Rachel 🦁
@rachelnull.bsky.social
dyslexic powered ramblings. swearing guaranteed.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Instead of doxing everyone, ExTwitter should ban the clearly inauthentic accounts and fix its onion service to help foster the free speech Elon claims to care so much about.
X/Twitter exposing user location in such a safety-positive way makes a modest dent in the EU’s approach to protecting personally-identifiable information
https://alecmuffett.com/article/128340
#OnlineSafety #gdpr #prvacy #xitter
https://alecmuffett.com/article/128340
#OnlineSafety #gdpr #prvacy #xitter
X/Twitter exposing user location in such a safety-positive way makes a modest dent in the EU’s approach to protecting personally-identifiable information
I’m confident a few privacy activists across Europe are seeking GDPR (etc) arguments to critique the mechanisms behind the location-based exposure of “Foreign, Fake MAGA Agents”; …
alecmuffett.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Instead of doxing everyone, ExTwitter should ban the clearly inauthentic accounts and fix its onion service to help foster the free speech Elon claims to care so much about.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Good take. The effective leaking of this information (blatantly illegal under Article 25(2) GDPR) was only useful because it was unexpected. Going forward, it's kinda useless, while compromising user privacy, especially of those in authoritarian regimes which may use this info to target any dissent.
X/Twitter exposing user location in such a safety-positive way makes a modest dent in the EU’s approach to protecting personally-identifiable information
https://alecmuffett.com/article/128340
#OnlineSafety #gdpr #prvacy #xitter
https://alecmuffett.com/article/128340
#OnlineSafety #gdpr #prvacy #xitter
X/Twitter exposing user location in such a safety-positive way makes a modest dent in the EU’s approach to protecting personally-identifiable information
I’m confident a few privacy activists across Europe are seeking GDPR (etc) arguments to critique the mechanisms behind the location-based exposure of “Foreign, Fake MAGA Agents”; …
alecmuffett.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Good take. The effective leaking of this information (blatantly illegal under Article 25(2) GDPR) was only useful because it was unexpected. Going forward, it's kinda useless, while compromising user privacy, especially of those in authoritarian regimes which may use this info to target any dissent.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
A useful overview by Professor Sarah Joseph (from November last year) on how the social media minimum age obligation might violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Constitution:
November 26, 2025 at 3:50 AM
A useful overview by Professor Sarah Joseph (from November last year) on how the social media minimum age obligation might violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Constitution:
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Communications Minister: "We will not be intimidated by threats. We will not be intimidated by legal challenges. We will not be intimidated by big tech. On behalf of Australian parents, we will stand firm," >>> And teens. Don't forget teens. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Australia social media ban: Teens challenge law before High Court
They argue the law - which will block users under 16 from having social media accounts - is unconstitutional.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Communications Minister: "We will not be intimidated by threats. We will not be intimidated by legal challenges. We will not be intimidated by big tech. On behalf of Australian parents, we will stand firm," >>> And teens. Don't forget teens. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Food discourse Bluesky has a new entry.
They should invent a slice of pizza that you have to peel
November 25, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Food discourse Bluesky has a new entry.
They're like some sort of chaser but you pay them and are still not treated great.
i find it frustrating how in the dearth of cis people being normal about trans people, there's a whole cottage industry of "gender-affirming" or "trans-affirming" versions of pre-existing services where they upcharge on the promise that they definitely won't be weird (they will be definitely weird).
November 25, 2025 at 10:58 PM
They're like some sort of chaser but you pay them and are still not treated great.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
November 24, 2025 at 6:19 PM
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
Britipedia. lol. I'm totally biased because I edit Wikipedia (and Wikidata) but you can't just build a new one. Folks have tried and failed (mostly Larry Sanger). Took Wikipedia nearly 25 years to get where it is today, warts and all.
I don't normally bother with Andrew Orlowski's stuff any more – he's reliably wrong and not in an interesting way – but this piece is especially stupid:
Defend British sovereignty, defend the Online Safety Act thecritic.co.uk/defend-briti...
#censorship #openweb #techpolicy
Defend British sovereignty, defend the Online Safety Act thecritic.co.uk/defend-briti...
#censorship #openweb #techpolicy
November 25, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Britipedia. lol. I'm totally biased because I edit Wikipedia (and Wikidata) but you can't just build a new one. Folks have tried and failed (mostly Larry Sanger). Took Wikipedia nearly 25 years to get where it is today, warts and all.
Age verification to read (some) blogs. More censorship as safety. thanks @ofcom.bsky.social 😑
this is interesting! Substack is adding age verification because of UK's Online Safety Act
November 25, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Age verification to read (some) blogs. More censorship as safety. thanks @ofcom.bsky.social 😑
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Juries are not perfect.
Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.
But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.
They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.
But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.
They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
November 25, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Juries are not perfect.
Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.
But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.
They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.
But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.
They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Imagine coming up with a proposal so stupid, so unworkable, so thoughtless, that it makes Robert Jenrick look sane by comparison.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Jury trials could be scrapped except in most serious cases
Only cases of alleged murder, rape or manslaughter will be decided by a jury under new proposals to cut court backlogs.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Imagine coming up with a proposal so stupid, so unworkable, so thoughtless, that it makes Robert Jenrick look sane by comparison.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Which version of national security is more important:
The one that would mandate secure software by law with the threat of fines for failing adhere the rules, or the current one requiring software be made insecure by order of the Home Secretary with the threat of prison for failing to comply?
The one that would mandate secure software by law with the threat of fines for failing adhere the rules, or the current one requiring software be made insecure by order of the Home Secretary with the threat of prison for failing to comply?
Software companies must be held liable for British economic security, say MPs | The Record
https://alecmuffett.com/article/127856
#BrokenRecord #liability #software
https://alecmuffett.com/article/127856
#BrokenRecord #liability #software
Software companies must be held liable for British economic security, say MPs | The Record
Well this is misconceived and is going to end badly, if it goes anywhere at all. Perhaps the British people ought to be able to sue members of parliament for losses caused by legislation?
alecmuffett.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Which version of national security is more important:
The one that would mandate secure software by law with the threat of fines for failing adhere the rules, or the current one requiring software be made insecure by order of the Home Secretary with the threat of prison for failing to comply?
The one that would mandate secure software by law with the threat of fines for failing adhere the rules, or the current one requiring software be made insecure by order of the Home Secretary with the threat of prison for failing to comply?
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Really important decision for the rights of gay people, who are EU citizens, moving around the EU and seeking to ensure their marriage in one Member State is recognised in another. Notably more weight placed on citizenship rights than in the AG Opinion:
curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/...
curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/...
November 25, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Really important decision for the rights of gay people, who are EU citizens, moving around the EU and seeking to ensure their marriage in one Member State is recognised in another. Notably more weight placed on citizenship rights than in the AG Opinion:
curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/...
curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/...
Your near-weekly reminder to disable NPM pre/post install scripts.
www.nodejs-security.com/blog/npm-ign...
www.nodejs-security.com/blog/npm-ign...
Shai-Hulud worm returns, belches secrets to 25K GitHub repos
Shai-Hulud worm returns, belches secrets to 25K GitHub repos
Trojanized npm packages spread new variant that executes in pre-install phase, hitting thousands within days
A self-propagating malware targeting node package managers (npm) is back for a second round, according to Wiz researchers who say that more than 25,000 developers had their secrets compromised within three days.…
dlvr.it
November 24, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Your near-weekly reminder to disable NPM pre/post install scripts.
www.nodejs-security.com/blog/npm-ign...
www.nodejs-security.com/blog/npm-ign...
You'd think an MP from the supposedly pro-civil liberties party would be against giving the state more power to control speech. Seems not. Don't get me wrong, Elon is a sh*t, but I'm not convinced empowering ofcom to "clamp down" on "misinformation" (according to whom?) is the right approach.
Lib Dem MP Luke Taylor in last week's debate on social media:
Elon Musk's recent London speech represented "a foreign billionaire, armed with his global megaphone, fanning the flames of division and calling for the overthrow of our democratically elected Government."
"We call that treason here."
Elon Musk's recent London speech represented "a foreign billionaire, armed with his global megaphone, fanning the flames of division and calling for the overthrow of our democratically elected Government."
"We call that treason here."
November 24, 2025 at 2:29 PM
You'd think an MP from the supposedly pro-civil liberties party would be against giving the state more power to control speech. Seems not. Don't get me wrong, Elon is a sh*t, but I'm not convinced empowering ofcom to "clamp down" on "misinformation" (according to whom?) is the right approach.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
In which an MP is genuinely ~shocked~ that six years of allowing pearl-clutching white saviours and Christian fundamentalists to craft the rules of content regulation is resulting in the censorship of discussions about menstruation and lady gardens.
www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...
www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...
Big tech's sexism is jeopardising women's health
An internet on which you can’t say the word “vagina” in its proper context feels like something out of The Handmaid’s Tale. But it’s here, and it’s...
www.politicshome.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:24 PM
In which an MP is genuinely ~shocked~ that six years of allowing pearl-clutching white saviours and Christian fundamentalists to craft the rules of content regulation is resulting in the censorship of discussions about menstruation and lady gardens.
www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...
www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Keys are hard. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/w...
Cryptographers Held an Election. They Can’t Decrypt the Results.
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Keys are hard. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/w...
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
The saga continues.
BREAKING: The CPS will pursue an appeal of the overturning of Hamit Coskun's conviction after he burnt a Quran in protest.
The High Court must reject this dangerous attempt to police 'offence' on behalf of religion.
www.secularism.org.uk/news/2025/11...
The High Court must reject this dangerous attempt to police 'offence' on behalf of religion.
www.secularism.org.uk/news/2025/11...
CPS challenges quashing of Quran-burning conviction
NSS: Guilty verdict would echo "blasphemy law" and establish "extremist's veto". Read More »
www.secularism.org.uk
November 21, 2025 at 6:12 PM
The saga continues.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
"Meta begins mass censorship of teenagers' speech at the behest of the Australian Government under social media ban law" Fixed your headline.
Meta starts notifying Australian teens of account shutdowns as social media ban looms
Meta starts notifying Australian teens of account shutdowns as social media ban looms
Facebook and Instagram users under 16 will be sent email, SMS and in-app messages in anticipation of 10 December when ban will begin
*
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Australian Facebook and Instagram users under 16 will be notified starting Thursday that their accounts will be deactivated by 10 December, as Meta begins to comply with the Albanese government’s social media ban.
Users affected by the ban will receive 14 days’ notice of their pending account deactivation through a combination of in-app messages, email and SMS before their access is cut off. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:03 PM
"Meta begins mass censorship of teenagers' speech at the behest of the Australian Government under social media ban law" Fixed your headline.
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
This is one of the changes in the UK media landscape that should be more remarked on: the fact that being a very open, proud, outright racist is no longer a bar to being a pundit on some TV stations (in this case GBN and Talk TV).
Lucy White advocates a ban on "non-natives" from office, citing Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel.
So she is referring to UK-born ethnic minority citizens. (Her argument would apply equally to Shabana Mahmood, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and others)
Lucy White continues to be a GB News regular
So she is referring to UK-born ethnic minority citizens. (Her argument would apply equally to Shabana Mahmood, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and others)
Lucy White continues to be a GB News regular
November 21, 2025 at 11:12 AM
This is one of the changes in the UK media landscape that should be more remarked on: the fact that being a very open, proud, outright racist is no longer a bar to being a pundit on some TV stations (in this case GBN and Talk TV).
Reposted by Rachel 🦁
Status update: fiber cut between data centers - trucks are rolling. Services are slow but functional, except for the Wayback Machine, which is still offline.
The Wayback Machine, openlibrary.org, and some other archive.org functions are offline because some network gear has failed.
We apologize and are working on it. More as it happens.
We apologize and are working on it. More as it happens.
November 20, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Status update: fiber cut between data centers - trucks are rolling. Services are slow but functional, except for the Wayback Machine, which is still offline.
I see you've completely glossed over the many issues with online age verification.
www.pcmag.com/explainers/g...
www.pcmag.com/explainers/g...
November 20, 2025 at 12:38 PM
I see you've completely glossed over the many issues with online age verification.
www.pcmag.com/explainers/g...
www.pcmag.com/explainers/g...
"Meta begins mass censorship of teenagers' speech at the behest of the Australian Government under social media ban law" Fixed your headline.
Meta starts notifying Australian teens of account shutdowns as social media ban looms
Meta starts notifying Australian teens of account shutdowns as social media ban looms
Facebook and Instagram users under 16 will be sent email, SMS and in-app messages in anticipation of 10 December when ban will begin
*
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Australian Facebook and Instagram users under 16 will be notified starting Thursday that their accounts will be deactivated by 10 December, as Meta begins to comply with the Albanese government’s social media ban.
Users affected by the ban will receive 14 days’ notice of their pending account deactivation through a combination of in-app messages, email and SMS before their access is cut off. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:03 PM
"Meta begins mass censorship of teenagers' speech at the behest of the Australian Government under social media ban law" Fixed your headline.