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.
Featured Item
Joan Westenberg writes:
a buildup of Cultural Technical Debt — the weight of outdated values, obsolete taboos, and entrenched grudges embedded in society’s operating system. Just as technical debt hinders code efficiency and causes breakdowns, this cultural baggage blocks our shared progress.
It’s holding back human rights and throwing wrenches into efforts at global cooperation, climate action, empathy, and anything resembling growth. We’re dragging a legacy code of ancient hang-ups into a world that demands something faster, smarter, and less oppositional.
In a world of accelerating change, we are confronted with an uncomfortable truth: much of our cultural “code” — the values, beliefs, and traditions that have historically held societies together — may be obsolete, no longer fit for the world we now inhabit.
Is Cultural Technical Debt Sabotaging Our Survival?
Yes is the answer. This is something I’ve long believed. The piece looks at the problem and possible solutions. They range from the optimistic, to pragmatic, to catastrophic.
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
404 Media reports:
The Open Source Project DeFlock Is Mapping License Plate Surveillance Cameras All Over the World
Signal announces:
Improving Private Signal Calls: Call Links & More
Freedom Press has more:
I’m definitely checking this out.
The Next Web asks:
How close are we to an accurate AI fake news detector?
The European Commission shares:
TechCrunch reports:
French newspapers want social media platform X to pay for news reuse
Generative disinfo is real — you’re just not the target, warns deepfake tracking nonprofit
Lawyer allegedly hacked with spyware names NSO founders in lawsuit
Meta slapped with a €798M fine in Europe over anticompetitive Marketplace practices
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moves to place Google under supervision
EU AI Act: Draft guidance for general purpose AIs shows first steps for Big AI to comply
FTC reportedly begins investigating Microsoft’s cloud business practices
The Verge reports:
Apple faces a new $3.75 billion antitrust lawsuit over iCloud storage
Meta must face FTC trial that could separate Instagram and WhatsApp
The Register reports:
Air National Guardsman gets 15 years after splashing classified docs on Discord
Google decides Europe’s political ad rules are too hard to implement at scale
The Onion announes:
Here’s Why I Decided To Buy ‘InfoWars’
There is a tiny bit of justice in the world after all.
The Guardian reports:
FBI raids home and seizes phone of Polymarket founder
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
Tech Radar opines (and they are right):
The death of the internet: why the future is terrifying, and how we fix it
Ars Technica asks:
Is “AI welfare” the new frontier in ethics?
Tech Policy asks:
Salvation, Abundance, Apocalypse: Is Technology the World’s Most Powerful Religion?
I don’t know what could be worse than combining two of the shittiest things in existence.
404 Media reports:
‘FYI. A Warrant Isn’t Needed’: Secret Service Says You Agreed To Be Tracked With Location Data
The Record reports:
Controversial UN cybercrime treaty clears final hurdle before full vote as US defends support
The Guardian reports:
NSO – not government clients – operates its spyware, legal documents reveal
Wired reports:
More Spyware, Fewer Rules: What Trump’s Return Means for US Cybersecurity
Pariah States
BleepingComputer reports:
Volt Typhoon rebuilds malware botnet following FBI disruption
North Korean hackers create Flutter apps to bypass macOS security
The Register reports:
Dark Reading reports:
Hamas Hackers Spy on Mideast Gov’ts, Disrupt Israel
BleepingComputer reports:
NSO Group used another WhatsApp zero-day after being sued, court docs say
Big Media
Working Systems asks:
Journalists – is Twitter actually your community?
If it is, you’re a c^nt.
Big Tech
Engadget reports:
Meta cuts the price of its ad-free plan by 40 percent in a bid to sate EU regulators
404 Media reports:
Absurd AI Slop About How Elon Musk Will Fix America Is Megaviral on Facebook
Ars Technica reports:
Seeking favor with Musk and Trump, advertisers plot return to X
NBC News reports:
X sees largest user exodus since Musk takeover
Tech Policy reports:
New Research Points to Possible Algorithmic Bias on X
No shit.
Cybersecurity/Privacy
DarkReading reports:
Open Source Security Incidents Aren’t Going Away
TSA Proposes Cyber-Risk Mandates for Pipelines, Transportation Systems
BleepingComputer reports:
Leaked info of 122 million linked to B2B data aggregator breach
Fraud network uses 4,700 fake shopping sites to steal credit cards
The Register reports:
Five Eyes infosec agencies list 2024’s most exploited software flaws
404 Media reports:
Pregnancy Tracking App ‘What to Expect’ Refuses to Fix Issue that Allows Full Account Takeover
Speaking of, The Markup reports:
How Do I Protect My Privacy If I’m Seeking an Abortion?
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
Last Week in Fediverse – ep 92
Augment has:
Bridges & The Last Network Effect
Terrance Eden is:
Introducing ActivityBot – the simplest way to build Mastodon Bots
A Russian shares:
A bare-minimum ActivityPub server from scratch
The Guardian announces:
Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X
Paths and Patches shares:
Five reasons for charities to cheerfully leave X
Ghost has:
Mastodon has:
The Verge reports:
Threads might get ads early next year
Threads is testing custom feeds for your favorite topics
Other Federated Social Media
The Fediverse Report has:
Last Week in the ATmosphere – 2411.b
TechCrunch reports:
Bluesky and Mastodon users can now talk to each other with Bridgy Fed
But does it fucking work? Not for me.
The Guardian reports:
Bluesky adds 700,000 new members as users flee X after the US election
It’s approaching 2 million now.
As long as they are leaving shitter, good for them.
Devin Gaffney explores:
Democratizing Algorithmic Feeds on Bluesky
TechCrunch reports:
How to use Bluesky, the Twitter-like app that’s taking on Elon Musk’s X
404 Media opines:
The Great Migration to Bluesky Gives Me Hope for the Future of the Internet
It doesn’t me.
ShellSharks has:
Cloudy with a chance of not enshittifying
Small chance.
The Verge
Bluesky says it won’t train AI on your posts
We’ll see.
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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