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Destroying Autocracy – April 10, 2025
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
Hamish Campbell writes:
We need to build a grassroots counterforce, grounded in the principles of the 4 opens, to cultivate digital and physical spaces of resistance. The openweb offers us a framework for doing this, a messy, imperfect garden where we plant alternatives and nurture them with care. But it only grows if people use it. We need joined-up thinking, not the fractured, piecemeal approach of the fashernista crowd. We need people to commit to using and building tools outside the corporate silos, even when it’s inconvenient. Because in the end our communities are all that matters, in the end every click, every post, every conversation shapes the landscape we inhabit.
The rise of fascism and the openweb response
This approach is a very large part of techno-anarchism.
We start and end with good news to make the middle bearable.
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
DevLink Tips shares:
Top 10 European Open-Source Projects to Watch in 2025
Tech Policy reports:
Understanding the EU’s Digital Services Act Enforcement Against X
Leveraging International Standards to Protect US Consumers Online, No Congress Required
EuroNews reports:
The Register reports:
EU may target US tech giants in tariff response
The Guardian reports:
The BBC reports:
Apple’s encryption row with UK should not be secret, court rules
CTV News reports:
Halifax to phase out use of X as official social media platform
Great news from one of my favorite cities.
Neutral
Rest of the World reports:
What we learned from tracking AI use in global elections
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
So-called newspaper, The New York Times reports:
Trump Weakens U.S. Cyberdefenses at a Moment of Rising Danger
Mother Jones reports:
The Shocking Far-Right Agenda Behind the Facial Recognition Tech Used by ICE and the FBI
Reuters reports:
Exclusive: Musk’s DOGE using AI to snoop on U.S. federal workers, sources say
The Guardian reports:
Under Trump and Musk, billionaires wield unprecedented influence over US national security
UK creating ‘murder prediction’ tool to identify people most likely to kill
Citation Needed reports:
Issue 81 – Crypto crime is legal
Jesus.
Pariah States
Bit Defender reports:
Russian bots hard at work spreading political unrest on Romania’s internet
Ars Technica reports:
“The girl should be calling men.” Leak exposes Black Basta’s influence tactics.
DarkReading reports:
China-Linked Hackers Continue Harassing Ethnic Groups With Spyware
TechCrunch reports:
Governments identify dozens of Android apps bundled with spyware
Court document reveals locations of WhatsApp victims targeted by NSO spyware
Big Media
Tech Policy reports:
Independent Media Has an Infrastructural Problem
DigiDay reports:
Big Tech
Speaking of, Snopes reports:
Historian Heather Cox Richardson said Facebook removed her posts. Here’s what we know
My advice to her is to get the fuck off Facebook and get the fuck off Substack.
The Register reports:
Apple settles unfair labor charges brought by fired engineering manager
Ars Technica reports:
Meta secretly helped China advance AI, ex-Facebooker will tell Congress
404 Media has:
‘Careless People’ Is the Book About Facebook I’ve Wanted for a Decade
The Guardian reports:
Meta faces £1.8bn lawsuit over claims it inflamed violence in Ethiopia
The Dair Institute reports:
Jeremy Keith has:
Nothing personal, but it you use LLMs, you are contributing to this c^ntitry.
Terror
The Kyiv Independent reports:
US neo-Nazi terrorist group pays recruits to carry out attacks in Ukraine, Guardian reports
Mother Jones reports:
Gabbard’s Pick to Run Counterterrorism Center Aided Start of a Right-Wing Paramilitary Group
Cybersecurity/Privacy
Bleeping Computer reports:
Malicious VSCode extensions infect Windows with cryptominers
The Register reports:
That massive GitHub supply chain attack? It all started with a stolen SpotBugs token
If you are using Microsoft software, you almost deserve this.
Clubic reports:
Surveillance, fin du chiffrement : Proton pourrait quitter la Suisse
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announces:
OCC Notifies Congress of Incident Involving Email System
Consumer Reports has:
Mixed Signals: Many Companies May Be Ignoring Opt-Out Requests Under State Privacy Laws
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
IFTAS is:
[Staying the Course: Our Continuing Mission]
(https://about.iftas.org/2025/04/08/staying-the-course-our-continuing-mission/)
If you care about the Fediverse, please join me and make a financial contribution to IFTAS.
Mastodon shares:
CogDogBlog has:
WordPress Serving Posts at the Activity Pub
Tim Bray looks at:
Ghost has:
You think you’re following us, but you might not be
TechCrunch reports:
Tapestry’s app can now de-dupe your social feeds
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
#111 #ActivityPub #AI #ATProtocol #Autocracy #BigJournalism #BigTech #Democracy #Fascism #Fediverse #Ghost #Mastodon #StopChina #StopIsrael #StopRedAmerica #StopRussia #SupportUkraine #Tapestry
Destroying Autocracy – April 3, 2025
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
Heydonworks shares:
AI can’t do spite. 
We start and end with good news to make the middle bearable.
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
The Kyiv Independent reports:
Moscow Metro website displays appeal from recently hacked Ukrainian Railways
EuroNews reports:
Help us develop non-English/Chinese AI models, Japan asks EU
French antitrust watchdog fines Apple €150 million over data collection tool
The Reframe has:
404 Media reports:
Open Source Genetic Database Shuts Down to Protect Users From ‘Authoritarian Governments’
EuroNews reports:
Google’s AI feature on hold in most EU member states due to ‘strict rules’
Reuters reports:
Elon Musk must face fraud lawsuit over disclosure of Twitter stake
He’s not allowed to fuck over rich people.
Tech Policy reports:
The UK announces:
Foreign Influence Registration Scheme implementation
Gaël Duval shares:
Practical Payment Solutions for Murena and /e/OS Users
That’s surveillance and Google-free Android if you aren’t familiar.
Geo Coop reports:
Worker-Owned News Outlets Are Changing the Media Industry
The Wrap has:
In Praise of Laurene Powell Jobs, Owner of The Atlantic, Superhero of Signalgate
Neutral
The Guardian reports:
Data protection bill leaves room for governmental abuse, campaigners warn
Open Source Initiative reports on:
Overcoming barriers to Open Source procurement in the European Union
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
TechDirt reports:
The Real Cost Of DOGE: Musk’s Government Cuts Creating Massive New Expenses
NBC News reports:
Denied, deported, detained: U.S. border incidents have travelers thinking twice
Pariah States
The Next Web reports:
The day a Russian missile hit a Ukrainian tech giant
BleepingComputer reports:
North Korean hackers adopt ClickFix attacks to target crypto firms
The Register reports:
North Korea’s fake tech workers now targeting European employers
DarkReading reports:
Israel Enters ‘Stage 3’ of Cyber Wars With Iran Proxies
Big Media
Tech Policy reports on:
Technology, Democracy, and Power: Journalism’s Role in a Time of Crisis
The Guardian reports:
‘I can’t cope with it any more’: newsrooms scramble to retain audiences amid the big switch-off
Big Tech
Tech Policy reports:
Where Does Trump’s Takeover of the FTC Leave the Regulation of Big Tech?
The Verge reports:
It’s the moment of truth for Zuckerberg’s Trump bet
Epicenter reports:
EU Commission Undermines eIDAS Protections, again!
Pivot to AI reports:
AI in the enterprise is failing over twice as fast in 2025 as it was in 2024
Cybersecurity/Privacy
The Register reports:
UK threatens £100K-a-day fines under new cyber bill
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
We Distriube reports:
TechCrunch reports:
A new security fund opens up to help protect the fediverse
Emelia Smith has:
Open-source tools needed for the future of decentralized moderation
Moving Beyond the False Dichotomy for Federation Management
The Nexus of Privacy shares:
More notes on Organizing, Mutual Aid, and Activism on decentralized social networks
Ghost has an announcement:
Funkwhale announces:
Steven Berson has:
Other Slightly Federated Social Media
TechCrunch reports:
Beyond Bluesky: These are the apps building social experiences on the AT Protocol
Mark Cuban backs Skylight, a TikTok alternative built on Bluesky’s underlying technology
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
#110 #ActivityPub #AI #ATProtocol #Autocracy #BigJournalism #BigTech #Democracy #Diaspora #Fascism #Fediverse #Ghost #Mastodon #StopChina #StopIran #StopIsrael #StopRedAmerica #StopRussia #SupportUkraine
https://bsky.app/profile/chriso-wiki.bsky.social/post/3llkc6dwsnm2u
Leaked interrogation transcripts have revealed that the Kremlin has secretly taken over dozens of popular Russian Telegram channels, deanonymising their administrators on Putin's direct orders and 'persuading' them to hand control to the Russian presidential administration. 
#telegram #StopRussia #Russia #fsb
Bluesky Social · ChrisO_wiki (@chriso-wiki.bsky.social)1/ Leaked interrogation transcripts have revealed that the Kremlin has secretly taken over dozens of popular Russian Telegram channels, deanonymising their administrators on Putin's direct orders and 'persuading' them to hand control to the Russian presidential administration. ⬇️
Trump wants payback for all support for Ukraine since 2022?!
:
https://bsky.app/profile/twmcltd.bsky.social/post/3llhkdftna22a
Liberty, Truth, Justice & Trustworthiness Matter
#StopRussia
Be an Ally
#StandWithUkraine
Donations:
https://bit.ly/3DDgCL0
https://u24.gov.ua
https://LifeLineUkraine.com
https://bit.ly/41UgVJd
Slava Ukraini! 
Слава Україні!
Replied in thread
Destroying Autocracy – 27 March 2025
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
The Register reports:
EU OS is a proposal for an immutable KDE-based Linux distribution with a Windows-like desktop, designed for use in European public-sector organizations.
Rather than a new distro, it’s a website that documents planning such a thing, what functions the OS might need, how to deploy and manage it, and how to handle users.
EU OS drafts a locked-down Linux blueprint for Eurocrats
This needs to be implemented quickly and then exported to non-EU, non-fascist states as well.
We start and end with good news to make the middle bearable.
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
The Kyiv Independent reports:
Italy suspends Starlink purchase negotiations with SpaceX amid Musk controversy
Voice of America journalists sue Trump administration following president’s order to gut free press
The Register reports:
OTF, which backs Tor, Let’s Encrypt and more, sues to save funding from Trump cuts
US defense contractor cops to sloppy security, settles after infosec lead blows whistle
Wired reports:
How to Avoid US-Based Digital Services—and Why You Might Want To
Trump’s Aggression Sours Europe on US Cloud Giants
MIT Technology Review reports on:
Why the world is looking to ditch US AI models
In news sure to make Cory Doctorow happy, Tech Policy reports:
Interoperability in the EU: A Judgment Opens the Door
NPR reports:
As the Trump administration purges web pages, this group is rushing to save them
California announces:
Attorney General Bonta Urgently Issues Consumer Alert for 23andMe Customers
404 Media reports:
Mozilla Foundation Calls on Tech Industry to Block ICE Contractor
The Guardian reports:
A French university is offering ‘scientific asylum’ for US talent. The brain drain has started
The Huffington Post reports:
Pete Hegseth Sued Over Signal Text Debacle
The Kyiv Post reports:
First Surveillance Satellite of Planned Czechia-Ukrainian Constellation in Orbit
The Kyiv Independent reports:
’89 hours of non-stop work’ — Ukrainian Railways’ battle against a cyberattack by ‘the enemy’
TechCrunch reports:
Open source devs are fighting AI crawlers with cleverness and vengeance
The Reader makes:
The Anti-Capitalist Case for Standards
Neutral
Tech Policy has:
Scientists Respond to FTC Inquiry into Tech Censorship
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
The Verge asks:
Is it safe to travel with your phone right now?
It’s not safe to travel to the U.S. period. Or even within it by air.
DarkReading reports:
US Weakens Disinformation Defenses, as Russia & China Ramp Up
Heisse reports:
US-Behörde stoppt Gelder für Let’s Encrypt und Tor ‒ Open Tech Fund wehrt sich
Tech Policy reports on:
AI Surveillance on the Rise in US, but Tactics of Repression Not New
How the White House is Gaslighting the World About Europe’s Digital Laws
On a related note to The Guardian article above, Not a Tech Bro has:
Pariah States
BleepingComputer reports:
Cyberattack takes down Ukrainian state railway’s online services
DarkReading reports:
Meet the Low-Key Access Broker Supercharging Russian State Cybercrime
FCC Investigates China-Backed Tech Suppliers for Evading US Operations Ban
Iran’s MOIS-Linked APT34 Spies on Allies Iraq & Yemen
Big Media
America2 reports:
The Substack Dilemma: How Creators Are Inadvertently Fueling America’s Failure
Nothing personal but if you are on Substack, you’re a fascist or uninformed or an amoral c^nt.
Vanity Fair reports:
Trump’s Attacks on Press Freedom Are Paving the Way for Authoritarianism
The Washington Examiner reports:
Kari Lake withdraws cancellation of Radio Free Europe funding
Big Tech
Politico reports:
Musk’s X suspends opposition accounts in Turkey amid civil unrest
How surprising. Two set of c^nts work together.
MIT Technology Review reports:
Why handing over total control to AI agents would be a huge mistake
Tech Policy asks:
Will Ireland be Big Tech’s Lapdog Yet Again?
Blood in the Machine opines:
OpenAI’s Studio Ghibli meme factory is an insult to art itself
Smashing Frames calls it a:
Cybersecurity/Privacy
The Register reports:
As nation-state hacking becomes ‘more in your face,’ are supply chains secure?
BleepingComputer reports:
New VanHelsing ransomware targets Windows, ARM, ESXi systems
TechCrunch reports:
How to tell if your online accounts have been hacked
404 Media reports:
When Your Threat Model Is Being a Moron
You Need to Use Signal’s Nickname Feature
The Verge reports:
Vivaldi bundles Proton VPN into its web browser
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
Arxiv has a research paper:
Letterbook has a:
Fedihost has some how to videos:
Creating A GoToSocial Instance on FediHost
Configuring A PeerTube Instance
Reset Digital for Good has:
Dezentrale YouTube-Alternative PeerTube: Nachhaltiger dank Peer-to-Peer?
Elena Rossini shares:
PeerTube: the Fediverse’s decentralized video platform (part 2: creator edition)
Other Slightly Federated Social Media
The Fediverse Report has:
ATmosphere Report – 2025march.b
TechCrunch reports:
Hmm. Are they really? They sure as fuck aren’t as social media. The web, let’s hope so.
Geekwire reports on:
The under-the-radar tech revolution that could change how the internet works
I think this is more accurate.
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
#109 #ActivityPub #AI #ATProto #ATProtocol #Autocracy #BigJournalism #BigTech #Bluesky #Democracy #Fascism #Fediverse #GoToSocial #Mastodon #Peertube #Signal #StopChina #StopIran #StopIsrael #StopRedAmerica #StopRussia #SupportUkraine #Threads
Russia attacked energy infrastructure in Kherson, violating the limited ceasefire.
https://bit.ly/4c3FA2E
Liberty, Truth, Justice & Trustworthiness Matter
#StopRussia
Be an Ally
#StandWithUkraine
Donations:
https://bit.ly/3DDgCL0
https://u24.gov.ua
https://LifeLineUkraine.com
https://bit.ly/41UgVJd
Slava Ukraini! Слава Україні!
Continuing efforts on bringing Russia to a ceasefire
#StopRussia
Liberty, Truth, Justice & Trustworthiness Matter
Be an Ally
#StandWithUkraine
Donations:
https://bit.ly/3DDgCL0
https://u24.gov.ua
https://LifeLineUkraine.com
https://bit.ly/41UgVJd
Slava Ukraini! Слава Україні!
via Mariana Betsa:
from Andriy Sibiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Liberty, Truth, Justice, Trustworthiness Matter
#StopRussia
Be an Ally
#StandWithUkraine
Putin/Trump report plans to announce Black Sea ceasefire
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250325_N01/
#StopRussia
Liberty, Truth, Justice & Trustworthiness Matter
Be an Ally
#StandWithUkraine
Donations:
https://bit.ly/3DDgCL0
https://u24.gov.ua
https://LifeLineUkraine.com
https://bit.ly/41UgVJd
Slava Ukraini! Слава Україні!
--
cartoon by Peter Brookes, The Times UK
https://www.thetimes.com/comment/cartoons/article/peter-brookess-times-cartoon-march-24-2025-7rmbwqq76
via Mariana Betsa:
Russia attacked Sumy [14h ago]. Residential buildings and a school. 65 injured, including 14 children. That’s how Russia “wants peace”
#StopRussia
Liberty, Truth, Justice & Trustworthiness
Be an Ally
#StandWithUkraine
Donations:
https://u24.gov.ua
https://LifeLineUkraine.com
https://bit.ly/41UgVJd
Destroying Autocracy – 20 March 2025
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
Hans-Peter Schulenberg shares:
The DEEPSEEK Effect: How a Chinese AI Startup Is Reshaping the Global Tech Landscape
Let’s hope that things like Open-R1 will become ethical alternatives.
We start and end with good news to make the middle bearable.
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
The Register reports:
Euro techies call for sovereign fund to escape Uncle Sam’s digital death grip
Vivaldi 7.2 browser wants to topple tech’s feudal lords
Reuters reports:
Dutch parliament calls for end to dependence on US software companies
Freedom of the Press Foundation reports:
Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow
I know 404 Media does the same.
DarkReading reports:
Duke University & GCF Partner to Identify Pathways for Advancing Women’s Careers in Cybersecurity
TechCrunch reports:
Apple loses appeal against Germany’s special abuse control for Big Tech
ArsTechnica reports:
UK online safety law Musk hates kicks in today, and so far, Trump can’t stop it
Apple and Google in the hot seat as European regulators ignore Trump warnings
Neutral
Tech Policy reports on:
Middle Powers Digital Antitrust Efforts in the Age of Trump
404 Media reports:
Public Records Reveal How Agencies Complied With Trump’s Anti-Trans Order
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
404 Media reports:
TSA Says Its Credit Cards for Bomb-Sniffing Dogs Are Cut Off
The Guardian reports:
How an obscure US government office has become a target of Elon Musk
Radio Free Europe reports:
Trump Signs Executive Order For Major Cuts To 7 Agencies, Including RFE/RL Overseer USAGM
TechCrunch reports:
CISA scrambles to contact fired employees after court rules layoffs ‘unlawful’
Pariah States
DarkReading reports:
Denmark Warns of Increased Cyber Espionage Against Telecom Sector
Black Basta Leader in League With Russian Officials, Chat Logs Show
BleepingComputer reports:
Ukrainian military targeted in new Signal spear-phishing attacks
Big Media
NPR reports:
‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks
NBC News reports:
The Trump administration axed Voice of America, and China’s state media are delighted
Radio World reports:
RFE/RL Sues the USAGM to Get Its Grant Back
The Kyiv Independent reports:
RFE/RL sues Trump administration over funding cuts
Big Tech
Cory Doctorow writes:
Amazon annihilates Alexa privacy settings, turns on continuous, nonconsensual audio uploading
The Guardian reports:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports on:
California’s A.B. 412: A Bill That Could Crush Startups and Cement A Big Tech AI Monopoly
The Register reports:
Amazon accused of using algorithms to push warehouse workers to breaking point
404 Media reports:
The Cradle reports:
Google to acquire Israeli firm staffed by former Unit 8200 officers
Two sets of c^nts who deserve each other.
Cybersecurity/Privacy
The Register reports:
UK wants dirt on data brokers before criminals get there first
Cloudflare reports:
Password reuse is rampant: nearly half of observed user logins are compromised
404 Media reports:
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
The Conversation has:
The Fediverse promises social media without Big Tech – if it can avoid familiar pitfalls
The Social Web Foundation reports:
IFTAS announces:
IFTAS 2.0 – Rescoping and Refocusing
Do the world a solid and make a donation to IFTAS, preferably a monthly one.
Fred Rocha explains:
Ghost announces:
I’m looking forward to this being perfected and being available on regular Ghost.
Peertube announces:
A New Social is:
We Distribute reports:
Website League and the Rise of Island Networks
Forgejo has its:
Forgejo monthly update – February 2025
Other Slightly Federated Social Media
The Fediverse report has:
ATmosphere Report – 2025march.b
TechCrunch reports:
Bluesky users debate plans around user data and AI training
The Libre has:
Why I recommend against Bluesky
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
#108 #ActivityPub #AI #ATProto #ATProtocol #Autocracy #BigJournalism #BigTech #Bluesky #Democracy #Fascism #Fediverse #Mastodon #StopChina #StopIran #StopIsrael #StopRedAmerica #StopRussia #SupportUkraine
Welcome to last week’s “Destroying Autocracy”
https://friendica.me/display/78ea265d-1067-d9c8-d46f-543798792874
friendica.meWelcome to last week’s “Destroying Autocracy”Welcome to last week’s “Destroying Autocracy”. It’s your source for curated news affecting democracy in the cyber arena with a focus on protecting it...
Luft- und Drohnenangriffe in der #Ukraine: es werden immer mehr.
via @katapultmagazin
Destroying Autocracy – 13 March 2025
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
Tech Policy reports:
Politico reports:
EU-US rift triggers call for made-in-Europe tech
Krebs on Security reports:
Alleged Co-Founder of Garantex Arrested in India
The Verge reports:
Media Matters sues X to stop lawsuits outside of the US
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
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
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
TechDirt reports:
Trump’s Latest Weapon Against Critics: Destroying Their Lawyers
Pariah States
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
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
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
#107 #ActivityPub #AI #ATProto #ATProtocol #Autocracy #BigJournalism #BigTech #Bluesky #Democracy #Fascism #Fediverse #Ghost #GoToSocial #Mastodon #StopChina #StopIran #StopIsrael #StopRedAmerica #StopRussia #SupportUkraine
» Investigation: We tried to buy American chips as a Russian defense manufacturer — and it worked «
The Kyiv Independent · Investigation: We tried to buy American chips as a Russian defense manufacturer — and it worked
Destroying Autocracy – 06 March 2025
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 writes:
The year is 2028. The world’s leading economies are in turmoil as artificial intelligence systems, once hailed as engines of progress, have outpaced human governance.
AI-driven financial markets operate beyond regulation, executing trades at speeds incomprehensible to human oversight. AI legal agents flood the courts with appeals and counterappeals, paralyzing the judicial system. Generative AI platforms tailor disinformation campaigns with surgical precision, dismantling electoral processes before governments can intervene.
Meanwhile, a handful of oligarchs with exclusive control over the most advanced AI systems command unprecedented influence, bypassing legislatures and setting policies through proprietary governance mechanisms.
Democracy, once thought resilient, is crumbling under the weight of unchecked artificial intelligence.
It’s hard not to see a trajectory towards such a world in today’s headlines. Yet, this future is not inevitable.
AI at the Brink: Preventing the Subversion of Democracy
We start and end with good news to make the middle bearable.
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
The Register reports:
UK watchdog investigates TikTok and Reddit over child data privacy concerns
ArsTechnica reports:
Apple refuses to break encryption, seeks reversal of UK demand for backdoor
NextGov reports:
US spy chief directs legal review of UK’s Apple backdoor demand
EuroNews reports:
EU Commission looking to speed up 5G defence from foreign interference
TechCrunch reports:
EU must ‘fully’ apply its market fairness rulebook on Google, search rivals urge
Jan Wildeboer describes:
From iCloud to Nextcloud: Contacts
404 Media reports:
French University to Fund American Scientists Who Fear Trump Censorship
Archivists Recreate Pre-Trump CDC Website, Are Hosting It in Europe
NetzPolitik reports:
Open source funding on the brink : “Delivering what’s needed to make Europe sovereign”
Tech Policy has:
Looking for an Exit: Europe’s Way to Public Digital Infrastructures
The Electronic Frontier Foundation introduces:
Meet Rayhunter: A New Open Source Tool from EFF to Detect Cellular Spying
BleepingComputer reports:
US charges Chinese hackers linked to critical infrastructure breaches
Andre Garzia opines:
The Web Should Be A Conversation
Sim, meu homem!
Ben Werdmuller says:
The web was always about redistribution of power. Let’s bring that back.
Joan Westenberg writes:
Big Tech Wants You Trapped. The Open Web Sets You Free
Neutral
The Register reports:
Microsoft unveils finalized EU Data Boundary as European doubt over US grows
It begins: Pentagon to give AI agents a role in decision making, ops planning
The Markup reports:
AI Chatbots Can Cushion the High School Counselor Shortage — But Are They Bad for Students?
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
BitDefender reports:
Stop targeting Russian hackers, Trump administration orders US Cyber Command
The Guardian reports:
Trump administration retreats in fight against Russian cyber threats
Meanwhile BleepingComputer reports:
DHS says CISA will not stop monitoring Russian cyber threats
The Register has more:
So … Russia no longer a cyber threat to America?
Given that the people running these agencies are now lying, moronic, incompetent, fascist c^nts, who knows what to believe.
The Kyiv Independent reports:
Russian, Chinese intelligence seek to recruit fired US federal employees, CNN reports
This would be funny if weren’t disastrous.
404 Media reports:
Cellebrite Is Using AI to Summarize Chat Logs and Audio from Seized Mobile Phones
Tech Policy reports:
Pariah States
The Register reports:
Polish space agency confirms cyberattack
DarkReading reports:
‘Crafty Camel’ APT Targets Aviation, OT With Polygot Files
China’s Silk Typhoon APT Shifts to IT Supply Chain Attacks
Big Media
Joan Westenberg shares:
Substack is for c^nts and fascists. Use Ghost or Buttondown instead. And you should become a paid subscriber to Joan’s site as well.
Speaking of, The Guardian has:
The LA Times’ AI ‘bias meter’ looks like a bid to please Donald Trump
TechDirt announces:
Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not)
Big Tech
Where’s Your ‘Ed At explains:
TechCrunch reports:
Anthropic quietly removes Biden-era AI policy commitments from its website
Jumping on the coward bandwagon.
OpenAI’s ex-policy lead criticizes the company for ‘rewriting’ its AI safety history
404 Media reports:
Google and Amazon AI Say Hitler’s Mein Kampf Is ‘a True Work of Art’
Terror
Micah Flee is:
Exploring the Paramilitary Leaks
Cybersecurity/Privacy
DarkReading reports:
Third-Party Risk Top Cybersecurity Claims
BleepingComputer reports:
Microsoft Teams tactics, malware connect Black Basta, Cactus ransomware
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
Unfortunately, IFTAS has an announcement:
I just started a small monthly donation, but they need big money for the things they just dropped.
FOSS Academic asks are we in a:
Ghost has an update:
FunkWhale announces:
And fuck anybody who has a problem with it!
Elena Rossini shares:
PeerTube: the Fediverse’s decentralized video platform (part 1: first impressions)
Other Slightly Federated Social Media
TechCrunch reports:
Tapbots teases a new Bluesky app, Phoenix, saying it can’t ‘survive on Mastodon alone’
Tangled is
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
#106 #ActivityPub #AI #ATProto #ATProtocol #Autocracy #BigJournalism #BigTech #Bluesky #Democracy #Fascism #Fediverse #Ghost #Mastodon #Peertube #StopChina #StopIran #StopIsrael #StopRedAmerica #StopRussia #SupportUkraine