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
Here is something positive to focus on.
Joan Westenberg writes:
There’s a distinguishing line between radical optimism and blind, toxic positivity. The latter denies problems exist; the former acknowledges them while refusing to see them as insurmountable. Blind positivity insists that everything will be fine no matter what. Radical optimism insists that things could be better if we acted with courage and purpose, not apathy and unadulterated grief.
The foundation of this outlook is a Stoic principle: focus on what you can control and accept what you cannot. Radical optimism doesn’t demand that we ignore climate change, systemic inequality, or rising authoritarianism. It asks us to focus on where we have leverage — technologies to reduce emissions, policies to redistribute resources, movements to resist oppression — and to act decisively.
Rebel Optimism: How We Thrive in a Broken World
This is a big part of the reason we started Battalion.
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
We start and end each DD with good news to make the middle tolerable. 😉
The Kyiv Independent reports:
US imposes sanctions on over 50 Russian banks, including Gazprombank
Nieman Reports has:
Six Months Ago NPR Left Twitter. The Effects Have Been Negligible
Good for them. Although I did stop following them on Mastodon for sane washing a certain orange c^nt.
The Register reports:
Judges not impressed by Amazon, SpaceX’s attempt to have NLRB declared unconstitutional
European Cloud Competition Observatory created to keep an eye on software licensing
The Verge reports:
US lawyers will reportedly try to force Google to sell Chrome and unbundle Android
Brazil leads new international effort against climate lies
DarkReading reports:
AI About-Face: ‘Mantis’ Turns LLM Attackers Into Prey
TechCrunch reports:
US extradites Russian accused of extorting millions in Phobos ransomware payments
Another VC-backed fintech, Earnin, faces crackdown over allegedly ‘predatory’ loans
Tech Policy has this opinion piece:
Democratic AI Demands Good Policy and Ethical Development
The Guardian reports:
Opt out: how to stop tech companies spying on your phone as Trump promises mass deportations
ICC issues arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged Gaza war crimes
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
Tech Policy shares:
An Eight-Year Struggle for Accountability in the US Ends in Defeat
This timeline sucks.
Heise reports:
Rights activists: EU-US data exchange undermines fundamental rights
Pariah States
The Kyiv Independent reports:
Investigation: Who helped Russians increase production of domestic attack drones despite sanctions
The Register reports:
T-Mobile US ‘monitoring’ China’s ‘industry-wide attack’ amid fresh security breach fears
Europe glances Russia’s way after Baltic Sea data cables severed
Chinese cyberspies, Musk’s Beijing ties, labelled ‘real risk’ to US security by senator
DarkReading reports:
China’s Cyber Offensives Built in Lockstep With Private Firms, Academia
Russian Ransomware Gangs on the Hunt for Pen Testers
BleepingComputer reports:
Chinese hackers target Linux with new WolfsBane malware
Hackers breach US firm over Wi-Fi from Russia in ‘Nearest Neighbor Attack’
Gizmodo reports:
China Wiretaps Americans in ‘Worst Hack in Our Nation’s History’
Big Media
Qasim Rashid says:
Legacy Media is Failing — But We Have Options
C^nt-owned and operated The Washington Post opines:
Our democracy needs a different model for journalism
And it ain’t The Washington Post.
Big Tech
Open Web Advocacy reports:
iOS age restriction blocks all browsers except Safari, breaks choice screen
The Lowy Institute reports:
Tech and AI are changing the climate equation – for the worse
Double sigh.
TechCrunch reports:
OpenAI “accidentally” deleted potential evidence in NY Times copyright lawsuit
Cory Doctorow opines on:
Pluralistic: Forcing Google to spin off Chrome (and Android?)
Just Chrome for now.
Rest of (the) World reports:
Chinese startups supported by Microsoft and Google incubator programs worked with police
404 Media reports:
Inside the Booming ‘AI Pimping’ Industry
The first profitable use of AI?
NBC News reports:
Black Twitter helped define the internet — so where will the exodus from X lead?
The New Arab reports:
Twitch sparks calls for boycott after labelling ‘Zionist’ as racial slur
Anil Dash says:
Just call them shitstacks.
The New Republic reports:
Cybersecurity/Privacy
DarkReading reports:
DHS Releases Secure AI Framework for Critical Infrastructure
Small US Cyber Agencies Are Underfunded & That’s a Problem
It’s Near-Unanimous: AI, ML Make the SOC Better
BleepingComputer reports:
Fake Bitwarden ads on Facebook push info-stealing Chrome extension
404 Media reports:
Leaked Documents Show What Phones Secretive Tech ‘Graykey’ Can Unlock
I Don’t Own a Cellphone. Can This Privacy-Focused Network Change That?
TechCrunch reports:
GitHub launches $1.25M open source fund with a focus on security
The Register reports:
America’s drinking water systems have a hard-to-swallow cybersecurity problem
The Markup has:
Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
Last Week in Fediverse – ep 93
Elena Rossini shares:
A new way to describe the Fediverse and its opposition to Big Tech
Oxford University summarizes some research:
Decentralised social media ‘increases citizen empowerment’, says Oxford study
Letterbook reports on:
Fedi Moderation Tooling Research
We Distribute reviews:
First Look: Loops, by Pixelfed
The University of Innsbruck says:
Bluesky? University of Innsbruck relies on Mastodon
Tim Bray asks:
Le Conseil national du numérique says:
Musk is not our project. Here’s another one.
TechCrunch reports:
Mastodon sees a boost from the ‘X exodus,’ too, founder says
Juliano Costa looks at:
The Nexus of Privacy shares:
Resources for choosing the right Fediverse instance – and I’m not just talking about Mastodon
2ality covers:
Mastodon’s weaknesses and how to fix them
Ghost reports:
James Rashford shares:
Cycles Hyped No More asks:
The Multifediverse? How’s That Working Out for You Marvel
The Verge reports:
Threads’ custom feeds are already rolling out
Other Slightly Federated Social Media
The Fediverse Report has:
Bluesky decentralisation and the distribution of power
Last Week in the ATmosphere – 2411.c
Mike Young Academy reports:
Bluesky is emerging as the new platform for science
Gaven Anderegg opines:
The Verge reports:
Here’s some cool stuff you can do with Bluesky
Dusty Cloud explores:
How decentralized is Bluesky really?
TechCrunch shows us:
How to turn a Bluesky Starter Pack into a List
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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