ATProtocol

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:

TikTok made changes ahead of re-run of Romanian election, says EU tech chief
EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen speaking at a European Parliament plenary session.

The Register reports:

EU may target US tech giants in tariff response

The Guardian reports:

US authors’ copyright lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft combined in New York with newspaper actions

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:

Former Substack creators say they’re earning more on new platforms that offer larger shares of subscription revenue

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:

Social Media Platforms Are Spreading Violent Warmongering Content Encouraging All-Out War Between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Again

Jeremy Keith has:

Denial

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:

Fediverse Report – #111

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:

Trunk & Tidbits, March 2025

CogDogBlog has:

WordPress Serving Posts at the Activity Pub

Tim Bray looks at:

The CoSocialist Future

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

https://battalion.mobileatom.net/?p=1716

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:

Poisoning Well

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:

1 Year After Substack

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:

As Brazil Seeks to Enforce Competition Law Against Digital Platforms, Here’s What it Could Learn from the EU

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:

Fediverse Report – #110

We Distriube reports:

FediForum Has Been Canceled

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:

Social web (beta)

Funkwhale announces:

Funkwhale 2.0 Alpha candidate

Steven Berson has:

Thoughts on Diaspora

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://battalion.mobileatom.net/?p=1681

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

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

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:

Not invented here

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

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.

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?

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:

Fediverse Report – #109

Arxiv has a research paper:

FediverseSharing: A Novel Dataset on Cross-Platform Interaction
Dynamics between Threads and Mastodon Users

Letterbook has a:

Development Update

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?

Other Slightly Federated Social Media

TechCrunch reports:

A world without Caesars: How the ATProto community is rebuilding the web to return power to the people

Hmm. Are they really?

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

https://battalion.mobileatom.net/?p=1650