Anna Baydakova
@baidakova.bsky.social
đ€ 49
đ„ 111
đ 69
Investigative journalist: technology, politics, humans rights. Previously: CoinDesk, Novaya Gazeta
Listening about the future of journalism in the era of AI at
@columbiajournalism.bsky.social
Many things Iâm hearing make my blood curdle. Or boil, not sure yet.
7 days ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - Meta might be able to read users' WhatsApp messages; - Chicago activists are suing the DHS for unwarranted DNA gathering; - DHS wants location data of a Canadian who criticised ICE, and more. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-...
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A tale of two worlds
When surveillance becomes omnipresent, is there a way out?
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-worlds
7 days ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - DHS will equip ICE agents with smart glasses; - AI is coming for your work emails and Slacks; - Apple has fixed a bug that allowed extracting deleted Signal messages... and more. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/humans-sur...
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Humans, surrender
The rise of AI needs surveillance capitalism like your phone needs charging
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/humans-surrender
22 days ago
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So now AI can fell things...
www.wired.com/story/anthro...
23 days ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - Delivery robots are using geo data from Pokemon Go; - Media outlets are barring Wayback Machine from archiving them; - Another U.S. woman jailed because of a faulty facial recognition. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-quiet-...
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The Quiet Watcher
AI hasn't even reached its full potential â but it's already defining policies, strategies and choices
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-quiet-watcher
28 days ago
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This week in digital surveillance and censorship: - OkCupid has settled with the FTC for sharing user data with an AI startup; - Starlink resellers are getting arrested in Iran; - Russia wants internet providers to charge users for VPN traffic. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/going-digi...
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Going digital Luddite?..
The tech that rules our lives â and witnesses way too much
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/going-digital-luddite
about 1 month ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - Police uses web cookies to identify suspects, according to recent warrants regarding a false bomb threat; - An AI startup is quietly recording and publishing invite-only Zoom meetings; Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/surveillan...
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Surveillance everywhere
The things that monitor and watch us, big and small
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/surveillance-everywhere
about 2 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - Leaked government contracts reveal DHS' new surveillance tech purchases; - A DOGE member allegedly took Social Security data to his new job; - Russia is in a mobile internet shutdown. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/no-price-t...
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No price too high
Controlling the internet is expensive, but nothing is too costly when you try to stay in power.
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/no-price-too-high
about 2 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - A Tennessee grandma spent 6 months in jail due to facial recognition tech failure; - Palantir is building "bossware" for the USDA; - Iranians are threatened with punishment for using VPNs. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-antidote
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The Antidote
Privacy-minded citizens are the only obstacle to mass surveillance
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-antidote
2 months ago
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reposted by
Anna Baydakova
Amanda Mull
2 months ago
Most people also wonât finish your 500-word article. So write at whatever length is appropriate for the subject.
add a skeleton here at some point
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - CBP is buying cell phonesâ locations data from private brokers; - EFF and ACLU ask court to prohibit searches of phones at the border; - Iran bough facial recognition tech from Russia. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/first-blood
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First blood
Do tech companies have the will and resources to stop the emerging AI surveillance in its tracks?
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/first-blood
2 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - DHS is seeking to combine all of its agenciesâ biometric systems into one. - A hobbyist developer created an app detecting smart glasses around you. Subscribe to stay informed!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/small-batt...
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Small battles
Every way of fighting mass surveillance hits differently
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/small-battles
3 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - Amazon Ring's Search Party has been created to track people, not only lost dogs. - DHS is trying to deanonymise users that criticise ICE en mass. - How to protect your privacy while planning a protest.
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-power-...
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The power of the kill switch
Freedom and privacy can be taken away slowly or quickly â just wait until no one is fighting back
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-power-of-the-kill-switch
3 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - Salesforce, Google and Palantir employees ask the companies to stop their work for ICE. - U.S. State Dept is deleting its own pre-Trump tweets. -U.S. smuggled Starlink terminals into Iran. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/get-used-t...
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Get used to it
Tech surveillance and censorship hit close to home
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/get-used-to-it
3 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - TikTok users could not share anti-ICE videos last weekend. - Dozens of US public health databases haven't been. updated for months. - Amazon Ring integration with Flock is on hold. ...and more. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-many-f...
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The many faces of censorship
In the world of big tech and big dictatorships, freedom of speech is a moving target
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-many-faces-of-censorship
3 months ago
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This week in digital surveillance and censorship: - U.S. retailers are now using facial recognition in their stores. - DOGE misused social security data. - Iran might stay cut off the global internet permanently. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/panic-at-a...
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Panic at the grocery store
Retail chains are joining the biometric surveillance dragnet
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/panic-at-a-grocery-store
4 months ago
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How does AI surveillance work in U.S. schools? I talked with Sal Mani from VOLT AI about privacy, false positives and how to get it right. Subscribe to my newsletter to learn more about AI surveillance and other technologies of control.
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/exclusive-...
#AI
#surveillance
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4 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - Iran is on week 2 of the internet blackout. - Tech activist published search logs of Flock's license plate readers and exposed API keys for the company's customer data. ...and more. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/blacked-out
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Blacked out
Nothing good happens under internet shutdown
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/blacked-out
4 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - security test of ten internet-connected toys for kids, - how to protect your phone from searches at the border, - how to avoid surveillance during a protest, ... and more. Subscribe and support!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/a-practica...
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A practical issue
Some timely tips on how to protect your and your family's privacy
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/a-practical-issue
4 months ago
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This week in digital surveillance and censorship: - AI surveillance system in a U.S. school mistook a clarinet for a gun; - Customs and Border Protection is seeking light-weight, desert-resilient drones to patrol the border; ... and more. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/dispatch-o...
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Dispatch or not dispatch
Surveillance technology makes mistakes â do we want it to be perfect?
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/dispatch-or-not-dispatch
5 months ago
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This week in digital censorship & surveillance: - âCity brains,â âsmart courts,â âsmart prisonsâ and other wonders of AI surveillance in China; - U.S. prisons inmate are unknowingly training AI tools; - Russia blocks FaceTime and Snapchat. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-great-...
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The Great Algorithm
The future of AI surveillance is already here, and yes, you can take a look
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-great-algorithm
5 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - Workplace surveillance tech can lead to harmful mistakes, - U.S. human rights organizations demand that ICE stop using its facial recognition app, Mobile Fortify, and more. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/your-ai-hr...
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Your AI HR is on duty
Do workplace surveillance tools know too much about us â or not nearly enough?
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/your-ai-hr-is-on-duty
6 months ago
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"As AI becomes more intelligent, general, and especially autonomous, it will less and less bestow power â as a tool does â and more and more absorb power. This means that a race to build AGI and superintelligence is ultimately self-defeating."
control-inversion.ai
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https://control-inversion.ai/
6 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - Big-time police surveillance is coming to college football games; - ICE hiring bounty hunters to locate undocumented immigrants for $180m; - Americans taking down Flock cameras, and more. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/big-brothe...
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Big Brother goes to school
What do immigrants and college students have in common? They're gong to feel the power of the surveillance state first.
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/big-brother-goes-to-school
6 months ago
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Exploiting underpaid workers to their last drop of sweat before making their jobs obsolete is definitely the AI revolution the humanity needs.
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
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Mercor Contractors Allege The AI Company Slashed Their Wages
Mercor allegedly canned an AI training project with thousands of contractors just weeks after hitting a $10 billion valuation.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2025/11/12/the-worlds-youngest-self-made-billionaires-just-slashed-these-workers-wages-by-a-third/
6 months ago
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Is anyone here using AI health apps? How is it?
6 months ago
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The way tech billionaires are increasingly turning into self-proclaimed messiahs is another proof that extreme wealth makes people lose their minds. Taxes are a mental health tool, y'all.
6 months ago
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First, Peter Thiel's Antichrist tour, now Alex Karp's weird interview. Are people at Palantir ok?..
gizmodo.com/palantir-ceo...
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Palantir CEO Says a Surveillance State Is Preferable to China Winning the AI Race
He also had strong opinions about people's
https://gizmodo.com/palantir-ceo-says-a-surveillance-state-is-preferable-to-china-winning-the-ai-race-2000683144
6 months ago
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This week in digital censorship and surveillance: - USCIS to get more biometric data from immigrants â and citizens, - U.S. police now has a mobile facial recognition app similar to what ICE has, - How to opt out of TSA's face scan, and more. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-overflow
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The Overflow
Surveillance has to start somewhere but does it end?
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-overflow
6 months ago
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Scandinavia is the last remaining bastion of human sanity in this world
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
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Elon Muskâs $1tn Tesla pay deal to be rejected by huge Norway wealth fund
Carmakerâs seventh biggest single investor will vote against package at annual shareholder meeting
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/04/elon-musk-tesla-pay-deal-norway-wealth-fund-annual-shareholder-meeting
6 months ago
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reposted by
Anna Baydakova
Szabolcs Panyi
6 months ago
đđ©șINVESTIGATION: Doctors stripped of their licenses for serious misconduct can move and keep practicing abroad. Reporters found over 100 cases where banned doctors were relicensed in other countriesâmost of them are still treating patients.
#BadPractice
@vsquare.bsky.social
@occrp.org
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Bad Practice: How Banned Doctors Find New Jobs Across Europe - VSquare.org
Failed warning systems, complacent officials, and a lack of accountability mean doctors who have lost their medical licenses due to serious wrongdoing can relocate and practice in different countries ...
https://vsquare.org/bad-practice-how-banned-doctors-find-new-jobs-across-europe/
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reposted by
Anna Baydakova
Rachel Maddow
6 months ago
www.404media.co/you-cant-ref...
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This week, someone sued the New York City over the NYPD surveillance practices, and the lawsuit reads like a Halloween story. Also: the latest on the ICE surveillance expansion, some _almost funny_ hiccups of the spyware industry, and more. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/youre-bein...
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"Youâre being watched"
This week in digital censorship and surveillance
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/youre-being-watched
7 months ago
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Wow, Russia's "toll farms" have been considered a viable business model and are now being emulated by "startups" in the U.S.
www.404media.co/a16z-backed-...
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a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of âSynthetic Influencersâ to Manipulate Social Media as a Service
Andreessen Horowitz is funding a company that clearly violates the inauthentic behavior policies of every major social media platform.
https://www.404media.co/a16z-backed-startup-sells-thousands-of-synthetic-influencers-to-manipulate-social-media-as-a-service/
7 months ago
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Would you trust an AI surveillance system to be in charge of your children's security at school? That is already happening in the U.S. Also in this week's newsletter: Amazon on a quest to become police surveillance one-stop-shop, and more. Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/ai-nanny-b...
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AI nanny, be kind to us
This week in digital censorship and surveillance
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/ai-nanny-be-kind-to-us
7 months ago
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NYC people! Are there any mayoral debate watch parties tonight?
7 months ago
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Blue collar jobs will be devoured by AI and we all are funding that feast
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/t...
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Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/technology/inside-amazons-plans-to-replace-workers-with-robots.html
7 months ago
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What a complete incompetence
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
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âAnna, Lindsey Halligan Here.â
My Signal exchange with the interim U.S. attorney about the Letitia James grand jury.
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna--lindsey-halligan-here
7 months ago
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It's especially funny to get letters from your uni with requests to donate when you're unemployed. Was only funnier back when I had student debt.
7 months ago
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Reasons for optimism this week: 1. America's trade unions and
@eff.org
believe mean tweets shouldn't cost people visas, 2. ... that's all Also: bizarre mutations of Russian internet censorship, why facial recognition sucks, and what is a browser fingerprint
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/access-den...
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Access denied
This week in digital censorship and surveillance
https://tinyurl.com/383v9d67
7 months ago
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It takes genuine curiosity about fellow humans to really love New York.
7 months ago
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open.substack.com/pub/dissenti...
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Half of Americaâs Voting Machines Now Owned by a MAGA Oligarch
They told us elections were rigged. Then they cloned stolen voting software. Then they bought the voting machines.
https://open.substack.com/pub/dissentinbloom/p/half-of-americas-voting-machines?r=2n547&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
7 months ago
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Apple and Google took down apps helping citizens track and report ICE raids, NYPD will be watching CCTV cameras in NYCHA buildings, Signal might leave Europe over "Chat Control", and more â in this week's newsletter. Subscribe to stay informed đš
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/melting-do...
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Melting down over ICE
This week in digital censorship and surveillance
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/melting-down-over-ice
7 months ago
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It's funny how U.S. companies are all after govt contracts now â just as they are in Russia. But in Russia, the govt has the natural resources money and monopoly in many fields, while the individual consumer market is much weaker on the global scale. Discuss?..
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
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Inside Amazonâs Aggressive Push To Get Cops Using AI Surveillance
With a growing roster of partners, Amazon has been peddling AI drone surveillance, gun detection and real-time crime center tech to law enforcement agencies, public records reveal.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2025/10/01/inside-amazons-aggressive-push-to-get-cops-using-ai-surveillance/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wiretap&cdlcid=68c974f70e0cbffca243fd8a§ion=
7 months ago
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reposted by
Anna Baydakova
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
7 months ago
When freedom of the press is under attack, journalists vanish, lies become law, and the voice of the people is silenced. Itâs not just how democracies die, itâs how countries falter. Itâs how they fall. OCCRP fights back with facts â and we need you with us:
membership.occrp.org/truth-or-sil...
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Spoke to my colleague Callan Quinn for her Scamurai podcast. We discussed some creepy stories of digital surveillance, the double-edged sword of censorship, and the new trend that is freaking us out: humans outsourcing their thinking process to AI. Check it out!
www.scamurai.io/p/ep-6-digit...
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Ep #6 Digital surveillance with Anna Baydakova
Listen now | The future of digital privacy, state surveillance and the shadowy companies harvesting your data.
https://www.scamurai.io/p/ep-6-digital-surveillance-with-anna
7 months ago
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ICE plans to monitor social media, landlords want to know all about your pay checks, and grocery stores may soon have surveillance drones to track shoplifters. Wonder what is going on with tech of mass surveillance in the U.S. these days? Subscribe âïž
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/no-opting-...
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No opting out of surveillance mode
This week in digital censorship and surveillance
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/no-opting-out-of-surveillance-mode
7 months ago
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Would you be bothered if you landlord wanted to see ALL of your paystubs?
www.404media.co/landlords-de...
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Landlords Demand Tenantsâ Workplace Logins to Scrape Their Paystubs
Screenshots shared with 404 Media show tenant screening services ApproveShield and Argyle taking much more data than they need. âOpt-out means no housing.â
https://www.404media.co/landlords-demand-tenants-workplace-logins-to-scrape-their-paystubs/
8 months ago
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Flock, an AI cameras manufacturer, is planning to sell surveillance drones to retail chains, so that they can track and chase shoplifters.
www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1...
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Shoplifters could soon be chased down by drones
Flock Safety is pitching its police-style drone program to private businesses. It could bring aerial surveillance to shopping centers, warehouses, and hospitals.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1124088/shoplifters-could-soon-be-chased-down-by-drones/
8 months ago
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This week had some good news for privacy-minded people: Meta does not have to reveal the identity of user who published a name of ICE agent (so far), and Microsoft is no more providing Azure for intercepting Gazans' calls (so far?) Otherwise, same blues đ
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/little-win...
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Little wins for privacy
This week in digital censorship and surveillance
https://ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/little-wins-for-privacy
8 months ago
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