south africa withdraws own government AI policy over hallucinated citations www.reuters.com/world/africa...

Many voters who use big, old platforms may rarely see age verification practices and not be aware of invasiveness, as such platforms (Apple already does) use age of account as a proxy and never check more. Younger users get no such benefit. good for data minimisation, but keeps people in a bubble.

New substack: income inequality has fallen slightly, but inequalities of power are a big problem: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/one-cheer-...

Jeudi dernier, la Cour de justice de l'Union européenne (CJUE) a rendu un arrêt cinglant contre le système de fichage français. Elle juge que la prise d'empreintes digitales et de photographie telle qu'elle est menée par la police française est disproportionnée. www.laquadrature.net/2026/03/25/l...

This is outstanding by @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk on the weaponisation of irony and the need for radical sincerity open.substack.com/pub/joxleywr...

The Government has explained that it intends to use the power to bring generative AI services like chatbots within the scope of the OSA framework. But in theory, the power allows much more than the Government's stated intentions.

Coming round to that time of year when we find out how much Ofcom will reckon to spend on #OnlineSafetyAct in the coming year. Cumulatively, £279m so far.

High Court: Witness coached via smart glasses while giving evidence zurl.co/0L00F

NEW BRIEFING | The risks of consigning online safety law to delegated legislation Our latest briefing examines two late-stage government amendments, giving Ministers significant powers to reshape online safety legislation. 🔽 www.hansardsociety.org.uk/publications...

Over 400 scientists have signed a letter calling for a moratorium on the deployment of age-verification technologies. The letter suggests the widespread deployment of untested AV tech is making the internet less safe. www.politico.eu/article/age-...

Brett Max Kaufman and I wrote this piece about the NSA's "vocabulary of misdirection" a long time ago but maybe someone at Open AI should read it. slate.com/news-and-pol...

“I want to see real names on the internet. I want to know who is speaking up,” the German Federal Chancellor said yesterday. It is hardly surprising that calls for age verification and social media bans for minors are now being followed by demands for an end to online anonymity.

Ein Antrag auf dem CDU-Parteitag fordert "die Einführung einer Klarnamenpflicht auf sozialen Plattformen". www.cdu.de/app/uploads/...

Jesus Christ. Reports that more than 300 inmates have died in Shala prison in Darfur in the last two months. www.middleeasteye.net/news/hundred...

People often jump to saying online propaganda is either the work of radicalised actors, or else Russia. In practice, it’s amazing how often the answer is much simpler – someone is chasing either (a) clout, (b) money, or (c) both.

“The question is not why Mandelson is allowed to keep his title, it is why the system of patronage and an unelected second chamber is still allowed to exist. It’s way past time to abolish it and urgently replace it with something elected and modern.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Cet oubli de l’État qui pourrait aider (voire sauver) Kick, Coco et Pavel Durov en justice Les autorités ont attaqué plusieurs acteurs du numérique sur la base d’un article du code pénal adopté en 2022... aujourd'hui menacé faute d’avoir été notifié à Bruxelles ! www.linforme.com/tech-telecom...

Exhibit n (via @wired.com) on why policy proposals starting from the premise of 'digital sovereignty' and 'strategic autonomy' should never get a free pass in policymaking circles, especially when they involve the shifting of ownership/control between private operators. www.wired.com/story/tiktok...

“It is too early to judge the assortment of war criminals, dictators and autocrats who have paid a demented racist warmonger a billion pounds to be a member of his exclusive club.”

Happy for the police to hang on to your phone, laptop and cloud data indefinitely without even a requirement of reasonable suspicion? Such laws and proposals look dry on the page but erode personal freedom. Cracking debate this afternoon in the House of Lords: parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...

Comme prévu, la #PPLMiller sur l'encadrement de l'accès des mineurs aux réseaux sociaux a été réécrite de A à Z après le passage par le Conseil d'Etat. Ce qui repose une nouvelle fois la question de la non-qualité mortifère des initiatives parlementaires. authueil.fr/2026/01/13/d...

"Having worked on this issue since 2019, I believe that the value of Wikipedia and other public interest projects to UK society must be recognised and protected in law, not subject to shifts in the political agendas of future governments and regulators." wikimedia.org.uk/2026/01/wiki...

Let me guess. Our dependence on cloud and its evil owners is so consequential that it's a national security risk to point it out in public.

The ECJ’s Russmedia ruling quietly overturns a cornerstone of EU platform law. ERIK TUCHTFELD (@erik.d-64.social) (@mpil.de) shows how GDPR liability may replace notice-and-takedown with de facto monitoring – potentially reshaping online speech across Europe. 🔗 verfassungsblog.de/notice-and-t...

Yesterday, NetChoice won a permanent block of Louisiana's age verification law. The Court ruled that the law, which conditioned Louisianans’ ability to access protected speech online on their willingness to hand over sensitive government ID, violates the First Amendment. buff.ly/MtZNKCU

@aleksandraq.bsky.social and @jpquintais.bsky.social have put out what is sure to be the definitive work on must-carry laws in the EU. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

So basically, "you got a loicense for that dick pic, m8?" At what point do I just start muting the word "UK" from my feeds to lower my blood pressure? Why are the Anglo countries such absolute nanny states? www.ft.com/content/0ef7...

1/2 “Moral panics often arise from concerns that are initially moderate and reasonable. But intense focus on the concerns turns them into fears, which are augmented and spread because fear creates selective perception and attention… www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/free...

The EU member states are calling for a one-year data retention period for internet services such as messaging apps, thus going far beyond existing legislation netzpolitik.org/2025/interne...

The Online Safety Act affects freedom of expression. Its requirements risk the ability of small, non-profit and public-interest websites to operate. Read the joint briefing from ORG, @bigbrotherwatch.bsky.social, @eff.org and @indexoncensorship.org ⬇️ www.openrightsgroup.org/publications...

Will be published at midnight - I hope of interest

Important new report from the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law’s Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice. Especially pleasing to see this in the section on the #OnlineSafetyAct. binghamcentre.biicl.org/documents/22...

Submission by Information Commissioner to @ofcom.bsky.social's #OnlineSafetyAct additional safety measures consultation. 32 pages that should give Ofcom considerable food for thought. ico.org.uk/about-the-ic...

Furthermore, the GDPR is to be reviewed in light of the latest CJEU judgement in the EDPS vs SRB case regarding the concept of pseudonymised data. In addition, the GDPR is supposed to get new provision for handling cookies. Moreover, a new Data Retention Regulation will be drafted.

Yesterday, I testified before a New Zealand Parliament committee doing an inquiry into children's harms online. My testimony criticizes efforts to impose age authentication mandates online papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

ICYMI, highly recommend this human rights impact assessment of @wikimediafoundation.org AI/ML work by @royapak.bsky.social (w/ @farzdusa.bsky.social and david liu)

Some good news. London is meeting legal limits for toxic NO2 pollution for the first time – almost 200 years earlier than predicted – following the Mayor’s "world leading air pollution policies," City Hall announces. The Ultra Low Emissions Zone - and similar policies - really do work.

For all the talk of a Reform government, there seems to be no UK planning to prevent and resist one. Not so in Germany. This lawyer interviewed by the Robert Bosch Stiftung is systematically identifying legal and governmental levers the AfD could pull, to harden them and all society in advance.

Carr's views as of October 2024:

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This is an exceptionally good piece starting with the grifters pushing ‘age verification’ and continuing through to the ongoing collision between the Online Safety Act and reality. Highly recommended.

Every time an academic paper equates online platform with algorithmically curated social media, somewhere a fairy dies. #DutyOfCare #Risk-CreatingFunctionality

We must get online safety right! Lord Clement Jones and I have written a letter to the Secretary of State regarding our concerns about the implementation of the Online Safety Act, calling for a cross-party committee from both Houses of Parliament to ensure effective implementation.

Ein Anti-SLAPP-Gesetz soll vor Einschüchterungsklagen schützen. Der Deutsche @richterbund.bsky.social befürchtet "verheerende Auswirkungen" und will die Streichung zentraler Rechtsfolgen. Sein Vorschlag geht aber auch über den Entwurf hinaus. Von @fewizi.bsky.social

EFF and @article19.bsky.social support @wikimediafoundation.org’s challenge to the UK’s Online Safety Act. Wikipedia is the world’s most trusted and widely used encyclopedia, and the OSA must not be allowed to diminish it and jeopardize the volunteers on which it depends.