Alec Muffett
@alecmuffett.bsky.social
📤 4829
📥 1049
📝 3002
everybody deserves good security.
https://alecmuffett.com/about
Online Safety “Duty of Care” is failing to launch in the USA? Good.
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119339
#DutyOfCare
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#kosa
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Online Safety “Duty of Care” is failing to launch in the USA? Good.
Key to the Online Safety Act was a novel idea from UK academics Lorna Woods & William Perrin that Online Harm is like Physical Harm, so platforms and venues both should have “duties of ca…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119339
3 days ago
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Alec Muffett
The Onion
3 days ago
Cuomo Makes 11th-Hour Pass At Female New Yorkers
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The Anxious Boomers
add a skeleton here at some point
3 days ago
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Alec Muffett
Mike Masnick
4 days ago
There are a large number of Democratic politicians who insist that Jonathan Haidt is a reliable narrator and one who they should take their legislative cues from. They should be asked why they're supporting someone the Heritage Foundation is cheering on in their efforts to censor the internet.
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Rachel 🦁
3 days ago
No, I didn't giggle. honest.
add a skeleton here at some point
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“[Ofcom] threatens tech giants with algorithm audits to protect children” | …this is genuinely hilarious
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119282
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#algorithms
#ofcom
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“[Ofcom] threatens tech giants with algorithm audits to protect children” | …this is genuinely hilarious
I was a Facebook engineer, I had my own instance — gigabytes of PHP & other goo — and when I was there (10+ years ago) the feed code was hacked-on by herds of maths PhDs & considered black …
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119282
4 days ago
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Analysis: The Online Safety Act is still on a faltering upswing, it will take 5…10 years to mitigate (and 10…30 to undo) the damage being caused
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119268
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#censorship
#surveillance
#vpns
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Analysis: The Online Safety Act is still on a faltering upswing, it will take 5…10 years to mitigate (and 10…30 to undo) the damage being caused
A small clique of UK peers, activists, academics & journalists, see “The Internet” as a monster from which they must protect “The People”. Frustrated by disobedience & general lack of progr…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119268
4 days ago
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Heading to MozFest 2025 in Barcelona? See “Encryption and Feminism: Reimagining Child Safety Without Surveillance”
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119258
#EndToEndEncryption
#encryption
#feminism
#mozfest
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Heading to MozFest 2025 in Barcelona? See “Encryption and Feminism: Reimagining Child Safety Without Surveillance”
Too often, the public debate around encryption and child safety is framed as a zero-sum game. Privacy or protection, never both. This framing misunderstands the technology and also reinforces outda…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119258
4 days ago
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There is One Fediverse. There are a Million Pickleball Courts | jaz-michael king
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119163
#SocialNetworking
#decentralization
#fediverse
#mastodon
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There is One Fediverse. There are a Million Pickleball Courts | jaz-michael king
Nice essay on what the fediverse *should* be doing: [It] doesn’t need to resurface the tired, worn-down tennis courts of the old internet. It needs to create something new. [It] offers an entirely …
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119163
4 days ago
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Pen testers ruin everything
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5 days ago
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Alec Muffett
Philip Bump
6 days ago
F. Scott Fitzgerald: In my book I invented Gatsby lifestyle as a cautionary tale The president: At long last, we have created the Gatsby lifestyle from the classic novel The Great Gatsby
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Alec Muffett
Todd Rafferty
7 days ago
Pretty sure I have the scariest engineering costume of the day.
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NOW DO IT IN SQL
6 days ago
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Back in the 1980s the UK tabloid media referred to
#PrinceAndrew
as "Randy Andy" from which I infer that they knew what was going on. Perhaps someone should run a sentiment analysis over tabloid media archives to find similar suspects?
www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...
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Palace Sources Are Blaming Queen Elizabeth for Prince Andrew Scandal
Palace sources are blaming the late Queen Elizabeth II for Prince Andrew scandal—here's what they're saying.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/palace-sources-blaming-queen-elizabeth-130500505.html
6 days ago
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If you see this, quote with a robot that isn't from "Star Wars", "Star Trek", "Doctor Who", or "Transformers".
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6 days ago
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David Davis nails the issue regarding Digital ID & state power
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119123
#DigitalId
#IdCards
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David Davis nails the issue regarding Digital ID & state power
It might not be the current Government’s plan to use digital ID for this sort of tracking, but once created, you can’t constrain future governments from using it in that way. That’…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119123
6 days ago
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Stuff that you don’t see on Reddit in the UK because you aren’t age verified, Part 3
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119105
#AgeVerification
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#censorship
#reddit
#surveillance
#vpns
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Stuff that you don’t see on Reddit in the UK because you aren’t age verified, Part 3
Discussion of age verification:
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119105
6 days ago
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Possible lunar meteor impact reported?
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119102
#astronomy
#space
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Possible lunar meteor impact reported?
Translation: “Last night, a lunar impact flash appeared on the night side of the first quarter moon! It was a flash at 20:33:13.4 on October 30, 2025 (270fps, 0.03x speed playback). Since the…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119102
6 days ago
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“Age-Restricted Internet is Hurting Trans Kids” | …interesting to see constructive criticism of Esther Ghey’s campaigning coming direct from the trans community
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119088
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“Age-Restricted Internet is Hurting Trans Kids” | …interesting to see constructive criticism of Esther Ghey’s campaigning coming direct from the trans community
Video embed below.
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119088
7 days ago
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Denmark surprisingly abandons plans for chat control | heise online
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119070
#ChatControl
#EndToEndEncryption
#censorship
#surveillance
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Denmark surprisingly abandons plans for chat control | heise online
As someone on Reddit put it: I’ve seen this movie. They put the plan in [a] drawer to avoid getting a “No” in a voting. Now, the next presidency will put some makeup on Chat Contr…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119070
7 days ago
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French lawmakers progress tax on American Big Tech amid huge pushback | POLITICO
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119022
#TechLash
#france
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French lawmakers progress tax on American Big Tech amid huge pushback | POLITICO
Basically all European tech regulation is envy & avarice, not user protection: France’s National Assembly voted Tuesday night in favor of hiking a digital service tax on tech companies includin…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119022
8 days ago
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Maybe sometimes it’s the “people who matter” who should “nerd harder”?
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119017
#CivilSociety
#politics
#regulation
#technology
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Maybe sometimes it’s the “people who matter” who should “nerd harder”?
Techies vs. the people that matter – by Robert Graham
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119017
8 days ago
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“We will not be age-gating Wikipedia under any circumstances … what are they going to do? They could block Wikipedia. Good luck with that” | PoliticsHome
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119011
#AgeVerification
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#censorship
#surveillance
#vpns
#wikipedia
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“We will not be age-gating Wikipedia under any circumstances … what are they going to do? They could block Wikipedia. Good luck with that” | PoliticsHome
The House | Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales warns Of “Political Showdown” With UK Government Over Online Safety Act Previously
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119011
8 days ago
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Remember, kids, social media is full of falsehoods but *real* journalism from respectable outlets can be trusted. Elsewhere: former NYC mayor Bill de Blasio was wholesale misrepresented in the Times
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118957
#FakeNews
#SocialMedia
#journalism
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Remember, kids, social media is full of falsehoods but *real* journalism from respectable outlets can be trusted. Elsewhere: former NYC mayor Bill de Blasio was wholesale misrepresented in the Times
It looks like somebody basically phoned them up and fed them a fake story which nobody properly checked. Clearly this is a cyberattack on critical national infrastructure, possibly involving AI, ra…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118957
9 days ago
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Australia’s eSafety Chief Pressures Big Tech and AI Firms on Verification, Age Checks
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118859
#AgeVerification
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#australia
#censorship
#surveillance
#vpn
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Australia’s eSafety Chief Pressures Big Tech and AI Firms on Verification, Age Checks
…Among its requirements are broad directives that “encrypted services, anonymous accounts, generative artificial intelligence (AI) and recommender systems can be used safely,” and that “harmful mat…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118859
9 days ago
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Websites in Non-UK Countries should not take action to block UK citizens
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118431
#AgeVerification
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#censorship
#ofcom
#surveillance
#vpn
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Websites in Non-UK Countries should not take action to block UK citizens
I’ve previously written about this at considerable length, so I will limit myself to quoting Preston Byrne re: domestic rights, and noting that sites which have engaged in UK-directed self-ce…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118431
9 days ago
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Joint Statement on the UN Cybercrime Convention: EFF and Global Partners Urge Governments Not to Sign | Electronic Frontier Foundation
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118517
#CybercrimeConvention
#cybercrime
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Joint Statement on the UN Cybercrime Convention: EFF and Global Partners Urge Governments Not to Sign | Electronic Frontier Foundation
Of course it was doomed to failure. Alas.
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118517
9 days ago
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Is HMRC doing okay?
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9 days ago
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In these tumultuous days it is reassuring to know that the British alternative / hard left remain as resolutely unelectable as ever, saving us from our ever having to deal with the scourge of choice.
9 days ago
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Ben Schroeter at EurActive: “It’s not that Europe regulates. It’s how it regulates” | Um, I’m not convinced…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118558
#eu
#privacy
#regulation
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Ben Schroeter at EurActive: “It’s not that Europe regulates. It’s how it regulates” | Um, I’m not convinced…
It’s a good read, but some of what is listed as “admirable regulation” are not necessarily so — but having that complex conversation is not possible in the current environment. Bu…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118558
9 days ago
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Could the Online Safety Act threaten the safety of Wikipedia editors? | Pod Save The UK | Jimmy Wales Interview…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118809
#AgeVerification
#JimmyWales
#censorship
#surveillance
#wikipedia
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Could the Online Safety Act threaten the safety of Wikipedia editors? | Pod Save The UK | Jimmy Wales Interview…
In case you missed it, new PSUK dropped on Thursday. Head over to our channel to catch Wikipedia founder @jimmy_wales digging into trust, culture wars and AI. Link:
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118809
10 days ago
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Is age verification killing porn site traffic? Aylo says yes, AVPA says no | BiometricUpdate
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118820
#AgeVerification
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#avpa
#censorship
#surveillance
#vpn
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Is age verification killing porn site traffic? Aylo says yes, AVPA says no | BiometricUpdate
A comprehensive read on the current OSA state of play; notable is reportage of commentary by the age verification lobby’s Iain Corby apparently suggesting that the OSA is geared at protecting…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118820
10 days ago
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UK traffic to porn sites falls by a third after new age verification rules | FT | …but actually they’re using either VPN or far more dodgy websites
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118811
#AgeVerification
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#censorship
#pornhub
#surveillance
#vpn
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UK traffic to porn sites falls by a third after new age verification rules | FT | …but actually they’re using either VPN or far more dodgy websites
UK traffic to [PornHub] has fallen by 77 per cent since the new rules were introduced in the Online Safety Act, according to Alex Kekesi, head of community and brand at Aylo. … “We were honestly sh…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118811
10 days ago
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Age verification could soon land in Russia – putting already precarious internet freedoms on the line | TechRadar
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118812
#AgeVerification
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#censorship
#russia
#surveillance
#vpns
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Age verification could soon land in Russia – putting already precarious internet freedoms on the line | TechRadar
I’m looking forward to a statement from either Ofcom or DSIT welcoming the protection of children in Russia: …the article is a good read, not least for pointing to what will likely next happe…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118812
10 days ago
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The House | Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales Warns Of “Political Showdown” With UK Government Over Online Safety Act
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118746
#AgeVerification
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#censorship
#surveillance
#vpns
#wikipedia
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The House | Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales Warns Of “Political Showdown” With UK Government Over Online Safety Act
…applied to Wikipedia, a free online encyclopaedia that relies on collaborative editing … “[the OSA] makes no sense whatsoever,” says Wales. “If you and I are in a debate about the contents of an a…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118746
10 days ago
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Alec Muffett
Mark Hamill
10 days ago
I have a very bad feeling about this...
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Soooooooo... Walz/Pritzker, or Pritzker/Walz?
10 days ago
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Visiting Wetherspoons in Fleet it's and there is an elderly male bigot opining to an equally elderly female bigot that "the only reason people get diagnosed autistic is to have a licence to be an asshole" and similar charms.
10 days ago
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“UK Expands Online Safety Act, Forcing Preemptive Censorship” | I’ve not heard Wikipedia complaining about this, but they will be impacted
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118587
#4chan
#FreeSpeech
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#censorship
#surveillance
#vpns
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“UK Expands Online Safety Act, Forcing Preemptive Censorship” | I’ve not heard Wikipedia complaining about this, but they will be impacted
The Molly Rose Foundation is obliquely critiquing a US-based suicide-discussion website – one which if you go looking *does* have a page on Wikipedia… so this is going to flush out the Wikipe…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118587
11 days ago
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Alec Muffett
eastmad
11 days ago
This post has been suspended for breaking Pochin's law - the over representation of the letter 'e' has driven out the letter 'c', which negatively effects the people of Runcorn.
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Alec Muffett
Barry Dorrans
11 days ago
I hate it when 4chan is in the right.
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Messageboard 4chan refuses to pay fine over ‘free speech’
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118694
#4chan
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#censorship
#ofcom
#surveillance
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Messageboard 4chan refuses to pay fine over ‘free speech’
The fine represents the first major test of the Online Safety Act’s reach. If 4chan continues to ignore Ofcom’s requests, the regulator could seek a court order to force UK internet service provide…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118694
11 days ago
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Alec Muffett
I feel one of the impediments which many people suffer about challenging statements like: "There are too many X in Y!" …is that they fear justifying (possibly their own) statements that: "There are not enough X in Y!" Perhaps the problem is the belief that we should have representational quotas?
add a skeleton here at some point
11 days ago
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UK Expands Online Safety Act, Forcing Preemptive Censorship
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118629
#AgeVerification
#ChildSafety
#OnlineSafety
#OnlineSafetyAct
#censorship
#surveillance
#vpns
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UK Expands Online Safety Act, Forcing Preemptive Censorship
Who would ever have expected? Britain’s push for online “safety” drifts into a realm of digital pre-crime, where algorithms decide guilt before anything gets seen.
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118629
11 days ago
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I feel one of the impediments which many people suffer about challenging statements like: "There are too many X in Y!" …is that they fear justifying (possibly their own) statements that: "There are not enough X in Y!" Perhaps the problem is the belief that we should have representational quotas?
add a skeleton here at some point
11 days ago
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Alec Muffett
James Ball
11 days ago
“Let’s be clear, since a lot of people seem to be finding that difficult: most people who get upset if they see black or brown faces in adverts are racists. There are few other reasons for seeing diversity in advertising to bother anyone.”
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-s...
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Sarah Pochin and the new age of open racism
What the Reform MP said was appalling. The Tories’ refusal to condemn her is arguably worse
https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-sarah-pochin-and-the-new-age-of-open-racism/
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UK MPs demand Home Secretary call on Apple to make iPhone more resistant to data exfiltration, backdoors, hacking, and third-party repair…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118602
#HomeOffice
#PhoneTheft
#RightToRepair
#backdoor
#censorship
#encryption
#surveillance
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UK MPs demand Home Secretary call on Apple to make iPhone more resistant to data exfiltration, backdoors, hacking, and third-party repair…
“Oh, Wait, No, Not like that.” MPs urge UK government to stop phone theft wave through tech | The Register
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118602
11 days ago
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Alec Muffett
<reads> <thinks back over all of those internet stories he's read, covered by human mainstream journalists> <considers how many of those were massively misrepresented in the media> <e.g. cambridge analytica> <not quite a majority, but perhaps almost?> "AI he's doing okay."
add a skeleton here at some point
12 days ago
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<reads> <thinks back over all of those internet stories he's read, covered by human mainstream journalists> <considers how many of those were massively misrepresented in the media> <e.g. cambridge analytica> <not quite a majority, but perhaps almost?> "AI he's doing okay."
add a skeleton here at some point
12 days ago
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Alec Muffett
Euan
17 days ago
when people get stabbed at a synagogue just for being jewish then antisemitism is a stain on society that must be eradicated, but when a trans girl is stabbed just for being trans then it’s because phones are bad
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