In response to the news about the high profile digitalisation and Big Data project I-Police of the Belgian police in cooperation w Sopra Steria being abandoned as the result of not delivering what was promised and the announcement of the set up of a new #AI -laboratory I was interviewed @knack.be /1

“It’s [Citizen Lab] one of the few institutions that investigate cyberthreats exclusively in the public interest, and in doing so, it has exposed some of the most egregious digital abuses of the past two decades.”

74 suicide warnings and 243 mentions of hanging: What ChatGPT said to a suicidal teen. Analysis of high-schooler Adam Raine’s ChatGPT account shows how the chatbot became a confidant as he planned to end his life www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

An Essex man who offered himself as a spy to assist the Russian Intelligence Service has been jailed for seven years www.counterterrorism.police.uk/an-essex-man...

Apple settles with Brazil's regulator to allow alternative app stores; report: Apple will charge a 5% fee for alt app stores and 15% on App Store linkouts (Hartley Charlton/MacRumors) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

This is as easy a test of your belief in the American system as is conceivable: Should this be an acceptable argument from a president?

In English we know it as “Carol of the Bells,” but the melody arises from a Ukrainian folk tradition of songs welcoming the new year and summoning the forces of nature to meet human labor and bring prosperity. Do listen. I wrote about the history here: snyder.substack.com/p/o-generous...

US President Donald Trump named Louisiana governor Jeff Landry as his special envoy for Greenland, underscoring his determination to take control of the vast Arctic island from Denmark. ft.trib.al/4ioDzx3

Another beautiful Shchedryk performance amidst ruins. It was set in what used to be a DTEK thermal power plant — now destroyed by russia. The contrast between russia’s destructive nature and the Ukrainian will to create beauty even in the darkest times is palpable.

Poorest Britons lose right to financial privacy. The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 empowers the state to 24/7 snoop on the bank accounts of recipients of universal credit; employment and support allowance; state pension credit. No court order needed. No right of appeal.

A few years ago but our little elf is just as ❤️ @beaj.bsky.social

U.S. intelligence reports continue to warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to capture all of #Ukraine and reclaim parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire www.reuters.com/world/europe...

#Airbus to migrate critical apps to a sovereign Euro #cloud - www.theregister.com/2025/12/19/a... "but estimates only an 80/20 chance of finding a suitable provider." absurd if it isn't possible

NEW Donald Trump v the British Broadcasting Corporation: the battle begins The president filed a claim this week more about exerting leverage than legal niceties By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

Surprising. If adequacy actually meant anything these days tbh

"America is not led by diplomats in #Africa. It is led by businessmen and those who hang onto #Trump, such as his son-in-law's father Massad Boulos. This is 21st-century neo-colonialism --- men at head of the US Government who see Africa as place where they make money with different-colored people"

The Hunger Games Merica. The fight for democracy.

Our new golden age of free speech, where opposition to immigration enforcement can trigger a federal investigation

A post from UK lawyer Neil Brown, who I very much respect A proposed legislative amendment to attempt to ban under 16s in the UK from common messaging services, sharing family photos, using Wikipedia, & doing much else online, by imposing age assurance on everyone decoded.legal/blog/2025/12...

Free Press has published a report summarizing the many acts of the Trump Administration attacking free speech, describing acts of resistance, and recommending ways to respond. 29 pages, heavily endnoted for another 28 pages. Please read and pass around. www.freepress.net/download/cho...

Very solid question here that was met with a non-answer

Joint EU/UK statement confirms UK participation in Erasmus, plus update on other negotiations ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

For clarity the urgent review ordered by the Prime Minister is into foreign “financial interference” in UK politics. That is of course good news but a full public inquiry into Russian interference in UK politics and democracy is still needed

Meta tolerates rampant ad fraud from China to safeguard billions in revenue www.reuters.com/investigatio...

“Let's make Together for Palestine's record this year's Christmas No 1.” Musician and activist Brian Eno explains why one song in particular matters this Christmas.

This is absolutely wonderful work

Just days before the AGM, legal & human rights groups put Microsoft on notice via a letter regarding legal liability for aiding & abetting crimes against humanity by knowingly providing tech used by the IDF in its ongoing assault on Gaza. abolitionistlawcenter.org/2025/12/02/m...

If you’d like to read the actual 33-page defamation lawsuit Donald Trump has filed “for damages not less than $5,000,000,000”, then here it is: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

British officials confirmed the U.S. suspended the deal last week, the FT said, adding that U.S. President Donald #Trump's administration was pushing for Britain's concessions in areas of trade outside the tech partnership. /3

Internet shutdowns are increasing dramatically in Africa – our new book explains why. My new blog on the @uk.theconversation.com @ids.ac.uk theconversation.com/internet-shu...

Swedish navy confirms presence of Russian military staff on shadow fleet tankers in Baltic Sea. Further states that RU navy vessels have increased presence and believes it is partly to protect the shadow fleet. www.svt.se/nyheter/inri...

Someone had to do it. Reddit is challenging Australia's ban on information access for kids. Supporters will argue that the ban is justified. But no one should doubt that this is a drastic, unprecedented restriction on freedom to seek and impart information. Court review is definitely warranted.

Anne Applebaum hosts a new season of “Autocracy in America,” reporting on the sweeping changes unfolding in our country and preparing you to think about what might happen next. Sign up here to listen to new episodes starting in January 2026:

404 Media previously obtained internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) emails revealing the agency’s facial recognition app, called Mobile Fortify, and catalogued social media videos showing agents scanning people’s faces to verify their citizenship. This is what it's all about:

The UK sanctions notice states there are “reasonable grounds to suspect” Abu Lulu is responsible for violence based on ethnicity and religion, and for the deliberate targeting of civilians. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Rob Reiner was an acclaimed actor & director but he was also a vocal critic of Trump He warned the American public that they only had a year to save their democracy That year is almost up Honour his legacy by fighting fascism. Fight for democracy. Fight for what’s right. Fight against tyranny.

This is very good. If Reform win the GE, it'll be too late for those who voted for them to say, like this disillusioned Reform member: "I thought they were going to come and change everything. And all they’re doing is coming in and tearing people’s lives apart.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...?

Few thoughts on the "Polish exodus" from the UK. 1. It's not an 'exodus', it's a slow drip. We're fine, thanks. 2. Migration is really complicated. 3. The absolute cheek of the very same media attacking Poles for years lamenting their departure. 4. What you can do? THREAD 🧵

❗️The Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sikorski, responds to Orban: Viktor has earned his Order of Lenin

Investors seek protection from risk of AI debt bust on.ft.com/4qaDV1f

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 This is an unbelievably stupid take

“Europe is on a slippery slope. Excessive and improper use of Article 122, fast-tracking legislation via Omnibus packages, ignoring ECJ and ECHR rulings, and gutting the transparency rules is rapidly eroding democracy.” open.substack.com/pub/sophiein...

Asylum Pact 2.0 My analysis of the latest developments on the plans to change EU law on 'safe third countries' and 'safe countries of origin' - eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2025/12/asyl...

So, El Fasher looks like one of the worst single event atrocities to happen this century so far, but the evidence has come in such a trickle it seems to only now be getting verified

New Report Reveals TSA Is Sharing Names of All Airline Passengers With ICE

A joint investigation by Bellingcat & Lloyd’s List identified Saudi Arabia as the newest country to import grain directly from a Western-sanctioned port in occupied Crimea, as Russia attempts to secure recognition of the Ukrainian territory via a US-led peace plan www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...

A tiny trial in New York has shown that personalized mRNA vaccines can provoke massive, lasting immune responses against pancreatic cancer, even as sweeping federal cuts now threaten the fragile labs required to produce them. theintellectualistofficial.substack.com/p/a-breakthr...