The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions! This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...

This was futile. They’re not even asking for the right information to properly process the request. They take your name and email and then say “no results.” I asked them why they didn’t ask for relevant car/license plate info, and they just didn’t respond.

Ok Zenni… I did not realize this was an option: Facial recognition/IR blocking lenses. Has anyone tried these?

Notepad++ publishes a blog post saying they caught a probably-Chinese state actor hijacking their product in an attack against highly-selective targets that began last June: notepad-plus-plus.org/news/hijacke...

With Encrypt It Already, we’re pushing on tech companies to deliver stronger privacy protections to their users by enabling and expanding the use of end-to-end encryption across their products or services. www.encryptitalready.org

Why do your organizing over Signal? So that you don't do your organizing on an app that hasn't been tested or reviewed, run by a guy who doesn't tell his users about data breaches and security problems. www.ibtimes.co.uk/stopice-hack...

Planning to film ICE? Wired has a guide for that: www.wired.com/story/how-to...

“We are a Minneapolis 2nd grade Brownie Troop of 12 including trans and neurodiverse youth and 75% BIPOC kids. We want to go to summer camp and try horseback riding! During the current ICE occupation we need your support more than ever...” And that’s how I ordered 4 boxes of thin mints.

Bears are going to take years off my life. Wow.

I find a lot of indy and lesser known musicians through TikTok. As of late: Haute and Freddy - an alt pop duo Brighter Than a Thousand Suns - a goth retrowave duo.

The IETF is one of those really cool bodies doing good and interesting work that affects so many people, but most have never heard of it. They have my hummm of support.

Earlier this week I put in a CCPA privacy rights request with Flock. Very interested to see how this shakes out.

“Santa Cruz got it right,” EFF’s Sarah Hamid told @KQEDnews. “Santa Cruz joins nearly two dozen jurisdictions in 2025 that canceled or rejected Flock contracts by exercising procurement power—local democracy’s most underutilized tool.” www.kqed.org/news/120697...

not legal advice but if you're going to hack the Supreme Court e-filing system, maybe don't post about it on an Instagram called @ihackedthegovernment bsky.app/profile/anna...

I just had the greatest experience with the City of San Francisco around something I thought was going to be a big headache. So good, I’m shocked.

SCOOP: Internal ICE material and testimony from an official obtained by 404 Media provides the clearest link yet between the technological infrastructure Palantir is building for ICE and the agency’s activities on the ground. Inside the app called ELITE—what ICE uses to find neighborhoods to raid.

These peaceful observers I spoke to had ICE show up at their homes in what they see as attempts at intimidation. ICE has somehow been accessing Minnesotans' private data in likely violation of state law, according to privacy advocates. share.google/J00lpWzPzOu2...

In case you need some good news today:

“Kavanaugh stop”

This is insane to me. Are people not satisfied with their wealth? When is enough, enough?

Any good news coming out today? Seems like, no?

Company issued devices and accounts are surveilled and are not yours. Do not operate like they are.

Bears win!!!!

Evergreen:

The Conscience of a Hacker, also known as The Hacker Manifesto, turns 40 today! Written by Loyd "The Mentor" Blankenship, its spirit still resonates with hackers and makers everywhere. A cornerstone of hacker culture. phrack.org/issues/7/3 #HackThePlanet #HackerManifesto

Place of honor next to Whistler!

If you don't want ICE to know you were at a protest, taking a burner phone is not going to help you stay anonymous if you go home afterwards. www.404media.co/inside-ices-...

Privacy tip of the day. If you use OpenTable, opt out of data sharing, including the use of point of sale info from your reservations for them to use for their own purposes (profile you and share those profiles with restaurants: “big spender” “buys wine” etc). Account settings->Communications

Happy New Year! In about a week or so, I’m going to put my Etsy store on a long term (2-3 month) hiatus. So if there’s anything you want, now is the time to grab it! thegarbagefile.etsy.com

Hactivism is back:

Also that person who had ripped off multiple hacker artists on Etsy and then under penalty of perjury told Etsy they own the copyright in my original art and designs is back at it again. Same listing. It’s so incredibly frustrating.

Happy New Year! In about a week or so, I’m going to put my Etsy store on a long term (2-3 month) hiatus. So if there’s anything you want, now is the time to grab it! thegarbagefile.etsy.com

Get vaccinated. Collect vaccinations like Pokémon.

Uhhhh interesting legal consequences and considerations here.

A year ago, many cities thought surveillance contracts were non-negotiable. In 2025, they learned otherwise. At renewal time, elected officials chose their constituents over vendors. That shift? It's the surveillance resistance we needed. eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Shout out to Parachute (the sheets and towels company) for having (by far) the best customer service I’ve encountered in 2025.

The Supreme Court rejected the federal government’s request to deploy the National Guard in Illinois. It’s time to let our troops go home to celebrate the holidays with their families — and stay home.

“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.”

It's especially alarming that they use DMCA 1201 -- the rule against circumventing technical protection measures to access copyrighted works -- for their claim. A win on that gives them permanent leverage over scrapers of all kinds, including good guys. www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/...

As the former Google Associate General Counsel for web search -- a product built on scraping third party content without permission -- I'm having a lot of trouble processing Google's new lawsuit against someone else for scraping search results. storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog...

The US TikTok sale has been signed. The company will be controlled by a joint venture including Oracle, Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, Abu Dhabi-based MGX. Adding a UAE company really makes it clear that this was never about national security concerns. www.axios.com/2025/12/18/t...

Today is the last day to apply to EFF's Trainer Workshop series! If you want to up the digital defense of your community, apply now to join us for four newbie-friendly sessions which will prepare you to host your own grassroots trainings. eff.org/TrainerSerie...

NEW: A hacker gained control of 1,100 mobile phones powering covert, AI-generated ads on TikTok. Then, he shared details of the operation with 404 Media. A look inside how startup Doublespeed, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is creating AI spam pages on TikTok to promote products.

I don’t want to download an app to track my order Shopify. I really don’t.

404 Media zine has apparently outsold American Canto. Help continue that trend here: 404media.myshopify.com/products/pre... www.404media.co/behind-the-b...

If Kohler can view the user’s toilet data, as it admits to doing in this email exchange with technologist Simon Fondrie-Teitler, then it’s not—by definition—using end-to-end encryption. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Full story by @mjgault.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/kohlers-smar...

I am so tired of poor customer service. I understand businesses see it as a massive cost center, but it really makes me rethink who I do business with and what I think of a company. In 2026, I hope companies decide to invest in actual, good customer service.