Welcome to this week’s “Destroying Autocracy”.
It’s your source for curated news affecting democracy in the cyber arena with a focus on protecting it. 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.
DA 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. Fuck ’em.
Featured Item
Tech Policy reports:
Describing the technologies that make all of this possible as “AI” masks what they really are: government surveillance targeting free speech. Today, the government’s use of (Big Tech) data threatens to deny rights while slashing government services, and the risk of being singled out hovers over anyone who disagrees with the administration.
A system linking the views expressed on an individual’s social media accounts to the platforms gathering government data is an immediate threat to the freedom to express ourselves and live without fear of government interference in that expression.
Through fear of service denials, investigations, targeted audits, and other potential abuses, the existence of this apparatus leads citizens to curtail Constitutionally protected speech acts. Creating a situation where citizens reasonably fear that their speech will lead to a suspension of rights, denial of services, or taking on other risks that threaten democratic participation and debate.
What is clear, however, is that the moment such an incursion into rights can be articulated, there is a vast legal precedent under the Privacy Act that can be brought forward in response. For that reason, Americans need more, not less, public expression of diverse ideas and robust rebuttals to the intrusion of this public-private partnership into our civic life.
The AI State is a Surveillance State
We start and end with good news to make the middle bearable.
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
The Next Web reports:
4 European satellite firms are vying to replace Starlink in Ukraine
European cloud hosts are offering an escape from AWS, Azure, and GCP
Politico reports:
EU-US rift triggers call for made-in-Europe tech
Clayton Computer reports on:
Community Tech: Moving Beyond Free and Open Source Software
The Verge reports:
‘Careless People’ publisher won’t pull the book Meta is trying to stop
Media Matters sues X to stop lawsuits outside of the US
Krebs on Security reports:
Alleged Co-Founder of Garantex Arrested in India
404 Media reports:
NASA, Yale, and Stanford Scientists Consider ‘Scientific Exile,’ French University Says
TechPolicy reports:
DOJ Sets Record Straight of What’s Needed to Dismantle Google’s Search Monopoly
TechCrunch reports:
UK competition probe of mobile browsers finds Apple-Google duopoly is ‘anti-innovation’
Could deeptech serve as Europe’s path to autonomy from the US?
Open web initiatives Project Liberty and Solid could be teaming up
Meta faces publisher copyright AI lawsuit in France
Judge allows authors’ AI copyright lawsuit against Meta to move forward
ArsTechnica has more:
Meta mocked for raising “Bob Dylan defense” of torrenting in AI copyright fight
The United Nations announce:
The OSI First to Endorse United Nations Open Source Principles
The Register reports:
Apple’s alleged UK encryption battle sparks political and privacy backlash
BleepingComputer reports:
Suspected LockBit ransomware dev extradited to United States
Neutral
Tech Policy reports:
Out of Balance: What the EU’s Strategy Shift Means for the AI Ecosystem
BleepingComputer reports:
X hit by ‘massive cyberattack’ amid Dark Storm’s DDoS claims
Usually this would be in the cybersecurity section. But, since it was against the box of c^nts known as Shitter the story gets moved here.
OpenSource reports on:
Overcoming barriers to Open Source procurement in the European Union
Citation Needed has:
“Wait, not like that”: Free and open access in the age of generative AI
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
Tech Policy reports:
How Disinformation Is Undermining Trust In Brazil’s Most Used Digital Public Infrastructure
The Guardian reports:
ICE accessed car trackers in sanctuary cities that could help in raids, files show
404 Media reports:
Here is NASA’s Contract with Clearview AI
The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring
Corporate Europe Observatory reports:
Huawei corruption scandal shows EU has learned no lessons on ethics rules
TechDirt reports:
Trump’s Latest Weapon Against Critics: Destroying Their Lawyers
Pariah States
The Kyiv Independent reports:
Russia using cryptocurrency in oil trade with China, India to bypass sanctions, Reuters reports
The Register reports:
Expired Juniper routers find new life – as Chinese spy hubs
BleepingComputer reports:
Undocumented commands found in Bluetooth chip used by a billion devices
North Korean Lazarus hackers infect hundreds via npm packages
TechCrunch reports:
North Korean government hackers snuck spyware on Android app store
Big Media
The Associated Press reports:
Washington Post columnist quits after her opinion piece criticizing owner Jeff Bezos is rejected
The Bulwark reports:
‘State Propaganda’: Anger Erupts Inside Univision Over Airing of Trump Ad
Ethan Zuckerman reports:
Jay Rosen and Taylor Owen: Can journalism survive Trump? Can democracy?
Big Tech
Not a Tech Bro says:
The government is not our business
The Index reports:
The Fascist Tech Bro Takeover Is Here
Unfortunately, it’s true.
The BBC reports:
Facebook was ‘hand in glove’ with China, BBC told
Radio Free Asia reports:
Hong Kong media urged to back up Facebook protest videos
MalwareBytes Labs reports:
Android devices track you before you even sign in
One of the many reasons I have a Fairphone with the e/OS operating system.
The Guardian reviews:
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams review – Zuckerberg and me
Terror
Michah Flee shares a:
Step-by-step guide to reading the leaked militia chats yourself
Very cool.
Cybersecurity/Privacy
DarkReading reports:
Democratizing Security to Improve Security Posture
OpenAI Operator Agent Used in Proof-of-Concept Phishing Attack
Binance Spoofers Compromise PCs in ‘TRUMP’ Crypto Scam
He, he.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation shares:
Choosing the VPN That’s Right for You
BleepingComputer reports:
Critical PHP RCE vulnerability mass exploited in new attacks
CISA: Medusa ransomware hit over 300 critical infrastructure orgs
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
Hamish Campbell explains:
Why the Fediverse Needs a Connection Between Mainstreaming and Grassroots
The Nexus of Privacy shares:
Notes (and thoughts) on organizing in the Fediverse and the ATmosphere
Ghost has an update:
Mastodon has:
Trunk & Tidbits, February 2025
SplitBrain details:
Mastodon to GoToSocial Migration
Other Slightly Federated Social Media
TechCrunch reports:
Open social web browser Surf integrates with Bluesky in latest beta
CTAs (aka show us some free love)
- That’s it for this week. Please share this edition of Destroying Autocracy.
- Follow me on the Fediverse. Or this site via the button in the footer. Or via RSS.
- Or follow Battalion on Bluesky.
Keep fighting!
Ringleader, Battalion
Reuben Walker
Follow me on the Fediverse
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