When a BBC reporter can do this, without privileged access to communications data, I find it hard to accept law enforcement's constant claim that they are "going dark" because of encrypted messaging. Encryption is not the main obstacle to effective law enforcement. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Congressman: "Free speech only applies if you agree with me."

I am proud to have worked on an Internet Society amicus brief with the Supreme Court raising concerns that a case could cause thousands of innocent people to lose Internet access.

Again, I know this will upset some AI haters, but I worry that in our efforts to stop all AI, we're going to end up shutting down the open internet in ways we won't easily get back.

People across the Middle East reported slower Internet speeds Sunday as undersea cable cuts were reported in the Red Sea. It's not clear if the cuts were the result of an accident or an attack. Some have blamed Yemen Houthi rebels for attacks. Either way, repairs can take weeks.

Guess what? Bluesky isn't the only social network that's unable to comply with the Mississippi age verification law.

Arguments are being filed in a Supreme Court case that could force ISPs to shut off Internet connections for the mere allegation a user is engaging in copyright infringement by sharing or downloading songs. Cox argues an adverse ruling would "yield mass evictions from the internet."

Some members of Congress want to control Wikipedia articles they don't like. Yay First Amendment!

Unfortunately, Bluesky is unavailable in Mississippi right now, due to a new state law that requires age verification for all users. While intended for child safety, we think this law poses broader challenges & creates significant barriers that limit free speech & harm smaller platforms like ours.

Here we go again! The next TikTok sell or ban "deadline" is September 17, but President Trump says he may do another extension and that he'll keep extending until there is a buyer. For those keeping score at home, that would be the fourth deadline extension by executive order.

A little oopsie in the Great Firewall may have unintentionally cut China off from the rest of the Internet for an hour yesterday.

More than 100 million Russian WhatsApp users could lose access to a vital secure communications channel with the outside world in the coming days.

We need to move policy debates from the impossible to the possible of online safety! Great @markscott.bsky.social piece today: "To jump directly to the 'let's read everyone's messages!' stage makes good politics. But it does not represent a grown-up approach to what are impossible trade-offs."

People are finally realizing that age verification for "adult content" doesn't just mean porn. 🎧 Want to listen to a song with explicit lyrics? 🚫 Age check. 💬 Access a message board on sexual health? 🚫 Age check. 📰 Read the news? 🚫 Age check. We need another word for "adult" content. Any ideas?

Wyoming and South Dakota passed their own AV laws last month, with one important omission: they leave out the "one-third" or "substantial" content provision, opening up a whole new can of worms in those states www.404media.co/wyoming-and-...

The Internet Society is taking a stand against secret UK government orders to break encryption. 🇬🇧 🏛️ 🔐 We jointly filed a request with a court on Wednesday to provide expert evidence on privacy and security.

Congratulations to my incredible colleague @josephhall.org who has taught and inspired many of us in tech policy! 🎟️ www.eventbrite.com/e/22nd-annua...

Australia will require age checks for search engines to protect children from unwanted content with $50 million fines. Except if you don't log in. No age check required and you can search for anything, same as now. Makes sense right? 🤔 Not great for privacy. Not great for safety. 🤦

Last Friday's Supreme Court decision on age verification requirements was disappointing. It was bad for online privacy, security, and open access to the Internet. But the fight to protect a private, secure, and open Internet is not over. Here's how my fellow nerds can take action! 🤓 🦸 🧵 (1/5)

BREAKING: Supreme Court upholds state age verification law. Thomas for the majority: "The power to require age verification is within a State’s authority to prevent children from accessing sexually explicit content. H. B. 1181 is a constitutionally permissible exercise of that authority."

Waiting to be disappointed by a Supreme Court age verification decision like

Very glad to see the Supreme Court uphold the Universal Service Fund, supporting crucial Internet connectivity for rural hospitals, schools, and low-income people!

With a self-imposed June 19 deadline, President Trump is expected to delay a TikTok ban again this week amid trade negotiations with China.

"Now is not the time to introduce a new, abuse-prone tool that can be used to silence reporting and limit what users see online." Read the latest from @mrose.ink:

The Internet Society sent a letter to Congress this week urging updates to the STOP CSAM Act to truly protect children from online abuse. ⚠️ Too often, legislation that claims to protect children would create new security vulnerabilities for everyone online. 🧵 (1/4)

Musk's stint in govt is a cautionary tale about assuming expertise in one domain automatically qualifies someone - or yourself - to lead in another. In my latest, I write about how this collision of different expertise is coming for every industry. anchorchange.substack.com/p/the-expert...

I was watching a congressional hearing on YouTube. The autoplay next video was this. A+ trust and safety feature!

What actually makes the Internet trustworthy? In my latest blog post, I dive into the core elements—from confidentiality to accountability—that are essential for building trust online. Check it out to learn more! www.internetsociety.org/blog/2025/04...

Do age verification laws change online behavior? @zevesanderson.com joined @jerusalem.bsky.social to talk about the importance of research for measuring policy impacts for The Atlantic's Good on Paper podcast. www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/arc...

What could go wrong? 🤔

Last week, a federal court ruled an Arkansas age verification law for social media is unconstitutional. This week, state legislators advanced a revised version of the law that now also targets VPNs. This is simply not how to keep kids, or ANYONE, safe online!

By my math (and a @viacristiano.bsky.social fact check), the TikTok deadline set by law for January 19 is now June 19. That's a five-month delay by executive order (so far). Still waiting on the actual text and it's not clear whether Trump signed an executive order yet.

There it is: Trump again extends the TikTok ban deadline by 75 days with another executive order. And he again mentions the possibility of it factoring into his administration’s tariff talks with China

President Trump just declared another made up 75-day extension for TikTok. That comes the day after VP Vance promised a deal would be reached ahead of the April 5 deadline. This is the game where "everything's made up and the points don't matter." Except for the 54% tariff rate on China (for now).

SCOOP: A WIRED review of public data shows that national security adviser Mike Waltz, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and other top officials left sensitive information exposed via Venmo—until WIRED asked about it.

Anyone else have an automatic response of making a dumb joke about Signal group chats today?

PLA officer in Beijing getting shouted at for not noticing Goldberg was also in the chat rn

CC me on your war emails

A House subcommittee will hold a hearing next week on a bill that would criminalize deepfake sexual image abuse. That would be FANTASTIC... if only the bill didn't have a second section to get any content removed and break encryption. 🤦🏻 We need to fix the TAKE IT DOWN Act to truly help victims!

BREAKING: The president is trying to fire both Democratic commissioners at the independent Federal Trade Commission.

you’re fired. wait you’re rehired. email us a list of things you’ve done today wait forget it you’re fired again. come back your job was important. you’re fired. or hired. come in to the office. wait the office has no computers go home. we are the department of government efficiency.

There is now academic research showing state age verification laws for adult websites don't work. Google Search numbers in Louisiana: 🔎 47% drop in searches for largest complying adult site 🔎 48% more searches for the largest non-compliant site 🛡️ 34% more searches for VPNs osf.io/z83ev

I wish this weren't true, but it is: "Parts of the Take It Down Act are more likely to become a sword for a corrupt presidential administration than a shield to protect NCII victims- & supporters of both civil liberties & Big Tech accountability should recognize it." www.theverge.com/policy/62497...

I never meant to have a side job tracking child endangerment on Facebook. I thought basic guardrails must be working? But since 2021, I have repeatedly run into child luring out in the open in real time, & been unable to get Fb to act. New reporting from me today www.techpolicy.press/latin-americ...

Seeing reports that the FCC plans to take a vague and ineffective step on Section 230 to try to control speech online. So, I thought I'd offer some thoughts on why this Administration's war against the First Amendment and Americans' free speech rights is going nowhere. 🧵 1/??

Just to be clear on the big picture: It is outrageous for Brazilian courts to order global removal of political speech that is legal in other countries. It is also outrageous for Trump to ask a U.S. court for an order telling a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice what he can and can't do.

Thanks to the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement for a great conversation! 🎙️ We covered the TikTok saga, changes at Meta, why online safety matters for free expression, and more on the "SpeechMatters" podcast. freespeechcenter.universityofcalifornia.edu/speechmatter...

Superb hire! Tech Policy Press is a must-read. The talent is now off the charts! There's no other publication with global tech policy coverage and timely analysis from smart people across all backgrounds and stages of their careers.

Fantastic news!