New from me: on the staggering hypocrisy of media outlets offering guides to privacy, countersurveillance, and safe protest, in articles which are teeming with adtech and location data trackers: data which the fascist surveillance apparatus is buying up in bulk. heatherburns.tech/2026/01/10/r...

Every year I come to understand that the issue of "anthropomorphizing" AI has confused the distinction between language and "intelligence" in ways that have lead people to deeply misplaced faith about what this tech is actually capable of.

If you are not reading @insights.priva.cat.web.brid.gy substack you really should! She hits all the issues hard. insights.priva.cat/p/political-...

It has become increasingly clear that X - a platform now actively producing explicit and abusive material against women and children - is not an appropriate platform to be using for our comms. I will keep pushing for action from the govt & relevant authorities in this area.

If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free. consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov

Privacy and severely curtailing the data broker industry are national security concerns. Full stop. Anyone who thinks we have the luxury of continuing to think of privacy only in "consumer" terms is not thinking deeply enough about downstream harms.

“While the AI industry claims its models can “think,” “reason,” and “learn,” their supposed achievements rest on marketing hype and stolen intellectual labor. In reality, AI erodes academic freedom, weakens critical reading, and subordinates the pursuit of knowledge to corporate interests.”

🚨 “Can I tell you how many times in the last 45 years the European Court of Human Rights has ruled against the UK when it comes to deporting people from this country - only 13 times - in 45 years” Please remember this in 2026 when Nigel Farage tells you we must leave the ECHR to control our borders

for your holiday reading pleasure: i wrote about why i’m getting back into tapes, and what we’ve lost by letting ourselves get addicted to platforms built around surveillance and instant gratification. 🎶 @404media.co

Muppets Christmas Carol is the best Christmas movie bc it includes a song with the lyrics, "your future is a horror story written by your crimes" & nothing says Christmas cheer more than that. Also Michael Caine deserved all the awards for that performance. Perfection. No notes.

Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people

Delighted to share this TEDxGeneva talk! The more I study the digital, the more I'm in awe of the richness and primacy of the analogue world. Don't forget that life is analogue, and all things digital depend on and are but a ghost of the analogue. #AIEthics www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvJe...

This is perhaps the best thing I’ve watched about tech policy this year. 5min to explain what went wrong and how to fix it in a humorous way. And not just the internet either may I add! Lack of choice and competition is problematic everywhere. Highly recommended. #Enshittification #techpolicy

Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.

Online age verification isn't the same as a quick ID flash: it's surveillance. These systems collect your data and undermine your ability to anonymously access and discuss sensitive topics online. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

“Knocking on a door, or even just walking in front of it, shouldn’t require abandoning your privacy,” EFF’s @mariotrujillo.bsky.social told @TechCrunch.com - state regulators must investigate, protect people’s privacy, and make use of their biometric privacy laws. techcrunch.com/2025/12/09/...

It would never be your grandmother. Stop this. Now.

In the recent EUCO Debrief TEPSA - Trans European Policy Studies Association, you can find my (very, very) critical comment on the #DigitalOmnibus Proposal. I argue that the initiative undermines the fundamental values of the EU without enhancing the competitiveness of European operators. 🧵

The Online Safety Act is already producing harmful unintended consequences. ORG urges MPs to support a more balanced, evidence-based and rights-respecting approach that protects children without harming freedom of expression or privacy. Read our briefing ⬇️ www.openrightsgroup.org/publications...

Human rights are not a privilege, they are a guarantee. The European Convention on Human Rights makes this a reality for millions across Europe. On Human Rights Day, let’s reaffirm our commitment to these principles. www.youtube.com/shorts/YcPop...

On the internet, age verification doesn't know you're a dog.

Thirteen Labour MPs have backed a Liberal Democrat bill requiring the government to begin negotiations on joining a bespoke customs union with the EU www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Wow - the EU is launching an investigation into Google nicking web content and summarising it using AI. Good to see someone sticking up for content rights ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Scores of UK parliamentarians join call to regulate most powerful AI systems

Rules on single-sex spaces pose risk to trans people’s mental health, UK charities say

Asian-American Actresses Describe Struggle Of Constantly Being Typecast As Sherlock Holmes

Say No to Digital ID 🚫 Nearly 3 million people signed the petition against Digital ID. Next Monday, MPs will debate this 4th largest petition in British history. Tell your MP to attend the debate and stop digital surveillance. Use our tool ⬇️ action.openrightsgroup.org/tell-your-mp... Digital ID

Latest episode of @seriousprivacy.eu Podcast with @marianods.bsky.social of the @openrightsgroup.org discussing an open letter on ICO enforcement. Always great to catch up with @heartofprivacy.bsky.social but sadly no @europaulb.seriousprivacy.eu. seriousprivacy.buzzsprout.com/840448/episo...

I'd hate to be a boat owner after this passes. Imagine all the information that could be be useful for your navigation but which would ALSO be potentially useful to those guiding small boats across the Channel. Will the Shipping Forecast cease broadcasting? That, after all, makes crossings easier.

It is so sad to see new exclusionary policies from Girlguiding, where trans girls had been so included before. The Woodcraft Folk is a brilliant, inclusive, non-segregated alternative for young people seeking fun, adventure and community! woodcraft.org.uk/woodcraft-fo...

New preprint! @marentierra.bsky.social @irisvanrooij.bsky.social & I have been working on what CAIL means to showcase & propagate the idea of thinking very differently to tech industry norms on "artificial intelligence" Towards Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacies doi.org/10.5281/zeno... 1/

This actually contributes to poor memory formation, poor learning / recall of information, and poor levels of engagement with the output. It also risks removing opportunities to learn a thing/skill. Even with spell check we had all still learned how to spell some things before being exposed to it.

COMING SOON: AI + Guy™

Toad went back into the house. He got into bed and pulled the covers over his head again.

"Her supervisor was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery" #JBB

"The ICO’s public sector approach must end before more people are harmed by data breaches at the hands of the government and public authorities. A data regulator that fails to deter bad practices is not worth having. We urge the Select Committee to open an inquiry." 🗣️ Mariano delli Santi for ORG.

The final straw – the Information Commissioner's Office has decided NOT to investigate the Afghan data leak. It's time to investigate them! Over 70 organisations and experts back ORG's call for an inquiry into the regulator's chronic failure to enforce data law. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

BREAKING: Nathan Gill is sentenced to 10 & a half years in prison after pleading guilty to eight charges of bribery from a Russian agent. The "ultimate source" of the funds came from "a close friend of Vladimir Putin," said Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb.

Oh, I was waiting for this one 🍿

NEW guest post on the @futureofprivacy.bsky.social blog: “Rethinking personal data: the CJEU’s contextual turn in EDPS v SRB”, by Cedric Burton. This is one of the most consequential judgments of the decade in EU data protection. fpf.org/blog/rethink...

Yes, I have read the leaked GDPR Omnibus. Yes, if unleashed as is, it will be an earthquake for EU data protection law (with 2 or 3 of the deep cuts). Which, ironically, would leave most countries that imported the GDPR with a stronger data protection regime than the GDPR.

Held today a “first reactions” LinkedIn live with two of the most respected data protection experts in Europe, Paul Breitbarth and Sophie Stalla-Bourdillon. Geeking out for one hour on what we see as the most significant amendments in #GDPR #Omnibus Watch here: www.linkedin.com/posts/the-fu...

Live from Privacy Space, this is the latest episode of Serious Privacy. @europaulb.seriousprivacy.eu, @heartofprivacy.bsky.social and @igrobrien.seriousprivacy.eu discuss whether the UK still has a fundamental right to privacy and the EU Digital Omnibus. www.buzzsprout.com/840448/episo...

📰 "With the 'Digital Omnibus', the #Commission claims to reduce burdens and simplify regulation for businesses. However, this premise rests on a misleading assumption: that Europe’s #innovation is being held back by excessive regulation." Read more 👉 epicenter.works/en/content/d...#Commission

A High Court judge has forced a six-year-old girl to keep the surname of the man who raped her mother. We think this is an outrage and are putting together a legal team so D's mother can take her case to the European Court of Human Rights. But we need your help. goodlawproject.org/crowdfunder/...

Judgments from the @echr.coe.int have influenced policy in areas like mental health, reproductive rights and access to essential medical treatments. Leaving the #ECHR would be a blow for health, justice and accountability, writes @martinmckee.bsky.social👇 🔗 www.bmj.com/content/391/... via @bmj.com

Very true: “The UK rarely loses at the @echr.coe.int, and almost never on immigration-related issues”👇 🔗 www.bbc.com/news/article... via www.bbc.news.com #ECHR #OurRightsAndFreedoms

Also true: Leaving the European Convention on Human Rights ❌ Won’t solve the small boats problem ❗ Would weaken #HumanRights protections for EVERYONE in the UK ⁉️ May well damage the country’s international standing 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/haun... via @politico.eu #ECHR #OurRightsAndFreedoms

New post Prompted by an excellent conference at @biicl.bsky.social marking the ECHR's 75th anniversary, I reflect in this piece on key themes about the likely trajectory of the UK's human rights debate, given the current (and developing) political climate. publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/07/t...