Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Matt Cagle

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 1d

“People over Papers, a crowdsourcing project that maps sightings of US immigration agents, was taken offline yesterday by Padlet, the collaborative bulletin board platform on which it was built. It’s just the latest ICE-tracking initiative to be pulled by tech platforms in the past few days.”

Another effort to track ICE raids was just taken offline

People over Papers was removed by Padlet, the platform it was built on, yesterday.

www.technologyreview.com

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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 3d

This military should not be serving as a backdrop to this kind of speech.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

Trump to the Navy: "We have to take care of this little gnat that's on our shoulder called the Democrats."

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jenna ruddock @ruddock.bsky.social · 4d

the Trump admin just deported an award-winning journalist known for his reporting on ICE and got Apple to block ICE-spotter apps — all while churning out highly-produced social media content from violent ICE raids in Chicago. it’s their media or no media. www.techpolicy.press/amidst-viole...

Amidst Violent Immigration Raids, DHS Turns to Big Tech to Silence Dissent | TechPolicy.Press

Free Press advocacy director Jenna Ruddock says the Trump administration is targeting anyone monitoring its expanding immigration enforcement operations.

www.techpolicy.press

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Matthew Segal @segalmr.bsky.social · 4d

Just amazing that, as things worsen week after week, the nation’s most powerful court keeps proceeding as though the gravest threat to our democracy is district courts failing to get out of the President’s way.

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Matt Cagle @mattcagle.bsky.social · 5d

This is great news. CA law prohibits agencies from sharing ALPR-collected driver locations with out-of-state agencies. For years, @aclu-norcal.bsky.social and @eff.org have sounded the alarm bell about agencies violating it. In 2021, we brought the first suit to enforce it. More about the law:

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 5d

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that intelligence shows anything “without a doubt,” but even if the intelligence was water-tight, this strike was still murder. No law permits the deliberate, premeditated killing of civilians.

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 5d

Apple did something very similar to the people of Hong Kong in 2019, removing an app that allowed protesters to track police movements via crowdsourced information:

gizmodo.com/apple-sells-...

Reuters @reuters.com · 5d

Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration reut.rs/4mIfztt

Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration

Apple said on Thursday that it had removed ICEBlock, the most popular ICE-tracking app, and other similar apps from its App Store after it was contacted by President Donald Trump's administration.

reut.rs

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Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 7d

Peter Thiel *destroyed* by priest:

“Heretical.”

“Cynical.”

Read: “I’m a priest. Here’s why you should reject Peter Thiel’s Antichrist talk,” via @sfstandard.com

sfstandard.com/opinion/2025...

I’m a priest. Here’s why you should reject Peter Thiel’s Antichrist talk

The cynicism of the billionaire venture capitalist stands in deep contrast to the true values of Jesus.

sfstandard.com

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404 Media @404media.co · 5d

New: Apple just removed ICEBlock, the app for reporting sightings of ICE, from its App Store after DOJ pressure. ICEBlock's developer tells 404 Media "we are determined to fight this."

"Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move."

www.404media.co/iceblock-own...

ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’

Apple removed ICEBlock reportedly after direct pressure from Department of Justice officials. “I am incredibly disappointed by Apple's actions today. Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never t...

www.404media.co

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Matt Cagle @mattcagle.bsky.social · 6d

“Distress detection” has the energy of “suspicious behavior reporting,” a bankrupt post Sept. 11th effort that needlessly put law-abiding people under government scrutiny.

Matthew Guariglia @mguariglia.bsky.social · 6d

Ads reveal that Flock, makers of automated license plate readers and other surveillance technology, are promising to introduce "Distress detection" into their gunshot detection devices which will alert police when it hears human voices in distress, including screaming.

www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

An add that says "Safety you can see and now hear: Detect sounds of human distress and cover the blind stops that cameras miss with Distress Detection" with an alert that says "screaming" and an address.

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Matt Cagle @mattcagle.bsky.social · 6d

“Cities now have one more reason to follow the lead of many other municipalities and cancel their Flock contracts”

Matthew Guariglia @mguariglia.bsky.social · 6d

Ads reveal that Flock, makers of automated license plate readers and other surveillance technology, are promising to introduce "Distress detection" into their gunshot detection devices which will alert police when it hears human voices in distress, including screaming.

www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

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ACLU @aclu.org · 6d

BREAKING: Our client Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning journalist detained by ICE in retaliation for livestreaming law enforcement activity, will be deported tomorrow to El Salvador.

Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.

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Jen Taub @jentaub.bsky.social · 8d

“To us, masks are associated with cowardly desperados and the despised Ku Klux Klan. In all our history we have never tolerated an armed masked secret police.”

- Judge William Young, September 30, 2025

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David Greene @davidgreene.bsky.social · 8d

There is really never a good time to pass bad Internet laws that empower the government to control online speech.

But now is a really reallly really really bad time to do it.

Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 8d

Donald Trump basically announces that he is declaring war on anyone he deems a Democrat... and one of the leading Democratic Senators, @blumenthal.senate.gov thinks now is the best time for a bipartisan censorship bill that will let MAGA define what content is allowed on the internet.

WTF?

alpha @omarsbigsister.bsky.social · 8d

Are you kidding me right now? This is the last thing we need. KOSA is back no thanks to Senator Blumenthal who is working with the GOP and bringing in Republican Senators to convince the House to support it.

Please, CALL GOP House leadership and tell them to keep opposing it!

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Reposted by Matt Cagle

Andy Sellars @sellars.bsky.social · 8d

AAUP v. Rubio is out, and look at how it starts. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Ahead of the case caption, a handwritten note: "Trump has pardons and tanks . . . . what do you have?" Judge Young's reply: "Dear Mr. or Ms. Anonymous,
Alone, I have nothing but my
sense of duty.
Together, We the People of the
United States –- you and me --
have our magnificent Constitution.
Here’s how that works out in a
specific case –- "

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Matt Cagle @mattcagle.bsky.social · 8d

At the end of the day, it’s about ads.

Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 8d

A lotta people in the tech industry, itself, are mad about this. “You said you’d cure brain cancer, but you’re just giving everybody brain cancer with slop”

BY ZOE SCHIFFER AND LOUISE MATSAKIS
BUSINESS
SEP 29. 2025 3:32 PM
OpenAl Is Preparing to Launch a Social App for Al-Generated
Videos
The platform appears to closely resemble TikTok and is powered by Sora 2, OpenAl's latest video generation model.

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Reposted by Matt Cagle

Peter Sterne @petersterne.com · 8d

It really does not get more explicit than Trump telling top active-duty military generals that they will need to participate in occupations of large cities run by his political opponents as part of his "war from within"

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d

Trump: "The ones that are run by radical left Democrats -- what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles. They're very unsafe places & we're gonna straighten them out one by one. This is gonna be a major part for some people in this room. That's a war too. It's war from within"

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ACLU @aclu.org · 13d

DHS subpoenaed Meta for information about an account that posts names and images of the ICE agents raiding our communities, but @aclu-norcal.bsky.social and advocates are pushing back.

Recording federal agents while on duty in public — and sharing that information — is our First Amendment right.

The Feds Want to Unmask Instagram Accounts That Identified Immigration Agents

StopICE.net filed a motion to quash a subpoena about an Instagram video that identified a Border Patrol agent.

theintercept.com

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ACLU @aclu.org · 12d

BREAKING: President Trump issued a memo calling for government-wide "terrorism investigations" into political opponents.

His administration is trying to use political violence as an excuse to investigate and intimidate the president's perceived enemies.

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ACLU @aclu.org · 14d

Mario Guevara has been detained by ICE for more than 100 days in retaliation for his reporting — even though a judge ordered his release on bond.

An immigration court just ruled Mario could be deported at any moment. ICE must free him now.

Free Mario Guevara

ICE detained journalist Mario Guevara for over 100 days for his reporting, despite orders that he be released on bond. Now, an immigration board has issued a final removal order - and he could be deported at any minute.

action.aclu.org

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 15d

I'm just gonna keep reposting this inane BS from Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence on the roving immigration patrol case from LA.

The Government
sometimes makes brief investigative stops to check the
immigration status of those who gather in locations where
people are hired for day jobs; who work or appear to work
in jobs such as construction, landscaping, agriculture, or car
washes that often do not require paperwork and are
therefore attractive to illegal immigrants; and who do not
speak much if any English. If the officers learn that the
individual they stopped is a U. S. citizen or otherwise
lawfully in the United States, they promptly let the
individual go

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ACLU @aclu.org · 16d

Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after our government threatened a private company with retaliation, marking a dark moment for free speech in our nation.

More than 400 artists across our nation signed on to say: We refuse to be silenced by those in power.

We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech. Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists, and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.

Last week, Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after the government threatened a private company with retaliation, marking a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation. In an attempt to silence its critics, our government has resorted to threatening the livelihoods of journalists, talk show hosts, artists, creatives, and entertainers across the board. This runs counter to the values our nation was built upon, and our Constitution guarantees.

We know this moment is bigger than us and our industry. Teachers, government employees, law firms, researchers, universities, students and so many more are also facing direct attacks on their freedom of expression.

Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country. We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power – because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.

This is the moment to defend free speech across our nation. We encourage all Americans to join us, along with the ACLU, in the fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.

A graphic listing the names of the more than 400 signers of the ACLU's letter condemning the federal government's retaliation against Jimmy Kimmel. For the full list of signatories, visit aclu.org/kimmel-letter-bk

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Thor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 16d

Yep. Fascists try to bend reality to make it match their vision, but you don't have to go along with it

slick nik @coleskiiiiii.bsky.social · 16d

shit ain’t over til it’s over

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Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 19d

EFF and the ACLU of Northern California are calling out the San Francisco Police Department for breaking the law and sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with out-of-state and federal agencies. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

EFF, ACLU to SFPD: Stop Illegally Sharing Data With ICE and

The San Francisco Police Department is the latest California law enforcement agency to get caught sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with out-of-state and federal agencies. EFF and

www.eff.org

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Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 18d

The ability to gather and report information without authorization from the government is pretty much the definition of a free press

Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 19d

NEW: The Pentagon told journalists it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. @washingtonpost.com

Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is imposing strict new rules that would severely limit the ability of journalists to report on the Pentagon.

www.washingtonpost.com

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