When the Government Says You're Fake News In April [2019], legislation was introduced that would empower the [Singapore] government to demand that sites take down stories deemed—by the state—to be "fake news." Officials would also be able to force social media sites such as Facebook to include "warnings" on posts declared false. Resisting these orders and maligning the government could earn a person or company fines of up to $740,000 and potentially incarceration. Representatives of the Asia Internet Coalition, an…
government
Consider this in the context of convenient biometric authentication like TouchID and FaceID. Imagine you travelled to the US with a locked briefcase that contained every text message, email, and private message you’d ever sent to a loved one. It also included every web search you’d ever conducted, and — through your bank account and PayPal records — every purchase you’d ever made and every organization you’d ever donated money to. The customs agent not only wants to open your…
On June 5th, this web site, along with many others across the Internet will join in protest against the unwarranted government surveillance of our digital domains. Come join me.…
Ephemeral messaging apps such as Snapchat, Wickr and Frankly, all of which advertise that your photo, message or update will only be accessible for a short period, are on the rise.... The companies offering these apps might very well analyze their content and make that information available to advertisers. We don't know how much metadata is saved. In SnapChat, users can see the metadata even though they can't see the content and what it's used for. And if the government…
This sort of thing can destroy our country. Trust is essential in our society. And if we can't trust either our government or the corporations that have intimate access into so much of our lives, society suffers. Study after study demonstrates the value of living in a high-trust society and the costs of living in a low-trust one.Bruce Schneier…