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ICQ, One of the Oldest Instant Messengers, Is Shutting Down
In other news: ICQ still exists? https://uk.pcmag.com/mobile-apps/152479/icq-one-of-the-oldest-instant-messengers-is-shutting-down
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Tories plan to introduce obligatory “national (cyber)service” for 18+, consequences are easy to imagine
Basically like the Stasi, half of them will have to spend their time spying on the other half & vice-versa in order to attempt to rein-in various abuses of privilege & power that would be available to them. This is a bonkers idea. Citizenship may bring obligation but a wise government doesn’t wage war upon
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If 16-year-olds are given the vote we can rapidly expect to see a “Online Misinformation Bill” …
…where MPs and techlash activists will battle to force “Foreign Algorithms” on “American & Chinese Platforms” to oblige equal eyeball-engagement for approved “Party Election Content”, whilst also incidentally censoring actual political discussion. “Yo, this has been a party political shitpost by the Liberal Democrats, innit?” > Labour would allow 16-year-olds to vote in future general
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“Fascinating how when it’s voting age they are ‘under-18s’, or ‘16 & 17 year olds’, but when it’s online safety, smartphones & social media they are ‘children’” | @cyberleagle
Graham Smith makes a pithy observation. (links to the Times)
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“Signal would rather leave the EU market than subject our users to mass gov surveillance. FULL STOP.”
Good to make that clear; that said, Signal does not have enough money for the EU to consider it worth applying fines, and from my perspective the opportunity to levy fines are the primary goal of most European privacy legislation.
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“Because of the general election the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill passed by the Commons has fallen in the Lords”
A tiny fraction of good news but I am confident that a subsequent Labour government will attempt to revive it, because this is a Home Office goal not a government one. Vigilance is the eternal price, etc.
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The PGPi scanning project
A reminder for those who sit on the fence regarding whether “code is speech” — global access to strong cryptography would not be where it is today without a 1997 project to publish — as a book — the entire source code of PGP 5.0i in an OCR-friendly format, in such a way as to
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OpenDyslexic
This seems like a nice thing: OpenDyslexic is a typeface designed against some common symptoms of dyslexia. If you like the way you are able to read this page, and others, then this typeface is for you! OpenDyslexic is free to use: The newest version of OpenDyslexic now uses the SIL-OFL license, giving you freedom
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Just shipped: Bluesky Direct Messages! | …regrettably not end to end encrypted
Alas… https://bsky.social/about/blog/05-22-2024-direct-messages
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How the new Microsoft Recall feature fundamentally undermines Windows security | Kevin Beaumont
More opinion on the fragile proposition that is Microsoft Recall; as previously I do NOT believe it is inherently a disastrous idea, however I am confident that ripping into it at speed is not conducive to considered development and deployment — including how it may be co-opted by the state or illiberal activists. https://doublepulsar.com/how-the-new-microsoft-recall-feature-fundamentally-undermines-windows-security-aa072829f218
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China’s latest answer to OpenAI is ‘Chat Xi PT’
…but can it write code in Python? > China’s latest answer to OpenAI is ‘Chat Xi PT’Internet regulator uses Chinese leader’s political philosophy to help answer questions posed to latest large language model https://www.ft.com/content/43378c6e-664b-4885-a255-31325d632ee9
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Have we yet seen calls from NCMEC @MissingKids & the child safety lobby, for Copilot+ AI to assess your laptop screen for porn & report in real time any presence of apparent CSAM?
I’m thinking it’s inevitable that the “safety above all else” community will now suddenly switch from hating AI to embracing it: > New Windows AI feature records everything you’ve done on your PC … Recall uses AI features “to take images of your active screen every few seconds.” https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/microsofts-new-recall-feature-will-record-everything-you-do-on-your-pc/