide Deceptive Links From Identity Thieves, F.T.C. Warns

#Scammers have used #QR codes to steal personal information by imitating legitimate companies or sending deceptive emails and text messages, the Federal Trade Commission said.
#privacy #ftc

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/business/qr-code-scam-ftc.html

Without a Trace: How to Keep Your Phone Off the Grid https://themarkup.org/levelup/2023/12/13/without-a-trace-how-to-keep-your-phone-off-the-grid #privacy #privacidad

The outgoing Biometrics Commissioner has warned that regulation is falling behind advances in biometric surveillance.

The #DataGrabBill will gut the controls on the use of facial recognition and Automatic Number Plate Recognition, allowing for intrusive surveillance.

#HandsOffOurData #DataGrabBill #GDPR #DPDIBill #dataprotection #privacy #ukpolitics #facialrecognition #surveillance

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-64583997

'As part of its bonfire of regulations' the #DataGrabBill will scrap the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner in the UK.

The Bill moves the Commissioner's duties to the Information Commissioner's Office and removes the Surveillance Camera Code governing police and local authorities.

#HandsOffOurData #DataGrabBill #GDPR #DPDIBill #dataprotection #privacy #ukpolitics #facialrecognition

https://techmonitor.ai/policy/privacy-and-data-protection/police-cctv-code-of-conduct

Facial recognition is expanding in the UK with little oversight, despite privacy risks and biased algorithms.

The #DataGrabBill will only widen the regulatory gap over the use and rampant collection of biometric data for surveillance.

#HandsOffOurData #DataGrabBill #GDPR #DPDIBill #dataprotection #privacy #ukpolitics #facialrecognition

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/uk-facial-recognition-no-consent-no-oversight/

Videovigilancia: cómo la policía utiliza cámaras privadas en red para monitorear pequeñas ciudades estadounidenses https://netzpolitik.org/2023/videoueberwachung-wie-die-polizei-mit-vernetzten-privaten-kameras-amerikanische-kleinstaedte-ueberwacht/ #privacy #privacidad

New Book - The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation by Cory Doctorow @pluralistic https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3035-the-internet-con My current reading... #copyright #privacy #competition #netfreedom

Victory! California’s new data broker law will hold data brokers accountable and give us needed control over our data by making it easier to exercise our privacy rights.

Read more about what the new law does here: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/californias-delete-act-protects-us-data-brokers
#privacy #databrokers #CA

The latest update for @privacybadger stops more Google link mangling.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/new-privacy-badger-prevents-google-mangling-more-your-links-and-invading-your
#privacy #extension #google

Cities Should Act NOW to Ban Predictive Policing...and Stop Using ShotSpotter, Too https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/10/cities-should-act-now-ban-predictive-policingand-stop-using-shotspotter-too #privacy

“Australians are sick of seeing political parties creating one rule for themselves and another rule for everyone else,” the Curtin MP told Guardian Australia.

“If small businesses have to comply with the Privacy Act, political parties should too."

#AusPol #Privacy
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/28/labor-albanese-government-privacy-crackdown-political-parties

PSA: Google has now begun to roll-out the Ad Topics "feature" onto Android itself. It's not just in Chrome you have to disable the settings. Please #Boost to spread awareness.

If you didn't get the pop-up screen on your Android device (it'll look like the first two screenshots), to opt-out of these settings:

• Go to your device Settings
• Press on "Google"
• Press on "Ads"
  • While you're here, press on the "Delete Advertising ID" button and delete it
• Press on "Ad Privacy"
• Review: "Ad Topics", "App-suggested ads", and "App Measurement". Make sure they are all labelled as "OFF". (This page will look like the third screenshot.)

If you don't see "Ad Privacy" in Step 4 then it means that it hasn't been rolled out to you yet. You might need to wait and check back in a couple of days to see if/when it has been implemented to disable these settings.

EDIT: There's another setting to review. In step 2, scroll to "Personalize using shared data". Turn everything off.

#Android #Google #Privacy #AdTopics

New Privacy Badger Prevents Google From Mangling More of Your Links and Invading Your #Privacy https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/new-privacy-badger-prevents-google-mangling-more-your-links-and-invading-your

"'We do not share SAT scores or GPAs with Facebook or TikTok, and any other third parties using pixel or cookies,” said a College Board spokesperson. 'In fact, we do not send any [PII] through our pixels on the site....'

After receiving this comment, Gizmodo shared a screenshot of the College Board sending GPAs and SAT scores to TikTok using a pixel. The spokesperson then acknowledged that the College Board’s website actually does share this data."

https://gizmodo.com/sat-college-board-tells-facebook-tiktok-your-scores-gpa-1850768077

#privacy #pii

These devices have NO security. If you know their IP address, you're in. #cybersecurity #privacy #iot

5 Years On: My interview on #CambridgeAnalytica with @justinhendrix deeply examining the legacy of the most significant #privacy scandal to date and what the future portends. part I of a two-part series for #TechPolicyPress https://techpolicy.press/the-cambridge-analytica-scandal-five-years-on/

First US Ban on Sale of Cellphone Location Data Might Be Coming - Slashdot

> #Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing a near total ban on buying and selling of location data drawn from consumers' mobile devices in the state, in what would be a first-in-the-nation effort to rein in a billion-dollar industry.
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/23/07/10/2021206/first-us-ban-on-sale-of-cellphone-location-data-might-be-coming #privacy

I'm planning to do more digital privacy/security skillshares at some point.

Does anyone know of a nice 'ladder' of steps? Simpler steps with higher payoffs at the beginning kind of thing... essay or infographic.

Would be nice to have some orientation in the huge field of #infosec #privacy #cryptoparty #crypto

Swap an old password for a new passphrase.
“Accept all” for “More options”.
A strange gut feeling for hands-on tips.

At our next FLINTA* CryptoParty

for female, lesbian, inter, non-binary, trans and agender people

on Wed, June 7th 2023

at 7 pm CEST

online via BigBlueBotton

https://lecture.senfcall.de/ren-met-lbg-d81

Find more info here:
https://www.cryptoparty.in/berlin/flinta

#Berlin #privacy #CryptoParty #password #workshop

The Swedish government is warning citizens about privacy risks associated with using Zoom and recommends Nextcloud Hub as a safer alternative.

Protect your data and privacy, learn more!

https://nextcloud.com/blog/swedish-government-advises-against-zoom/

#Nextcloud #NextcloudHub #privacy #OpenSource

Over the past year or so, I've been struggling to articulate exactly why the practice of #data #protection has frequently felt like a defeatist slog. A few days ago, I read an amazing piece by Zvi Mowshowitz (#thezvi), and it helped to define a form for all the thoughts swirling in my head.

It's really very simple: The current approach most of us have towards data protection and #privacy does not motivate anyone towards positive action that meaningfully protects data or privacy. Instead, we're encouraged to spend cycles on pointless privacy #theatrics, so that we can signal to others and ourselves how much we all care about privacy.

This is a broken model, and I've got some ideas for how to fix it.

I really think this is one of my better pieces, so if you're in this space (or interested) have a read and let me know your thoughts.

I posted it on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7047855109925429249/

And on my website here: https://knowligence.info/beyond-privacy-theatre-or-why-our-laws-mean-we-cant-have-nice-things/

A Roomba recorded a woman on the toilet. How did screenshots end up on Facebook?

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/12/19/1065306/roomba-irobot-robot-vacuums-artificial-intelligence-training-data-privacy/

#privacy #iot #futurism

What is the most #privacy you can get while using #okcupid, without issues?

#vpn seems to get people banned. They want SMS and email verification.

Even if you run your own instance, like I do, you have no #privacy on the #fediverse.

Only I get to read the direct messages received at my instance but I have no control over who sees the direct messages I send to other instances.

So, again, until end-to-end encryption is mandated by the core protocol (ActivityPub), remember:

Treat all posts on #mastodon / the fediverse as public and use an end-to-end encrypted messaging app like Signal if you want to have private conversations with people.

Dear #TwitterMigration folks, an important tip on #privacy on the fediverse:

There is none.

This is a public medium; please treat it as such. Just as you have no privacy on Twitter (Elon Musk can read all your DMs), you have no privacy on the instance you’re on (your administrators can read all your posts).

You can set the visibility of a post but that’s a viewing suggestion, not a privacy guarantee.

Think of your posts as postcards, not sealed letters, and you should be fine.

#fediTips

My message for #GlobalEncryptionDay... for every entity interested in #surveillance:
I will resist and it's my human right.
Encryption is not for bad actors only, it protects innocent people every day.
We are not criminals.

#privacy #encryption