U.S. consumers have told us they want an internet that is fast, open, and fair. It's clear that Congress needs to heed their call, take up the charge for net neutrality + put open internet principles in federal law.
https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/net_neutrality_repeal_journalism.php
You know it's not actually about free speech when Meta's performative policies ultimately undermine the very principles they claim to espouse.
“Millions of ppl across the political spectrum fought for + won net neutrality rules bc no one wants their cable or phone company to be able to scam them or control what they see and do online." - @evangreer.bsky.social
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/sixth-circuit-net-neutrality-fcc/
Spotify's business model is based on surveillance and exploitation.
Liz Pelly just put out a thorough examination- check it out!
🚫 We'll continue taking a stand against the Kids Online Safety Act in 2025 by making this harmful legislation unpopular and unpassable. The Trump administration may censor critical information so we’ll focus on expanding our anti-censorship coalition. https://cdn.nostrcheck.me/961dc4bdb7a3010056a0eb08803a49ce3ae4d229d9bc8eb7f86af99309f4a9ee/6c1b2ecfd61de4802472dd141ac17f600dc4eb9819b5f754774e65ec570ff798.webp
Help us in solidifying access to information as a key progressive value through grassroots advocacy for online free speech! 📢✊
🚫 We'll continue taking a stand against the Kids Online Safety Act in 2025 by making this harmful legislation unpopular and unpassable. The Trump administration may censor critical information so we’ll focus on expanding our anti-censorship coalition. https://cdn.nostrcheck.me/961dc4bdb7a3010056a0eb08803a49ce3ae4d229d9bc8eb7f86af99309f4a9ee/6c1b2ecfd61de4802472dd141ac17f600dc4eb9819b5f754774e65ec570ff798.webp
Happening tomorrow! The App Freedom Index 2024 (AFI) promotes transparency + accountability in the global app ecosystem and this event will interest you if want to:
✅ Understand key trends in app freedom worldwide
✅ Learn more about digital rights + freedoms
RSVP - contact@AppCensorship.org
Over the past 12 months Fight has achieved remarkable milestones in defending digital rights + advocating for a safer Internet. We want to share a bit with you about what we've accomplished with your support!
See our new 2025 web page for the full picture: https://www.fightforthefuture.org/2025
As we continue to see sustained death + disablement due to COVID, the public health + disability justice implications of criminalizing mask-wearing are disastrous. Mask bans also violate our fundamental civil liberties.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/11/12/mask-bans-protest-surveillance
ALPR (automatic license plate reader) surveillance tracks much more data than your license plate info- all of which is made available to police through companies like Flock 'Safety'. Here's a helpful explainer: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDdKsglTpNJ/?igsh=Z2hoOGlia2R6aGh2
More surveillance doesn't make our communities safe. Open source projects like DeFlock are one of the ways people are pushing back: https://www.404media.co/the-open-source-project-deflock-is-mapping-license-plate-surveillance-cameras-all-over-the-world/
ALPR (automatic license plate reader) surveillance tracks much more data than your license plate info- all of which is made available to police through companies like Flock 'Safety'. Here's a helpful explainer: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDdKsglTpNJ/?igsh=Z2hoOGlia2R6aGh2
You might've heard this week that the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is back as its authors try to force a new version through in a must-pass end of year spending bill.
The lack of digital privacy safeguards has been used to intimidate, harass + destroy the lives of abuse victims. The DEFIANCE Act is a step in the right direction + we need to push lawmakers to get it passed- call now!
https://www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/pass-the-defiance-act/
I would say nostr:npub1n8gvnx827tdl46ke406sjx0t5ey4mrtptux766ejp9y2ff8cc3uqe4ufd0 is a good option re technology for journalists.
nostr:npub1uuxnz0sq60thc098xfxqst7wnw77l0sm3r8nn48yspuvz4ecprksxdahzv is news and original content not an algorithm. I find myself learning new things from their work.
nostr:npub1xm0rvnpw52nh7tk59ntly55w74rmd2cqvt3kg5zxrzz3rlssvspsk0gs6s is very progressive/ left news / opinion pieces.
nostr:npub1daajnadf0f0s7uz3yftur8434rtz2s949gkdpx7uyeapm9rlt0qq9q8w5z writes about parenting as a dad, so if you have kids…
nostr:npub1f5kc2agn63ecv2ua4909z9ahgmr2x9263na36jh6r908ql0926jq3nvk2u is another artist focused on street sketches. I love her work!
nostr:npub1q33jywkl8r0e5g48lvrenxnr3lw59kzrw4e7p0cecslqzwc56eesjymqu0 streams music from his own mastodon server but through Nostr. If you are in Europe it’s definitely worth a listen in the morning. He occasionally posts about technology but only related to his own setup.
nostr:npub1jcwuf0dh5vqsq44qavygqwjfecawf53fmx7gadlcdtuexz0548hqy4jyrz is an advocacy organization for digital privacy in the states. Worth following if you want to help fight KOSA and other uninformed legislation.
This is a challenge we spent some time working on earlier this year and recruited the above folks to feature or join Nostr.
If you are familiar with the flywheel effect, Nostr is a bit stuck on the turn around the bottom. The tech is there, there’s a group of enthusiastic early adopters but they are struggling to bring more folks in. Lack of diverse content is a major barrier however there are other challenges as well.
Someone joined a few weeks ago, introduced themselves and was bombarded by welcome messages to set up a wallet. The person left within an hour after noting they were not interested in Bitcoin. There is nothing wrong with enthusiasm however we need to meet people where they are. Not everyone is excited about Bitcoin and we should respect that and instead discover what they are interested in.
Censorship resistance is a lagging motivator meaning a person will only make the switch when they have personally experienced shadow banning or outright banning elsewhere. Yet most of the Nostr marketing in the wild leads with this selling point. Ask 5 average people what they think that means and what the social network behind it would be like and you’ll begin to see why the flywheel is stuck.
With that said the protocol is incredibly flexible which means there are lots of opportunities to build around and/or through these challenges. And there are many developers and teams doing good work.
My sense is that 2025 would be a good year to start linking all the pieces together. Less traditional keynote talks and more interactive working sessions focused on specific use cases.
I’m personally excited about the possibilities as we head into 2025!
Thanks for plugging us here nostr:npub1j60x528w2g2vkq5kae5uhh8y7sezjyj20zcsg0v9muc72cmdpu0s0md7ua ! We're still finding our way on here. Excited to engage more with community building in the new year.
They're also demanding that the music industry realign their actions with the interests of working artists. Sign their open letter now to show your support!
Over 350 musicians are speaking out to demand that major labels drop a lawsuit aimed to destroy the Internet Archive.
These edits to KOSA represent nothing more than rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic while we all sink into fascism.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/7/24315520/kids-online-safety-act-kosa-x-update-johnson-scalise
One of the companies is Venntel, which provides data for contractors and surveillance tools, like Locate X, to track phones of people visiting abortion clinics. The FTC demands these companies delete sensitive data related to healthcare + places of worship. https://www.404media.co/inside-the-u-s-government-bought-tool-that-can-track-phones-at-abortion-clinics/
The FTC is taking sweeping actions against major companies in the location data industry-many who share your location data to the government.
The push to ban masking in public is a threat to free speech and disability rights.