Welcome to this week’s “Defending Democracy”.
It’s your source for curated news affecting democracy in the cyber arena with a focus on protecting democracy. That necessitates an opinionated Butlerian jihad against big tech as well as evangelizing for open-source and the Fediverse. Since big media’s journalism wing is flailing and failing in its core duty to democracy, this is also a collection of alternative reporting on the eternal battle between autocracy and democracy. We also cover the cybersecurity world. You can’t be free without safety and privacy.
DD comes out on Thursday and is updated through the end of day on Friday. Then we start over. So take your time in perusing it and check back in over the weekend.
FYI, my opinions will be in bold. And will often involve cursing. Because humans. Especially tech bros. And fascists.
A quick note, my best friend is visiting next week so there won’t be an edition of DD. I’ll be busy trying to inject some joy into my life.
Featured Item
Cory Doctorow writes:
For a country obsessed with defining itself as “not America,” Canada sure likes to copy US policies, especially the really, really terrible policies – especially the really, really, really terrible digital policies.
Pluralistic: Canada sues Google
We start and end with good news to make the middle bearable.
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
MIT Technology Review reports:
How the Ukraine-Russia war is reshaping the tech sector in Eastern Europe
The US Department of Defense is investing in deepfake detection
BleepingComputer reports:
UK disrupts Russian money laundering networks used by ransomware
The Markup reports:
Landlords Are Using AI To Raise Rents — and Cities Are Starting To Push Back
TechCrunch reports:
Poland arrests former spy chief in Pegasus spyware probe
EU puts TikTok on watch over election security
Judge confirms decision to sink Elon Musk’s $56B pay package despite Tesla shareholder vote
UK antitrust suit hits Microsoft with claim for $1.25B in cloud fees damages
The Guardian reports:
Australia passes world-first law banning under-16s from social media despite safety concerns
The Register reports:
Biden administration bars China from buying HBM chips critical for AI accelerators
Facing sale or ban, TikTok tossed under national security bus by appeals court
The Verge reports:
Data brokers may be banned from selling your social security number
404 Media has more:
FTC Bans Location Data Company That Powers the Surveillance Ecosystem
Unfortunately, the orange c^nt and apartheid clyde will probably undo this.
The Guardian reports:
Meta says it has taken down about 20 covert influence operations in 2024
The Texas Observer reports:
Revealed: the Operators Behind Four Major Neo-Nazi X Accounts
The Center for Democracy and Technology reports:
Justice Department Goes After Algorithm-Fueled Price-Fixing in Apartment Rentals
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
Science Norway reports:
This is how social media made Swedish far-right extremism normal online
The Guardian reports:
‘Progressive except for Palestine’: how a tech charity imploded over a statement on Gaza
Tech Policy reports:
Pariah States
Radio Free Europe reports:
U.S. Plant’s Chinese Owner Shipped Sanctioned Electronics To Russia’s War Machine
Cult MTL opines:
Foreign interference: Playing dumb doesn’t keep Canadians safe
Alright my Canadian friends, let’s see if you’ve learned anything from your dumbass neighbors to the south or if you’re going to fuck up and elect a c^nt of a Russian stooge as well.
The Citizen Lab reports:
TechCrunch reports:
Hugging Face CEO has concerns about Chinese open source AI models
Business leaders among Pegasus spyware victims, says security firm
Ars Technica reports:
US recommends encrypted messaging as Chinese hackers linger in telecom networks
The Guardian has more:
Many Americans’ cellphone data being hacked by China, official says
And:
‘Russia can turn the lights off’: how the UK is preparing for cyberwar
BleepingComputer reports:
U.S. org suffered four month intrusion by Chinese hackers
Big Media
Status has:
Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong demonstrates that he is editorially inept. And a c^nt.
The Atlantic has:
And Nieman Lab has:
Predictions for Journalism, 2025.
Big Tech
Tech Policy asks:
New Perspectives on AI Agentiality and Democracy: “Whom Does It Serve?”
Yahoo Tech reports:
Google app for iOS now adds Search links to third-party websites unless they opt-out
Daring Fireball opines:
Shame on Google for Their Description of Google Messages’s Encryption Support
Tech Policy reports:
We Need to Talk About Data Monopolies
Fuck Google. I am so glad I just got my de-googled Fairphone from Murena. Go e/OS!
The Guardian reports:
Instagram actively helping spread of self-harm among teenagers, study finds
Pivot to AI reports:
Meet the underpaid workers in Nairobi, Kenya, who power OpenAI
Nature reports:
Why ‘open’ AI systems are actually closed, and why this matters
404 Media reports:
Not Just ‘David Mayer’: ChatGPT Breaks When Asked About Two Law Professors
Semafor reports:
Employee lawsuit accuses Apple of spying on its workers
Cybersecurity/Privacy
The Register reports:
Interpol nabs thousands, seizes millions in global cybercrime-busting op
DarkReading asks:
Incident Response Playbooks: Are You Prepared?
Digital Certificates With Shorter Lifespans Reduce Security Vulnerabilities
LLMs Raise Efficiency, Productivity of Cybersecurity Teams
BleepingComputer reports:
Police seize Matrix encrypted chat service after spying on criminals
Police seizes largest German online crime marketplace, arrests admin
Note that this is not the Fediverse’s Matrix but a separate malware.
US shares tips to block hackers behind recent telecom breaches
Cloudflare’s developer domains increasingly abused by threat actors
Krebson on Security reports on:
Why Phishers Love New TLDs Like .shop, .top and .xyz
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
Last Week in Fediverse – ep 95
Cyber Cultural explores:
The Enshittocene: How the Internet Got Worse in the 2010s
The International Journal of Communication asks:
Can This Platform Survive? Governance Challenges for the Fediverse
Ghost has an update:
Hachyderm shares:
The Website League shares its:
Website League update for December
Public Spaces has:
Belastingdienst pakt door met open communicatie
Fedora announces:
The Verge reports:
Threads takes an important baby step toward true fediverse integration
Threads’ next update is a search feature that finds the post you’re looking for
Other Slightly Federated Social Media
The Fediverse Report has:
Last Week in the ATmosphere – 2412.a
NBC news reports:
Journalists flock to Bluesky as X becomes increasingly ‘toxic’
On a similar note, Bluesky writes:
The Engagement Is Better on Bluesky
HYFIN asks:
Could Blacksky emerge as Black Twitter’s spiritual successor on Bluesky?
404 Media adds more details to a link we shared last week:
Your Bluesky Posts Are Probably In A Bunch of Datasets Now
TechCrunch reports:
Bluesky promises more verification and an ‘aggressive’ approach to impersonation ???
The Nexus of Privacy reports:
Decentralization and erasure: Blacksky, Bluesky, and the ATmosphere
CTAs (aka show us some free love)
- That’s it for this week. Please share this edition of Defending Democracy.
- Follow me on the Fediverse. Or this site via the button in the footer. Or RSS.
- Or follow Battalion on Bluesky
Ringleader, Battalion
Reuben Walker
Follow me on the Fediverse
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