#Meta #Threads now features #surveillance #advertising in 30+ countries. So glad I never joined that boat.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-23/meta-s-threads-social-network-to-offer-advertising-globally-spanning-30-markets

The federal government is repurposing data collected for public services into a massive surveillance system, enabled by inter-agency sharing and private partnerships.

And Trump is signing executive orders to remove legal barriers to get the job done

https://theconversation.com/from-help-to-harm-how-the-government-is-quietly-repurposing-everyones-data-for-surveillance-254690
#USPolitics #surveillance #Musk #Trump

From: blenderdumbass . org

It is estimated that by 2030 the child-surveillance industry will grow to $500 billion. An industry that capitalizes on bogus fears and causes anxiety in parents and children ( for different reasons ). And an industry that is both directly and indirectly causing the privacy nightmare that we are experiencing. On many levels...

Read or listen: https://blenderdumbass.org/articles/_500_billion_industry_that_causes_not_only_the_loss_of_freedom_but_also_increases_anxiety

Amplify: R MOC are quietly advancing what could become the largest expansion of IMM enfor funding in US history—b/w $175-$345B IN TAXPAYER$. All of it teed up to underwrite a deportation regime engineered to hum thru the next admin—& likely the one after that.

They're calling it “border.” Bro Culture is demanding a national interior enforcement matrix powered bymass: #surveillance #detention & #deportations—facilitated by experimental AI tools -led by S Miller.

#USPol https://migrantinsider.com/p/washingtons-deportation-jackpot

The U.S., U.K. and Europe are aligning with China and Russia in their efforts to undermine the encryption tools that millions of internet users depend on. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/04/23/world/stop-governments-breaking-encryption/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #encryption #us #china #russia #uk #humanrights #privacy #surveillance #tech #apps

Cybernews research A surveillance tool meant to keep tabs on employees is leaking millions of real-time screenshots onto the open web.

#cybersecurity #privacy #web #screenshot #surveillance

https://cnews.link/employee-monitoring-app-leaks-millions-screenshots-3/

Non-compliance decision on #Meta's “consent or pay” model - https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_1085 "did not give users the required specific choice to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the ‘personalised ads' service." #privacy #surveillance #eu

"Google on Tuesday revealed that it will no longer offer a standalone prompt for third-party cookies in its Chrome browser as part of its Privacy Sandbox initiative.

"We've made the decision to maintain our current approach to offering users third-party cookie choice in Chrome, and will not be rolling out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies," Anthony Chavez, vice president of Privacy Sandbox at Google, said.

"Users can continue to choose the best option for themselves in Chrome's Privacy and Security Settings."

Back in July 2024, the tech giant said it had abandoned its plans to deprecate third-party tracking cookies and that it intends to roll out a new experience instead that lets users make an informed choice.

Google said feedback from publishers, developers, regulators, and the ads industry has made it clear there are "divergent perspectives" on making changes that could affect the availability of third-party cookies.

In its place, the tech behemoth said it will continue to invest in enhancing tracking protections in Chrome's Incognito mode, which blocks third-party cookies by default. It also intends to introduce a new IP Protection feature in the third quarter of 2025."

https://thehackernews.com/2025/04/google-drops-cookie-prompt-in-chrome.html

"When asked directly about the most pressing digital threats, be it AI misuse or quantum computing, Schneier quipped. "I generally hate ranking threats, but if I had to pick candidates for 'biggest,' it would be one of these: income inequality, late-stage capitalism, or climate change," he wrote. "Compared to those, cybersecurity is a rounding error."
(...)
Asked directly about NSA reforms post-Snowden, Schneier was skeptical, responding: "Well, they haven't had any leaks of any magnitude since then, so hopefully they did learn something about OPSEC. But near as we can tell, nothing substantive has been reformed."

Schneier further clarified, "We should assume that the NSA has developed far more extensive surveillance technology since then," stressing the importance of vigilance.

He touched on the fusion of AI and democracy - a theme of his upcoming book Rewiring Democracy - noting that he didn't "think that AI as a technology will change how different types of government will operate. It's more that different types of governments will shape AI."

He is pessimistic that countries will harness AI's power to do good and help improving quality of life.

"It would be fantastic if governments prioritized these things," he said. "[This] seems unrealistic in a world where countries are imagining some sort of AI 'arms race' and where monopolistic corporations are controlling the technologies. To me, that speaks to the solutions: international cooperation and breaking the tech monopolies. And, yes, those are two things that are not going to happen.""

https://www.scworld.com/news/bruce-schneier-ai-hype-nsa-surveillance-and-cybersecuritys-real-challenges

Last legislative session, lawmakers established an #AI advisory council to review how Texas state agencies are deploying AI. Agencies were required to produce an inventory of their automated decision systems and an overview of how each tool is used. https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-surveillance-arsenal-artificial-intelligence-lege/

"Online dissent is a serious crime in China. So why did a Weibo censor help me publish posts critical of the Communist party?"
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/apr/17/why-would-he-take-such-risk-my-censor-and-me-weibo-china
#china #surveillance

EU gives staff 'burner phones, laptops' for US visits

The use of clean and locked-down hardware is common practice for anyone visiting China, Russia, and other states where aggressive electronic surveillance is expected. Apparently the European Union has added the United States to that list.

#travel #internationaltravel #Europe #EU #China #Russia #security #cybersecurity #surveillance

https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/15/ec_burner_devices/

evil corp, real life edition

"ImmigrationOS is being built to give the agency two particular capabilities that it said current software systems lack [...] the acquisition paperwork points out, will help ICE make deportations more efficient, "minimizing time and resource expenditure." https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/21/ice_enlists_palantir_to_develop/

#Palantir exec defends company’s immigration #surveillance work

https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/20/palantir-exec-defends-companys-immigration-surveillance-work/

Small businesses subject to new and intrusive financial surveillance that could ruin them are suing to protect their Fourth Amendment rights and the rights of their customers.

Last week, the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) implemented an order requiring certain businesses in targeted ZIP codes to report all cash transactions above $200.

The normal reporting requirement is for cash transactions over $10,000. By dropping that to $200, FinCEN is treating virtually every honest, hardworking person as a potential criminal whose name and financial information will go into a database for criminal investigators to use.

"DOGE is building a master database to surveil and track immigrants. DOGE is knitting together data from the Department of Homeland Security, Social Security Administration, and IRS that could create a surveillance tool of unprecedented scope."

~ Makena Kelly, Vittoria Elliott

#Musk #Trump #DOGE #surveillance

https://www.wired.com/story/doge-collecting-immigrant-data-surveil-track/

Modern Trump’s Gestapo is getting new tools.
Cops now use AI personas to spy on protesters (link below)
Be careful in DMs, especially with people you don’t know.
One trick (for now): ask them to describe an image with visual illusions. AI still sucks at that. But I assume not for long.

#Fediverse #Mastodon #Privacy #Surveillance #AI #ProtestSafety #DigitalResistance #Activism #NoToFascism #StayVigilant #Trump #USA #Activism #Opposition #Wired #DigitalGestapo #Resist #OnlineSafety #UsaPol #Protest #FuckTrump #USA #HandsOffOurDemocracy

https://www.wired.com/story/massive-blue-overwatch-ai-personas-police-suspects/

When it comes to masks, it's simple: use them or lose them. #MaskUp #surveillance #SurveillanceState #PoliceState #AntiFascism #AntiAbleism #Covid #Covid19 #CovidIsNotOver

#ICE Plans Central Database of Health, Labor, Housing Agency Data to Find Targets

Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning to bring together data from a wide variety of other U.S. gov agencies, including the Dept of Labor ( #DOL ), Health & Human Services ( #HHS ), Dept of Housing & Urban Development ( #HUD ), & the #IRS to make a centralized database to identify #immigration targets, according to a document viewed by 404 Media.
#cbp #privacy #surveillance

https://www.404media.co/ice-plans-central-database-of-health-labor-housing-agency-data-to-find-targets/

China is rolling out "gait recognition" tech—AI that IDs people by how they walk, even if faces are hidden! Used in Beijing & Shanghai, it can spot someone from 50m away. Raises big privacy questions in the age of surveillance. #AI #Surveillance #China #Tech

Read more here https://apnews.com/article/bf75dd1c26c947b7826d270a16e2658a #good2kno #fyi