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Now the dust has settled I would like to strongly condemn @jason_koebler & @josephfcox (& by extension @404mediaco) for misrepresenting the new iPhone “reboot” feature as an Anti-Law-Enforcement measure
I shouldn’t have to spell this out but: Apple does not ship platform features on the grounds that “All Cops Are Bastards”, and fostering that perspective actively harms online security efforts. Jason should be fully aware of such truth, and even if he is not he has got former Londoner Joseph Cox (only marginally less
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Lovely thread on X from some Indian hackers using a microwave as a Faraday cage & spoofing Californian Wi-Fi networks in order to unlock AirPod hearing-aid functionality for Grandma…
…which apart from anything else underscores, in a heartwarming way, the “speedbump” nature of geoblocking in software regulation & controls upon speech: “Apple released a hearing aids feature for the AirPods Pro a while ago. I bought a pair for grandma, but then realized that the feature was geoblocked in India…”
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ICYMI: (3 months ago) UK ‘desperately exposed’ to cyber-threats and pandemics, says minister [@peterkyle of @SciTechGovUK]
I believe it would be a positive economic gain for the nation to adopt a light-touch and stop attempting to dictate to tech companies re: that they should avoid implementing “too much” security and privacy by default: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/29/uk-desperately-exposed-to-cyber-threats-and-pandemics-says-minister
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ICYMI: Encrypted messaging app developer moves out of Australia after police visit employee’s home
If Britain wants a digital recovery and to foster innovation, it’s probably wise not to follow the Australian example: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/nov/05/session-encrypted-messaging-app-developer-moves-out-of-australia-police-visit-switzerland
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Two online safety questions I beg @DCMS @IWFhotline @LordsCommsCom @Ofcom @SciTechGovUK @onlinesafetycom @peterkyle @CPhilipOfficial respond to…
1) Given the impending Trump administration’s illiberal proposed actions (e.g. below) isn’t it good for Americans to have end-to-end secure, encrypted messengers that are free from Government oversight, such as Signal, WhatsApp, & the new Facebook Messenger? 2) Should Britons eschew such technologies on the grounds that we trust our Government? It’s a straightforward question,
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The lesson of phenylephrine is that it takes a minimum of 20 years to rescind ineffective regulator-imposed technologies that are introduced in response to moral panic; now consider Age Verification…
Popular Decongestant Doesn’t Work. The FDA Is Finally Doing Something About It | Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/11/fda-proposes-ditching-common-decongestant-for-being-completely-useless/
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“As strongly requested by the reviewers, here we cite some references […] although they are completely irrelevant to the present work”
Ouch. Origin of the distinct site occupations of H atom in hcp Ti and Zr/Hf | ScienceDirect https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360319924043957
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“As an academic I can prove that people are mindless sheep & even a single Instagram post is enough to throw society into chaos; thus it is incumbent upon us to rescind anonymity & impose age verification + a duty of care to protect people from ever reading things which might upset them…”
…such as the position of several safety activists I’m aware of, and it’s this kind of thinking which gets us into trouble. Robyn (attached) is right and a lot of the “safety” community are dead wrong, not to mention they are actively seeking to undermine people’s immune response against bullshit. https://twitter.com/robyncaplan/status/1854536276135014443
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Hey, do you remember when the Trust & Safety community used to believe that ‘election interference’ was how people like Trump got elected?
Those were good times. We had faith in humanity, and optimism. We believed in the natural state of democracy. It’s sad we were so collectively naive. Antoine de Gunzbourg’s post is sobering reading and we should hold ourselves to account: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7259850254215266305-hPEM For those who don’t want to or cannot face the clickwall, an extract: 1)
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Australian Government demands that SOCIAL NETWORKS MUST COLLECT EVEN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EVERYBODY, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN (HT: @eSafetyOffice)
Break out the popcorn, folks, this state-mandated privacy disaster should be fun to watch; the last time I saw regulation proposed as crazy as this it led* directly to the Cambridge Analytica debacle — not to mention the general increased risk of data breach everywhere. Australia plans social media ban for under-16s Australia’s government says it