Source: https://hear-me.social/users/Jerry/statuses/115259838694464828

@jerry@feddit.online

Christophe talks about the growing number of of ALPR (Automatic Liscence Plate Reader) cameras in the US and the concerns around them.

Saw this in my adguard home query logs. OC by @TuxEnthusiast@sopuli.xyz

For years, Customs and Border Protection agents have been quietly harvesting DNA from American citizens, including minors, and funneling the samples into an FBI crime database, government data shows. This expansion of genetic surveillance was never authorized by Congress for citizens, children, or civil detainees.

According to newly released government data analyzed by Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy & Technology, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, collected the DNA of nearly 2,000 US citizens between 2020 and 2024 and had it sent to CODIS, the FBI’s nationwide system for policing investigations. An estimated 95 were minors, some as young as 14. The entries also include travelers never charged with a crime and dozens of cases where agents left the “charges” field blank. In other files, officers invoked civil penalties as justification for swabs that federal law reserves for criminal arrests.

404 Media has filed a lawsuit against ICE for access to its contract with Paragon, a company that sells powerful spyware for breaking into phones and accessing encrypted messaging apps.

On Monday 404 Media filed a lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demanding the agency publish its $2 million contract with Paragon, a company that makes powerful spyware that can remotely break into mobile phones without the target even clicking a link. The sale of the spyware to ICE has activists and lawmakers deeply concerned about what the agency, which continues to push the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort, may use the technology for. The contract and related documents 404 Media is suing for may provide more information on what ICE intends to do with the spyware.

“404 Media has asked ICE to disclose agency records relating to its contract with a company known for its powerful spyware tool whose potential use in the agency’s ongoing mass-deportation campaign has prompted lawmakers, civil liberties organizations, and immigration groups to express deep concerns over potential civil rights abuses,” the lawsuit says.

404 Media first filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with ICE for documents related to its Paragon purchase in September 2024. Under the law, agencies are required to provide a response within 20 days, or provide an explanation of why they need more time. ICE acknowledged receipt of the request in September 2024, but has not since replied to any follow up inquiries. 404 Media then filed the lawsuit.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36337867

The Tenfingers community is moving away from the flaky home server lemmy.mindoki. It went down in flames after the last update 🥲.

So it's a fresh start here, welcome everyone!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/53891687

Hello guys, today I wanted to talk about a project I deeply care about and I'm actively contributing to, as I believe its good for everyone, including privacy concerned users

Ladybird Browser

This browser comes from the project "SerenityOS", and has since evolved and separated from it. The founders are Andreas Kling, and Chris Wanstrath. The main goal of this project is to create a browser from scratch, avoiding chromium, gecko, etc. The main keypoints that should be of interest for Privacy Oriented Users are the following:

• Ladybird lead (Andreas Kling) states "We're not monetizing users, in any way. This is uncharted territory for browsers. So we're not going to do any default search deals. We're not going to do cryptocurrencies or try to monetize user data, just sponsorships and donations"

• While** Ladybird will implement current web standards including cookie handling and tracking mechanisms for compatibility**, the browser's philosophy puts the user in control of these decisions, not the company. The browser won't have built-in incentives to encourage data collection since it doesn't profit from it.

• It aims to be "free from advertising's influence" Ladybird, representing a shift away from the current web ecosystem where users like us are the product. This allows the project to implement privacy features without worrying about harming advertising partners or revenue streams.

As of now, the project has hired several developers with money coming from donations, from partners such as FUTO, Shopify, Cloudflare, among many, and is also seeing lots of volunteer activity on github. So well, if you like the web having more diversity and us having another alternative to google, check them out https://ladybird.org/

Starting Friday, Arizonans will have to prove they're old enough to access nude photos and sexual activity online.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250920182330/https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/article_9910862c-cd28-4da6-9684-aa7130aca93a.html

https://peertube.openrightsgroup.org/a/openrightsgroup/videos

The European Commission aims to reform the EU's cookie consent rules that have cluttered websites with intrusive banners asking for permission to track user data[^4]. The initiative seeks to streamline data protection while maintaining privacy safeguards through centralized consent mechanisms[^4].

Cookie consent banners emerged from the ePrivacy Directive (Cookie Law) and GDPR requirements, which mandate websites obtain explicit user permission before collecting non-essential data through cookies[^17]. Current rules have led to widespread implementation of pop-up notices that interrupt user experience and often employ confusing interfaces.

The proposed changes reflect growing recognition that the existing approach has "messed up the internet" while failing to provide meaningful privacy protection[^4]. Rather than requiring individual consent on every website, the Commission is exploring solutions like centralized consent management to reduce banner fatigue while preserving user privacy rights.

[^4]: Ground News - Europe's cookie law messed up the internet. Brussels wants to fix it.

[^17]: Transcend - Cookie Consent Banner Best Practices: Optimizing Your Consent Management Experience

Over the two years until July 2022, Kmart captured the facial data of "tens or hundreds of thousands" of customers at store entrances and return counters

[...] after a three-year investigation, privacy commissioner Carly Kind found Kmart's use of FRT was disproportionate, and the company did not gain consent to use it on shoppers

As part of the finding, Kmart has been ordered not to repeat the practice in the future, and will have to publish a statement on its website within 30 days explaining its use of FRT and the regulator's finding against it

TL;DR: As usual for this sort of thing, Kmart faces no real consequences (not even a fine ffs!). Meanwhile the Australian government is pushing forward with its mandatory age verification laws in spite of (or because of..) huge public backlash. I hate this country

• LinkedIn will use customer data to train its AI models from November 2025
• EU, EEA, Switzerland, Canada and Hong Kong users all affected
• Users will be opted in by default

I have a friend who wants to get more privacy aware but is not yet ready to commit to a new ROM based solution.

I've been using Graphene for quite a few years now and I'm now no longer confident I know all the tips/tricks/settings etc for killing as much Google shit as possible on a stock Android device (its Android 15 on his phone).

So what I'm after is a link to a good article/tutorial/guide/whatever that is very thorough and goes into a lot of detail into removing/disabling as much Google as possible, particularly where it affects privacy.

I already have a bunch of apps in mind to replace his usual stuff (Orbot, Obtanium, Molly etc) its just getting rid of as much privacy invasive google stuff as possible first that I need a reminder on.

If its relevant the phone has been flattened so its totally clean. Thanks in advance.

I heard people claim for some time that Proton supports the Trump administration. I've only ever really seen the claim made based on a single tweet.

This person did a pretty deep dive and comes to the conclusion that they don't, nor does their CEO.

I'm not saying I know what's in that guy's head, nor do I want to. But I'm wary of coming to an extreme conclusion about someone because of a couple of sentences that person wrote online.

https://io.waxandleather.com/users/alisynthesis/statuses/115245340493250991