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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

The reforms will be rushed through Congress in the coming two weeks. We'll see if there are any more last-minute surprises.

One thing is clear. Sheinbaum's government is all in on mass surveillance. We'll see if the most progressive factions in her government will go along (and lament it later).

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

It is unclear, but reasonable to assume, that these tools are being encouraged by the US or at least will benefit the US and Mexico's joint efforts to persecute migrants.

Even without official cooperation, I would assume US intelligence will tap immediately into all these surveillance systems.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

This will only be the beginning. Once this authoritarian digital infrastructure is in place, new projects will be possible, such as mass facial recognition video surveillance, electoral manipulation and much more.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

Also, the Mexican Army (the one caught using Pegasus against journalists, human rights defenders, and even public officials) in the last three governments will get new, broad intelligence gathering powers.

It is both an admission that military intelligence was illegal and a final capitulation.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

No judicial oversight is foreseen for access to these tools or the raw data.

The data protection and transparency bodies were eliminated.

The courts are about to come under the government's control.

People won't know they were surveilled. Abuses will go undetected. Impunity will prevail.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

Access to these tools and much (if not all) of the raw data will be available to many federal authorities and even to state and municipal police.

Many of these authorities have been found to have links to organized crime in the past, so measures sold as solutions to crime will likely backfire.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

The reforms hint that they will use "AI" and "predictive policing" software to analyze all this information.

Following the trend of militarization, these tools will not only be at the disposal of the intelligence agency but also the Mexican Army.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

Not only that, the government will create a Central Intelligence Platform that will combine ALL public and private databases, including biometric, phone records, tax , property, financial records, you name it.

Musk's and Thiel's wet dream realized, but by a self-identified left-progressive govt.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

Shamefully, the government attempted to frame this as a tool to find disappeared persons (+100k people). The government promised collectives that this tool was only for that. They lied.

In a last-minute addition, Congress gave the national intelligence agency "unfettered access" to the platform.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

For example, in another set of reforms, the government creates a "Unique Identity Platform" which will essentially interconnect every public and private database and monitor the use of a CURP in real time and provide immediate alerts to authorities when a selected CURP is used for anything.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

Once everyone's activities are logged and associated with a CURP, it is possible to correlate everyone's information to operate mass surveillance systems.

And that is precisely what Sheinbaum's government attempts to do in many ways.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

Even though Mexico's Supreme Court already said it is unconstitutional, the government again seeks to require the CURP ID to purchase a SIM Card.

Mandatory SIM card registration does nothing against organized crime; they have plenty of ways to elude it, but everyone else will be registered.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

The proposed reforms even require CURP ID to authenticate and validate the identity of persons in "digital media", which could pose severe restrictions to online anonymity.

Moreover, if you don't have a CURP (ie. migrants) or biometric ID fails, you will be left in a highly vulnerable position.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

Secondly, it will be mandatory to require the CURP ID for EVERY public or private(!) service, without exception.

Although it is unclear how this would actually work, technically, everyone would be requested to ID themselves for everything, leaving a record of everyone's public activities.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

First, Sheinbaum's government will make biometric identification mandatory for all Mexicans and foreigners entering Mexico, associating them with a unique ID number (CURP).

These will build a massive centralized biometric database that will be the basis of other mass surveillance systems.

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Luis Fernando García @luisfgarcia.bsky.social · Jun 25

In Mexico 🇲🇽, Sheinbaum's government is pushing through Congress sweeping legal reforms that will establish mass identification and surveillance systems of the population.

Here is a thread 🧵 summarizing the scope and reach of these reforms:

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Reposted by Luis Fernando García

Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · Jun 21

It’s clear that trans people face unique, advanced, and persistent threats—online and off. Here are some strategies for resisting the tech-enabled violence that trans people face.

Strategies for Resisting Tech-Enabled Violence Facing Transgender People

Today's Supreme Court’s ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti upholding bans on gender-affirming care for youth makes it clear: trans people are under attack. Threats to trans rights and healthcare are coming fr...

www.eff.org

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Reposted by Luis Fernando García

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · Jun 18

I was encouraged to see the #G7 Leaders' Statement on Transnational Repression which also calls out mitigating harms around mercenary spyware 👇🇨🇦

www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/stat...

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Reposted by Luis Fernando García

Kate Robertson @kate-ro.bsky.social · Jun 16

NEW today from myself @citizenlab.ca, on the unspoken implications of Canada's Bill C-2 for data-sharing with the United States and other foreign countries:

citizenlab.ca/2025/06/a-pr...

Unspoken Implications: A Preliminary Analysis of Bill C-2 and Canada’s Potential Data-Sharing Obligations Towards the United States and Other Countries - The Citizen Lab

On June 3, 2025, the federal government tabled Bill C-2, An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of the border between Canada and the United States and respecting other related sec...

citizenlab.ca

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Reposted by Luis Fernando García

Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · Jun 18

Calling all journalists covering the US-MX border and immigration: we're teaming up with @freedom.press , @tcij.org g‬, and ACOS Alliance to offer dedicated security workshops in Albuquerque and El Paso in August. Apply here! eff.org/jstapp

APPLICATION FORM

In an increasingly uncertain time for journalists' security in the US, this safety training initiative will support local journalists and freelancers who cover migration and events on the US border wi...

eff.org

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Reposted by Luis Fernando García

ProPublica @propublica.org · Jun 12

In April, President Trump and Salvadoran President Bukele shook hands in the Oval Office to celebrate a deal to ship gang members to the notorious CECOT prison.

But a new ProPublica investigation found there’s more to the story. 🧵👇

Photo of President Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office in April 2025. Trump has praised Bukele as “one hell of a president.” Credit: Al Drago/The Washington Post/Getty Images

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Reposted by Luis Fernando García

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · Jun 12

NEW @citizenlab.ca report confirms the targeting of two more journalist with #Paragon spyware in the context of 🇮🇹

Details here: citizenlab.ca/2025/06/firs...

@billmarczak.org @jsrailton.bsky.social

Graphite Caught: First Forensic Confirmation of Paragon’s iOS Mercenary Spyware Finds Journalists Targeted - The Citizen Lab

We conducted a forensic analysis of devices belonging to two journalists who were notified by Apple that they were targeted with advanced spyware.

citizenlab.ca

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Reposted by Luis Fernando García

The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · Jun 12

NEW REPORT: Our forensic analysis confirms ✅ two more European journalists targeted with Paragon's Graphite spyware.

Read it here: citizenlab.ca/2025/06/firs...

Graphite Caught: First Forensic Confirmation of Paragon’s iOS Mercenary Spyware Finds Journalists Targeted - The Citizen Lab

On April 29, 2025, a select group of iOS users were notified by Apple that they were targeted with advanced spyware. Among the group were two journalists who consented to the technical analysis of the...

citizenlab.ca

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Reposted by Luis Fernando García

dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · Jun 3

Confidential records obtained by WIRED & @propertyofthepeople.org show the ag industry deploying moles to infiltrate activist meetings, while functionally serving as FBI informants, in a shadow campaign to brand the animal rights movement America's biggest bioterrorism threat.

My latest @wired.com:

How the Farm Industry Spied on Animal Rights Activists and Pushed the FBI to Treat Them as Terrorists

For years, a powerful ‘Big Ag’ trade group served up information on activists to the FBI. Records reveal a decade-long effort to see the animal rights movement labeled a legitimate terrorism threat.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Luis Fernando García

John Scott-Railton @jsrailton.bsky.social · May 6

BREAKING: jury awards massive $167 million in punitive damages against spyware company NSO Group.

Precedent-setting win against notorious #Pegasus spyware maker.

Very consequential for victims to see this.

Congratulations to #WhatsApp on sticking this case through since 2019. Some thoughts 1/

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