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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.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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FYI, my opinions will be in bold. And will often involve cursing. Because humans. Especially tech bros. And fascists.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The EFF reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the 1990s, the tobacco industry attempted to use federal law to override a broad swath of existing state laws and<\/em> prevent states from future action on those areas. For Big Tobacco, it was the \u201cAccommodation Program,\u201d a national campaign ultimately aimed to override state indoor smoking laws with weaker federal law. Big Tech is now attempting this with federal privacy bills, like the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA<\/a>), that would preempt many state privacy laws.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Preemption Playbook: Big Tech\u2019s Blueprint Comes Straight from Big Tobacco<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Radio Free Europe reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n U.S. To Announce New Sanctions To Curb Russia’s War Machine<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chinese Drone Companies Targeted By Latest U.S. Sanctions<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Register has:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Uncle Sam puts $10M bounty on Russian troll farm Rybar<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Linus Torvalds affirms expulsion of Russian maintainers<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n You gotta love his quote.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ukraine cyber cops collar man who allegedly hooked citizens up to Russian internet<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gary Marcus proposes generative AI boycott to push for regulation, tame Silicon Valley<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n NPR reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The DOJ charged a former Indian intelligence official in a foiled assassination plot<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tech Policy reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n US Commerce Department Steps Up To Protect Human Rights, But More Can Be Done<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Google Search Antitrust Ruling is a Triumph for Behavioral Economics<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n White House AI Memo Promises to Balance National Security Interests with Privacy and Human Rights<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Vivaldi is:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fighting for a Better Web<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n You should use it or Librewolf.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TechDirt reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n U.S. Finally Restricts Sale Of Location Data To Foreign Adversaries, But We\u2019re Still Too Corrupt To Pass A Basic Internet-Era Privacy Law<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TechCrunch reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n SEC fines four companies $7M for \u2018misleading cyber disclosures\u2019 regarding SolarWinds hack<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n UK competition regulator to investigate Alphabet\u2019s investment in Anthropic<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n All mobile phones must be hearing aid compatible under new FCC rules<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As an old fuck I endorse this move.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ars Technica reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n EU considers calculating X fines by including revenue from Musk\u2019s other firms<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Center for Democracy and Technology reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n CDT Europe Leads Coalition to Combat Spyware Abuse Across the EU<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aim your eyes at Israel first<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The AI-Generated Product Reviews Choking the Internet Are Now Illegal<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n CNN reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018Election integrity\u2019 groups have built digital infrastructure to collect examples of supposed voter fraud<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Irish Times reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Microsoft-owned LinkedIn fined \u20ac310m by Irish Data Protection Commission<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ars Technica reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Judge slams Florida for censoring political ad: \u201cIt\u2019s the First Amendment, stupid\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As a resident I can tell you the whole state’s apparatus is nothing but stupid.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Freedom House reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Freedom on the Net 2024: The Struggle for Trust Online<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Washington Post reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n American creating deepfakes targeting Harris works with Russian intel, documents show<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Texas Observer reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Border 911: The Misinformation Network Profiting Off the \u2018Invasion\u2019 Narrative<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 404 Media reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Inside the U.S. Government-Bought Tool That Can Track Phones at Abortion Clinics<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n These c^nts are giving the Israelis a run for their money.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n NPR reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n U.S. intel officials say Russia is behind attempts to smear Tim Walz<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Kyiv Independent reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n How Russia attempted to steal Moldovan election, referendum, and what comes next<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n BleepingComputer reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amazon seizes domains used in rogue Remote Desktop campaign to steal data<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n DarkReading reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Russia-Linked Hackers Attack Japan’s Govt, Ports<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Russian Trolls Pose as Reputable Media to Sow US Election Chaos<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Russia’s APT29 Mimics AWS to Steal Windows Credentials<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lazarus Group Exploits Chrome Zero-Day in Latest Campaign<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n On a similar note, BleepingComputer reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Undercover North Korean IT workers now steal data, extort employers<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hackers exploit Roundcube webmail flaw to steal email, credentials<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 404 Media reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hackers Advertise Stolen Verizon Push-to-Talk \u2018Call Logs\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Intercept reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meta\u2019s Israel Policy Chief Tried to Suppress Pro-Palestinian Instagram Posts<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tech Policy reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Independent Researchers and Journalists Mourn the Loss of CrowdTangle<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fuck Zuck.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jeff Jarvis looks at:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Technology Addiction Panic<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Columbia Journalism Review has:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Los Angeles Times editorials editor resigns after owner blocks presidential endorsement<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Wrap has more:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Two More LA Times Editorial Writers Quit Over \u2018Chickens\u2014\u2018 Owner\u2019s Block of Kamala Harris Endorsement | Exclusive<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n What can you expect with a South African, Chinese, billionaire owner.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Verge reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jeff Bezos reportedly killed the Washington Post\u2019s Kamala Harris endorsement<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jeff Bozzos gets in on the cowardice action.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Unfortunately, there is a lot of douchebaggery in the Tech section this week.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Atlantic reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Big Tech Has Given Itself an AI Deadline<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Why are AI execs suddenly saying that superintelligence is just around the corner? Because people are realizing generative AI is horseshit.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Register reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gary Marcus proposes generative AI boycott to push for regulation, tame Silicon Valley<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yes.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tech Policy reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Unmasking Big Tech\u2019s AI Policy Playbook: A Warning to Global South Policymakers<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 404 Media reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Employees Describe an Environment of Paranoia and Fear Inside Automattic Over WordPress Chaos<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n MotherfuckerMatt has really gone off the deep end. Like another C^nt we all know.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Speaking of, here’s This Week in Musk C^ntitry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 404 Media Reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This Is Exactly How an Elon Musk-Funded PAC Is Microtargeting Muslims and Jews With Opposing Messages<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TechCrunch reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elon Musk\u2019s X is changing its privacy policy to allow third parties to train AI on your posts<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Inquirer opines:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s time to say goodbye to Elon Musk\u2019s X. Changes to blocking online harassment will endanger users.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Agreed.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n NBC reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro: Law enforcement should ‘take a look at’ Elon Musk voter payments<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Atlantic reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Trump Is Elon Musk\u2019s Trojan Horse<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Talking Points Memo reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elon Musk\u2019s Fake Sites and Fake Texts Impersonating the Harris Campaign<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Guardian reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As Silicon Valley eyes US election, Elon Musk is not the only tech bro to worry about<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Blood in the Machine reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elon Musk’s tech projects are inseparable from his authoritarian one<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Kyiv Independent reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Musk has been in contact with Putin, Russian officials since 2022, WSJ reports<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TechDirt reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lies, Damned Lies, And Elon Musk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n On a similar note, James Fallow reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Election Countdown, 17 Days to Go: Ground Truths That Matter.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The New York Times reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n How Tech Billionaires Became the G.O.P.\u2019s New Donor Class<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bad News: We\u2019ve Lost Control of Our Social Media Feeds. Good News: Courts Are Noticing.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ars Technica reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity promote scientific racism in AI search results<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Arizona’s Family reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Man behind Phoenix-area political threats had huge stash of guns, ammo, police say<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TechCrunch reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Feds arrest man who allegedly participated in hack of the SEC\u2019s X account, boosting Bitcoin\u2019s price<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bleeping Computer reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Microsoft creates fake Azure tenants to pull phishers into honeypots<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n DarkReading reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Time to Get Strict With DMARC<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Anti-Bot Services Help Cybercrooks Bypass Google ‘Red Page’<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bitdefender reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n AI chatbots can be tricked by hackers into stealing your data<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n GEANT has:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cybersecurity Month 2024<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Fediverse Report has:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Last Week in Fediverse \u2013 ep 89<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n IFTAS shares:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fediverse Moderators 2024 Survey \u2013 Early Highlights<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Privacy Nexus lists:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 9 things the Social Web Foundation could do to prioritize safety (if they decide they want to)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Which at this point they don’t.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tech Policy has:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Governing the Fediverse: A Field Study<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wreckage\/Salvage is:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Revealing the Fediverse’s Gifts<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben Werdmuller is:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Helping to build the open social web<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bengo explores:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Challenge of ActivityPub Data Portability<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For Better examines:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Building a platform that sticks<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mobilizon has an update:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n What\u2019s new with Mobilizon?<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tech Crunch reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Fediverse is getting its own TikTok competitor called Loops<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The EFF asks:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n What\u2019s the Difference Between Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads?<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paths and Patches looks at:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Addition, magic, community: Bluesky & the Fediverse.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mashable reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bluesky gains half a million new users in one day after X changes how blocking works<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n White Wind explains:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bluesky, and what Bluesky is not.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TechCrunch reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bluesky raises $15M Series A, plans to launch subscriptions<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Enshittification coming soon.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p><\/ul>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to this week’s \u201cDefending Democracy\u201d. 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[69],"tags":[66,67,92,74,73,65,78,75,58,64,86,63,61,62],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=928"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":943,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions\/943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\nFeatured Item<\/h2>\n
\n\nThe response to Russia\u2019s War Crimes and other douchebaggery<\/h2>\n
\n\nThe Evil Empire Strikes Back<\/h2>\n
Pariah States<\/h3>\n
Big Media<\/h3>\n
Big Tech<\/h3>\n
Terrorists<\/h3>\n
\n\nCybersecurity\/Privacy<\/h2>\n
\n\nFediverse<\/h2>\n
Other Federated Social Media<\/h3>\n
\n\nCTAs (aka show us some free love)<\/h2>\n
\n