Rachel 🦁
@rachelnull.bsky.social
dyslexic powered ramblings. swearing guaranteed.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Let's put aside the excruciating experience of gender dysphoria itself. You're cis, you can't possibly imagine that being forced to pretend, poorly, to be the other gender would be painful.
Let's focus on the experience of coming out as trans, a very stigmatized identity, on your own as an adult.
Let's focus on the experience of coming out as trans, a very stigmatized identity, on your own as an adult.
February 12, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Let's put aside the excruciating experience of gender dysphoria itself. You're cis, you can't possibly imagine that being forced to pretend, poorly, to be the other gender would be painful.
Let's focus on the experience of coming out as trans, a very stigmatized identity, on your own as an adult.
Let's focus on the experience of coming out as trans, a very stigmatized identity, on your own as an adult.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video
February 11, 2026 at 5:15 PM
“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Today's newsletter: New piece: after the Guthrie kidnapping, the Kirk assassination, and both Minneapolis shootings, the same thing happened every time. People asked AI to "enhance" blurry footage. AI invented faces.
www.readtpa.com/p/computer-e...
www.readtpa.com/p/computer-e...
Computer, Enhance
People keep running crime footage through AI thinking they’re helping. They’re not.
www.readtpa.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Today's newsletter: New piece: after the Guthrie kidnapping, the Kirk assassination, and both Minneapolis shootings, the same thing happened every time. People asked AI to "enhance" blurry footage. AI invented faces.
www.readtpa.com/p/computer-e...
www.readtpa.com/p/computer-e...
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Ofcom has published a slew of enforcement updates to its anti-porn campaign under the umbrella of the Online Safety Act www.ofcom.org.uk/enforcement
Kick Online (which runs old school cesspit motherless.com) has been fined £800,000 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#censorship #openweb #techpolicy
Kick Online (which runs old school cesspit motherless.com) has been fined £800,000 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#censorship #openweb #techpolicy
February 12, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Ofcom has published a slew of enforcement updates to its anti-porn campaign under the umbrella of the Online Safety Act www.ofcom.org.uk/enforcement
Kick Online (which runs old school cesspit motherless.com) has been fined £800,000 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#censorship #openweb #techpolicy
Kick Online (which runs old school cesspit motherless.com) has been fined £800,000 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#censorship #openweb #techpolicy
Neil Brown has written about the CJEU's Russmedia decision from December. decoded.legal/blog/2026/02...
Russmedia: a court case imposing data protection obligations which many website operators may struggle to meet?
In December 2025, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union released its decision in the case of Russmedia.
decoded.legal
February 11, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Neil Brown has written about the CJEU's Russmedia decision from December. decoded.legal/blog/2026/02...
been quite enjoying getting a @sill.social daily digest via rss.
@sill.social might just be this news junkie new favorite thing. sill.social
Sill
Sill streamlines your Bluesky and Mastodon feeds to give you a clear picture of what's happening.
sill.social
February 11, 2026 at 1:26 PM
been quite enjoying getting a @sill.social daily digest via rss.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Important 🧵
The Discord age verification discourse focuses on adults losing access to communities they have a right to access. That's important.
I'm also worried, though, about the kids. They seem to be an afterthought in these conversations. They have much to lose too. 🧵 www.theverge.com/tech/875309/...
I'm also worried, though, about the kids. They seem to be an afterthought in these conversations. They have much to lose too. 🧵 www.theverge.com/tech/875309/...
Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month
Age verification for all.
www.theverge.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Important 🧵
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
NEW: Ring has introduced "Search Party", a horrifyingly dystopian feature nominally designed to turn all of the Ring cameras in a neighborhood into a dragnet that uses AI to look for, in their commercial, a cute lost dog.
With Ring, US consumers are actually building a surveillance dragnet.
With Ring, US consumers are actually building a surveillance dragnet.
With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet
Ring's 'Search Party' is dystopian surveillance accelerationism.
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 3:18 PM
NEW: Ring has introduced "Search Party", a horrifyingly dystopian feature nominally designed to turn all of the Ring cameras in a neighborhood into a dragnet that uses AI to look for, in their commercial, a cute lost dog.
With Ring, US consumers are actually building a surveillance dragnet.
With Ring, US consumers are actually building a surveillance dragnet.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
i wrote about the pup-opticon
February 9, 2026 at 8:46 PM
i wrote about the pup-opticon
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Wherein I write "For many critics of Section 230, the chilling effect is the point: ... They want platforms to publish less than what they would otherwise choose to publish, even when that speech is protected and nonactionable." www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Op-ed: Weakening Section 230 Would Chill Online Speech
Enacted 30 years ago through careful legislative deliberation, Section 230 remains the internet’s strongest bulwark for free expression, protecting the services—and users—that make online speech possi...
www.eff.org
February 9, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Wherein I write "For many critics of Section 230, the chilling effect is the point: ... They want platforms to publish less than what they would otherwise choose to publish, even when that speech is protected and nonactionable." www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
404 Media just had an ad during the #SuperBowl! We Googled "smallest TV markets in the United States" and bought an ad for $2,550 that only ran in Ottumwa, Iowa, population 25,000. That still counts
www.404media.co/watch-404-me...
www.404media.co/watch-404-me...
Watch 404 Media’s Super Bowl Ad
WE BOUGHT A SUPER BOWL AD.
www.404media.co
February 9, 2026 at 2:48 AM
404 Media just had an ad during the #SuperBowl! We Googled "smallest TV markets in the United States" and bought an ad for $2,550 that only ran in Ottumwa, Iowa, population 25,000. That still counts
www.404media.co/watch-404-me...
www.404media.co/watch-404-me...
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Super Bowl LX Begins With Moment Of Silence For Failed Bay Area Startups
February 8, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Super Bowl LX Begins With Moment Of Silence For Failed Bay Area Startups
@sill.social might just be this news junkie new favorite thing. sill.social
Sill
Sill streamlines your Bluesky and Mastodon feeds to give you a clear picture of what's happening.
sill.social
February 8, 2026 at 10:33 PM
@sill.social might just be this news junkie new favorite thing. sill.social
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
The MoJ continues to be truly terrible for transparency and open data.
They haven’t commented for this article, but I will bet money that the reason turns out to be they want to licence the data out to a company that will then charge a *massive* markup on it, making it inaccessible to the public.
They haven’t commented for this article, but I will bet money that the reason turns out to be they want to licence the data out to a company that will then charge a *massive* markup on it, making it inaccessible to the public.
The Ministry of Justice has ordered the deletion of the UK’s largest court reporting archive.
This risks undermining open justice, and I believe, undermines the public accountability role of the press by making it harder to see what is going on in the courts.
www.thetimes.com/article/77b0...
This risks undermining open justice, and I believe, undermines the public accountability role of the press by making it harder to see what is going on in the courts.
www.thetimes.com/article/77b0...
MoJ orders deletion of UK’s largest court reporting archive
Courtsdesk, which supports the media in monitoring records, is an important tool for journalists and the move raises concerns over open justice
www.thetimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 9:58 PM
The MoJ continues to be truly terrible for transparency and open data.
They haven’t commented for this article, but I will bet money that the reason turns out to be they want to licence the data out to a company that will then charge a *massive* markup on it, making it inaccessible to the public.
They haven’t commented for this article, but I will bet money that the reason turns out to be they want to licence the data out to a company that will then charge a *massive* markup on it, making it inaccessible to the public.
I created an Instagram account in December to follow some art folks and the lack of any real control over the user experience is beyond annoying. Small changes like allowing video auto-play to be disabled on desktop and adding a bsky-style feeds would make Instagram so much better.
My 2 cents on people saying they're addicted to social media is that most have likely just formed a strong habit. Giving users more control over their experience would go a long way in addressing a lot of the issues with "addictive" platforms like Instagram.
To many people, the obvious answer to the question of whether social media is addictive is yes. It’s clearly hard to put it down.
But when you to talk to addiction researchers, you get a different story.
My latest.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
But when you to talk to addiction researchers, you get a different story.
My latest.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
February 8, 2026 at 10:22 PM
I created an Instagram account in December to follow some art folks and the lack of any real control over the user experience is beyond annoying. Small changes like allowing video auto-play to be disabled on desktop and adding a bsky-style feeds would make Instagram so much better.
My 2 cents on people saying they're addicted to social media is that most have likely just formed a strong habit. Giving users more control over their experience would go a long way in addressing a lot of the issues with "addictive" platforms like Instagram.
To many people, the obvious answer to the question of whether social media is addictive is yes. It’s clearly hard to put it down.
But when you to talk to addiction researchers, you get a different story.
My latest.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
But when you to talk to addiction researchers, you get a different story.
My latest.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
Social media companies are being sued for harming their users’ mental health – but are the platforms addictive?
Experts say the term ‘addiction’ is be overused and, for social media use, could be difficult to prove
www.theguardian.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:09 PM
My 2 cents on people saying they're addicted to social media is that most have likely just formed a strong habit. Giving users more control over their experience would go a long way in addressing a lot of the issues with "addictive" platforms like Instagram.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Campaigners stressed that “there is nothing age inappropriate about being LGBTQ+” and warn that moving books to senior sections or making them harder to access is “deeply concerning”
https://www.theferret.scot/books-scottish-schools-librarians/
https://www.theferret.scot/books-scottish-schools-librarians/
February 8, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Campaigners stressed that “there is nothing age inappropriate about being LGBTQ+” and warn that moving books to senior sections or making them harder to access is “deeply concerning”
https://www.theferret.scot/books-scottish-schools-librarians/
https://www.theferret.scot/books-scottish-schools-librarians/
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
‘I’ve lost my friends’: advocacy groups warn Australia’s social media ban risks isolating kids with disabilities | Social media ban | The Guardian
https://alecmuffett.com/article/144675
#SocialMediaBan #australia #censorship
https://alecmuffett.com/article/144675
#SocialMediaBan #australia #censorship
‘I’ve lost my friends’: advocacy groups warn Australia’s social media ban risks isolating kids with disabilities | Social media ban | The Guardian
“it’s okay, she should be outside playing sports” — no? “I have autism and mental health things, it’s hard making friends in real life for me,” she says. “My online friends were e…
alecmuffett.com
February 7, 2026 at 10:05 AM
‘I’ve lost my friends’: advocacy groups warn Australia’s social media ban risks isolating kids with disabilities | Social media ban | The Guardian
https://alecmuffett.com/article/144675
#SocialMediaBan #australia #censorship
https://alecmuffett.com/article/144675
#SocialMediaBan #australia #censorship
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
According to Polymarket, now there are 99% chances a moltbook AI agent is going to sue human, soon. Obviously, it won't happen. But "99%"!
February 5, 2026 at 7:40 AM
According to Polymarket, now there are 99% chances a moltbook AI agent is going to sue human, soon. Obviously, it won't happen. But "99%"!
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
The Wyden Siren: Senator’s Cryptic CIA Letter Follows A Pattern That’s Never Been Wrong
If you've been paying attention to surveillance and civil liberties issues over the past fifteen years, you've likely learned to recognize a particular pattern. Senator Ron Wyden will occasionally send a public…
If you've been paying attention to surveillance and civil liberties issues over the past fifteen years, you've likely learned to recognize a particular pattern. Senator Ron Wyden will occasionally send a public…
The Wyden Siren: Senator’s Cryptic CIA Letter Follows A Pattern That’s Never Been Wrong
If you've been paying attention to surveillance and civil liberties issues over the past fifteen years, you've likely learned to recognize a particular pattern. Senator Ron Wyden will occasionally send a public letter that essentially says "hey, I can't tell you what's happening because it's classified, but something really bad is going on and you should all be paying attention."
www.techdirt.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:31 PM
The Wyden Siren: Senator’s Cryptic CIA Letter Follows A Pattern That’s Never Been Wrong
If you've been paying attention to surveillance and civil liberties issues over the past fifteen years, you've likely learned to recognize a particular pattern. Senator Ron Wyden will occasionally send a public…
If you've been paying attention to surveillance and civil liberties issues over the past fifteen years, you've likely learned to recognize a particular pattern. Senator Ron Wyden will occasionally send a public…
Conspiracy theorists have spent decades fearmongering about FEMA camps, and in 2015, the American right lost its shit over Jade Helm, claiming it was an Obama plot to occupy states. Both are happening now, and they’re cheering because they believe those facing this state violence deserve it.
⛓️CONCENTRATION CAMPS & INCINERATORS—D.H.S. is setting up a huge network of camps. They are converting the U.S. as a region for ‘expeditionary military deployment’ & no-bid no-public-comment contracts to build a “ghost network” of 10,000-person concentration camps. Jesus. Thread 🧵
February 4, 2026 at 9:41 PM
Conspiracy theorists have spent decades fearmongering about FEMA camps, and in 2015, the American right lost its shit over Jade Helm, claiming it was an Obama plot to occupy states. Both are happening now, and they’re cheering because they believe those facing this state violence deserve it.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
My leader on banning social media, and more broadly the place of science in policymaking www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
It would be a mistake to rush into an under-16 social media ban
Many countries are debating whether to follow Australia and ban social media for younger teenagers. But with more robust evidence on its harms coming, we shouldn't be too hasty
www.newscientist.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:26 AM
My leader on banning social media, and more broadly the place of science in policymaking www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...