Byron Tau
@byrontau.bsky.social
30K followers 630 following 69 posts
investigative reporter in washington for the ap formers: wsj, politico, notus. author of 'means of control,' a new book on big data and big government. buy: https://bit.ly/buyMoC signal: byrontau.01 twitter/linkedin/mastodon: byrontau
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byrontau.bsky.social
Tremendous reporting from Joel Schectman and Aruna Viswanatha in the @wsj.com on how Pentagon pranks, coverups and in some cases deliberate disinformation fed to American citizens fueled interest in UFOs.
www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America’s UFO Mythology
U.S. military fabricated evidence of alien technology and allowed rumors to fester to cover up real secret-weapons programs.
www.wsj.com
byrontau.bsky.social
Also if you're interested, I wrote a book about this:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706321...
byrontau.bsky.social
New intelligence community-run portal will be a "one stop shop" for commercially available information. This includes information on your car, your phone, your Bluetooth headphones, your purchases -- sold by corporations and bought by governments.
theintercept.com/2025/05/22/i...
U.S. Spy Agencies Are Getting a One-Stop Shop to Buy Your Most Sensitive Personal Data
The government wants to build a centralized platform where spy agencies can more easily buy private info about millions of people.
theintercept.com
Reposted by Byron Tau
l8tcoder.bsky.social
I very much recommend Means of Control by @byrontau.bsky.social.

Well researched and eye opening. Renewed a sense of urgency in me regarding #privacy matters.

www.byrontau.com/means-of-con...
Means of Control | ByronTau
www.byrontau.com
byrontau.bsky.social
For the past few weeks, a wire has snaked out of the open window of the GSA administrator's office and onto the roof, where it connects to a Starlink terminal

A look at the very Muskian takeover of the chokepoint of federal tech, real estate and contracts. apnews.com/article/doge...
Elon Musk installed his top lieutenants at a federal agency you probably haven't heard of
The General Services Administration has a key role in the Trump administration’s quest to slash costs and bring the federal government to heel.
apnews.com
byrontau.bsky.social
AP’s exclusion from the White House over its refusal to use the term Gulf of America "has been contrary to the First Amendment" and U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden (Trump appointee) "enjoins the Government from continuing down that unlawful path" storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
byrontau.bsky.social
21 DOGE staffers resign rather than help use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services," according to a resignation letter obtained by the AP.

Musk has largely tried to keep technical talent at DOGE, mostly laying off designers & product managers.
apnews.com/article/doge...
21 federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE slash size of government
Twenty-one civil service employees have resigned from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they're refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle ...
apnews.com
byrontau.bsky.social
I am currently writing about DOGE and what it is doing with its vast access to federal computer systems and databases. If you are a current or former federal employee or contractor with insight, I am best reached on Signal at byrontau.01.
Reposted by Byron Tau
blanka.bsky.social
Do you work at Meta? How is it going? Would love to hear from you -- Signal (646)378-8843 or [email protected] if you have anything to share, anonymity protected as always.
byrontau.bsky.social
For federal employees (or anyone) who wants to speak to a reporter about what's unfolding about their agencies, the Associated Press investigative team can be reached here: [email protected] or www.ap.org/tips/

I am byrontau.01 on Signal.
News tips | The Associated Press
www.ap.org
Reposted by Byron Tau
byrontau.bsky.social
Things appear to be going well inside federal agencies.
byrontau.bsky.social
You can still see most contract awards on USASpending.gov without logging in but FPDS.gov was the only place to see special non-competitive contract awards called Other Transaction Authority awards.
USAspending.gov
USASpending.gov
byrontau.bsky.social
Browsing the definitive U.S. contracting database now requires logging in, providing your address and subjecting your searches of said database to potential U.S. government review per a new software change confirmed today by journalist Jack Poulson. jackpoulson.substack.com/p/the-us-gov...
The U.S. Government silently sabotaged anonymous public access to billions of dollars of military AI contracts
The entire category of 'Other Transaction' contracts heavily used for Pentagon AI now silently requires a Login.gov account and an agreement to be surveilled.
jackpoulson.substack.com
Reposted by Byron Tau
runasand.bsky.social
I’ve focused on security for at-risk civil society groups for over a decade now (🙀), including human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists. I’m available for collaboration, consulting, and presenting, so please get in touch if you’d like to work together!
byrontau.bsky.social
The Supreme Court has even protected the right of journalists to disseminate illegally obtained information so long as they played no part in illegally obtaining it en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartnic...
Bartnicki v. Vopper - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
byrontau.bsky.social
Journalists publish sealed, confidential or classified information all the time, it's part of the job and the law generally protects us as long as we are nonparties to the proceedings and did not commit a crime ourselves to obtain the information.
www.rcfp.org/journals/the...
From the Hotline
From the Winter 2001 issue of The News Media & The Law, page 28.
www.rcfp.org