New: The FBI filed a subpoena trying to unmask the person or people behind archive.is / archive.today, which have been running anonymously for 13 yrs. Site was widely used by GamerGate, and then to bypass paywalls but has become kind of core archiving infrastructure www.404media.co/fbi-tries-to...

AP INVESTIGATION: For decades, the US government allowed and even helped US firms sell tech used for surveillance in China — enacting a loophole-ridden export control regime that failed to accomplish its big goals. By @garanceburke.bsky.social, @dakekang.bsky.social & me. apnews.com/article/chin...

Recording of recent talk with @byrontau.bsky.social on "Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government is Creating a New American Surveillance State" (2024). Discussion bridges investigative journalism, critical media studies, + surveillance studies! www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT3s...

Just a reminder that this event with @byrontau.bsky.social is coming up soon: Wednesday, October 15 at 3pm GMT

Pleased to announce this talk with @byrontau.bsky.social on his recent book "Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government is Creating a New American Surveillance State." You can register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/means-of-c...

A blockbuster AP investigation from @dakekang.bsky.social and @yaelwrites.com finds that US tech companies designed and built China’s repressive surveillance state trapping tens of thousands of ordinary Chinese citizens in a digital cage. apnews.com/article/chin...

Tremendous reporting from Joel Schectman and Aruna Viswanatha in the @wsj.com on how Pentagon pranks, coverups and in some cases deliberate disinformation fed to American citizens fueled interest in UFOs. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Also if you're interested, I wrote a book about this: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706321...

Hm, sounds uncomfortably familiar. Makes me think of @byrontau.bsky.social's Means of Control.

New intelligence community-run portal will be a "one stop shop" for commercially available information. This includes information on your car, your phone, your Bluetooth headphones, your purchases -- sold by corporations and bought by governments. theintercept.com/2025/05/22/i...

Trump ordered an investigation into the Democrat's online fundraising machine ActBlue, yet his own campaign finance records show similar issues with unverified donors and possible illegal foreign money. apnews.com/article/trum...

I very much recommend Means of Control by @byrontau.bsky.social. Well researched and eye opening. Renewed a sense of urgency in me regarding #privacy matters. www.byrontau.com/means-of-con...

For the past few weeks, a wire has snaked out of the open window of the GSA administrator's office and onto the roof, where it connects to a Starlink terminal A look at the very Muskian takeover of the chokepoint of federal tech, real estate and contracts. apnews.com/article/doge...

AP’s exclusion from the White House over its refusal to use the term Gulf of America "has been contrary to the First Amendment" and U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden (Trump appointee) "enjoins the Government from continuing down that unlawful path" storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

21 DOGE staffers resign rather than help use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services," according to a resignation letter obtained by the AP. Musk has largely tried to keep technical talent at DOGE, mostly laying off designers & product managers. apnews.com/article/doge...

I am currently writing about DOGE and what it is doing with its vast access to federal computer systems and databases. If you are a current or former federal employee or contractor with insight, I am best reached on Signal at byrontau.01.

New from me: DeepSeek has code in its user login system that could send user data to a sanctioned Chinese state-owned telecom that in 2019 was barred from operating in the United States, according to Feroot Security. apnews.com/article/deep...

The number of crews abandoned at sea by ship owners is growing, leaving more sailors stuck at sea or abandoned in port. By @helenwieffering.bsky.social apnews.com/article/inte...

Do you work at Meta? How is it going? Would love to hear from you -- Signal (646)378-8843 or [email protected] if you have anything to share, anonymity protected as always.

A mysterious meeting with Syrian president is at the center of spy chief’s nomination fight by @byrontau.bsky.social. apnews.com/article/tuls...

For federal employees (or anyone) who wants to speak to a reporter about what's unfolding about their agencies, the Associated Press investigative team can be reached here: [email protected] or www.ap.org/tips/ I am byrontau.01 on Signal.

A reminder: Contact AP’s global investigative team at [email protected] or www.ap.org/tips/

Things appear to be going well inside federal agencies.

Browsing the definitive U.S. contracting database now requires logging in, providing your address and subjecting your searches of said database to potential U.S. government review per a new software change confirmed today by journalist Jack Poulson. jackpoulson.substack.com/p/the-us-gov...

Live now with @timkmak.bsky.social and @byrontau.bsky.social: twitch.tv/brainfungi

I’ve focused on security for at-risk civil society groups for over a decade now (🙀), including human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists. I’m available for collaboration, consulting, and presenting, so please get in touch if you’d like to work together!

Need something to do this weekend while drinking your coffee? Join me, @timkmak.bsky.social and @byrontau.bsky.social for a chat about Ukraine, tech and media as we face off in Civ 6 multiplayer! 9 am ET Sunday: twitch.tv/BrainFungi Bonus: Here's a pic of us and @swin24.bsky.social from *2014*

A former tech CEO is on a crusade to get the record of his arrest removed from the internet — suing a journalist for $25 million for truthfully reporting that the domestic violence arrest had occurred. sf.gazetteer.co/a-former-tec...

@byrontau.bsky.social's first @apnews.com byline! apnews.com/article/trum...

This was such a good read, I knew about metadata but this terrified me. And then angered me that nothing has been done to protect American citizens.

"Healthy drinking is social drinking, and the decline of alcohol seems related to the fact that Americans now spend less time in face-to-face socializing than any period in modern history" www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

So stoked: On Jan. 26, join me for a special weekend Twitch stream. My guests that day are @timkmak.bsky.social and @byrontau.bsky.social. We'll play Civ 6 together and discuss cool stuff like Tim's coverage of Ukraine and Byron's reporting on digital surveillance. Follow here: twitch.tv/brainfungi

Best way to understand this location data trading market is to read Byron Tau’s Means of Control, which came out last year: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706321...

Great book. Here's my techtonic.fm interview with @byrontau.bsky.social - www.wfmu.org/playlists/sh... (click Pop-up player link)

My other winter break read was @byrontau.bsky.social . I highly recommend especially if you teach information literacy

This is the stuff I'm a doomer about. Real journalism takes time - even a quick, original 700-word story requires a lot of legwork, relationships, etc. It can never compete with instant slop, or accounts that just plagiarize news for free with more sensationalistic (and wrong) framing.

Hackers claim to have breached Gravy Analytics, the parent company of Venntel, one of the largest vendors of location data to government entities. They're threatening to leak a massive trove of location data on millions or even billions of devices. www.404media.co/hackers-clai...

Over the summer I flew out to Michigan to record an episode of a web show called Seared with J Mays. We talked about data and my book Means of Control. The second part of my interview published last week. Check it out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOP6...

Apple has opted iOS and MacOS users into an AI photo scanning feature which tries to extract landmarks from your photos called Enhanced Visual Search by default with little notice. www.theregister.com/2025/01/03/a...

On Dec. 27, a Calif. tech executive suing a journalist for publishing his domestic violence arrest report filed a declaration in court saying he's not a public figure. On Dec. 31, he issued a press release describing himself as a "thought leader" about an H1-B essay he wrote.

I read Jonathan Alter’s biography of Jimmy Carter a few years ago. It was simply amazing how he never stopped going 100% in all that life offered: learning to downhill skill at 62, climbing Kilimanjaro at 64, picking up snorkeling at 90. RIP.

Good @kashhill.bsky.social story on how GM has been making car data available for sale for years. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/20/t...

Thank you to Daniel for the "Means of Control" shoutout, which continues to be available here or wherever books are sold! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706321...

The latest #BattleRhythm podcast soundcloud.com/cdsnpodcasts... covers a bunch of issues including disinformation, @byrontau.bsky.social 's book on data brokering and its implications for government abuse of privacy

Your data is everywhere—and the state is scooping it up. @byrontau.bsky.social of NOTUS discusses his new book Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State. Full episode: podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/368...

On today's Lawfare Podcast, Jack Goldsmith talked to @byrontau.bsky.social about his book, “Means of Control,” why the government can purchase bulk private data with relatively few legal restrictions, and the threat to privacy and civil liberties that inheres in the practice.

Read the article - and @byrontau.bsky.social ‘s book came out two days ago. I’ll definitely get it. www.wired.com/story/how-pe...

You need to read this article, now. #SurveillanceCapitalism www.wired.com/story/how-pe...

Must read by @byrontau.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/how-pe...