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.
We are going to be on holiday for a few weeks, so look for the next Defending Democracy in early October. You can still follow me on the Fediverse via the link under my photo below for limited curation of news items.
Featured Item
Tech Policy writes:
New technologies need simple metaphors to thrive, but simple metaphors aim to reduce complexity. Meanwhile, corporate boardrooms and founders believe in (or at least invest in) compelling myths and reward communications specialists for reinforcing these myths amongst consumers.
Given their origins, these myths inevitably skew to the techno side of techno-social equilibrium. They pollinate the social imagination with metaphors that lead to conclusions, and those conclusions shape a collective understanding. But if we want a socially oriented future for technology, we need myths that animate the social imagination of technology rather than overwrite it.
Challenging The Myths of Generative AI
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
The Next Web reports:
Ukrainian startup plans to defend companies from disinformation with AI
Canadian Broadcasting reports:
CNN reports:
Dark Reading reports:
Malicious Actors Sow Discord With False Election Compromise Claims
The Kyiv Independent reports:
‘De facto cyberwar’ — Poland says it uncovered ‘saboteurs’ working for Russia, Belarus
The Guardian reports:
Google’s second antitrust suit brought by US begins, over online ads
X’s AI chatbot spread voter misinformation – and election officials fought back
The Markup reports:
How I’m Trying to Use Generative AI as a Journalism Engineer — Ethically
404 Media reports:
AI-Generated Deepfakes Pushed Taylor Swift to Endorse Kamala Harris
Axios reports:
New York Times tech workers union votes to authorize a strike
Great. Maybe they can “accidently” crash the site before they join the picket line.
The European Commission has:
Congratulations, Europe.
Ars Technica reports:
Europe’s privacy watchdog probes Google over data used for AI training
TechCrunch reports:
Irish Big Tech watchdog digs into platforms’ content reporting mechanisms after DSA complaints
Senate leaders ask FTC to investigate AI content summaries as anti-competitive
MIT Technology Review reports:
Great stuff.
The Register reports:
Feds pull plug on domains linked to import of Chinese gun conversion devices
Australia’s government spent the week boxing Big Tech
404 Media reports:
In Wake of Durov Arrest, Some Cybercriminals Ditch Telegram
The Verge reports:
Utah social media law requiring age verification blocked by judge
Nearly 40 states back surgeon general’s social media warning labels
Actors union and women’s groups push Gavin Newsom to sign AI safety bill
Meta, Snap, and TikTok partner to stop the spread of suicide and self-harm content
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
And:
Will California flip the AI industry on its head?
The Kyiv Independent reports:
US foreign agent rules can’t keep pace with Russian propaganda
NPR reports:
‘The Bibi Files.’ Benjamin Netanyahu fails to block documentary from screening
The MIT Technology Review reports:
Why a ruling against the Internet Archive threatens the future of America’s libraries
Pariah States
The Register reports:
Kremlin-linked COLDRIVER crooks take pro-democracy NGOs for phishy ride
Russia’s top-secret military unit reportedly plots undersea cable ‘sabotage’
Tech reports:
Kremlin’s VPN Crackdown to Cost Estimated $646 Million
Dark Reading reports:
Microsoft VS Code Undermined in Asian Spy Attack
Big Media
The Guardian reports:
The mainstream press is failing America – and people are understandably upset
Mary Trump writes on corporate media:
On a similar note, The Editorial Board reports:
The press corps is Trump’s assisted living program
Popular Information reports:
Major outlets change standards for hacked emails, protect Trump
The Nation reports:
The Right-Wing Influencers Cashing Checks From Russia
The Philidelphia Inquirer opines:
Trump’s real Project 2025 was written for him in Moscow by Vladimir Putin’s men
MSNBC reports:
Elon Musk’s X is a poison. We don’t need to keep taking it.
Joan Westenberg writes:
Another reason to get off/boycott Substack. If its being a Nazi bar wasn’t enough for you.
Big Tech
Nieman Lab reports:
Big tech is painting itself as journalism’s savior. We should tread carefully.
Joan Westenberg writes:
The Guardian reports:
Meta’s AI is scraping users’ photos and posts. Europeans can opt out, but Australians cannot
Tech Policy reports:
The Dual Decays of Enshittification
Terrorists
Ars Technica reports:
“HAIL HOLY TERROR”: Two US citizens charged for running online “Terrorgram Collective”
Cybersecurity/Privacy
Fortune reports:
How IT services provider Kyndryl is making cybersecurity training more fun
GovTech reports:
As AI Gains Ground, Security Leaders Need to Embrace Saying Yes
ZDNet reports:
One million US Kaspersky customers to be migrated to this lesser-known alternative
The Register reports:
Cambodian senator sanctioned by US over alleged forced labor cyber-scam camps
Security Intelligence reports:
What can businesses learn from the rise of cyber espionage?
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
Last Week in Fediverse – ep 83
Elena Rossini
My Fediverse summer & the top 3 lessons I learned
Mastodon has an update:
TechCrunch reports:
Mastodon tackles the problem of ‘reply guys’ with its latest feature
Threads makes it easier to evangelize the open social web with a new direct link feature
Jerry writes:
Learning to use Friendica was a worthwhile struggle
We Distribute reviews:
Bandwagon is Emissary’s Bandcamp Alternative
Sounds awesome. 😉
sub.club Emerges to Offer Paid Fediverse Subscriptions
Bridgy Fed has an update:
another Bridgy Fed status update
Other Federated Social Media
Aendra shares:
TechCrunch reports:
Bluesky catches up to X with native support for video
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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