On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission opened its long-anticipated
rulemaking on measures to stop corporations and other commercial actors
from abusing people’s personal data. In June, the agency
announced that it was considering this rulemaking to safeguard privacy
and create protections against algorithmic decision-making that results
in unlawful discrimination. Today it released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPR”)
on the topic. This is the first step in building a formal agency record
for potential regulations that would be based on public comments about
“commercial surveillance and data security practices that harm
consumers.”
In a nutshell, when you use Relay to visit a website or use an app, your
phone will send an encrypted signal to INVISV, which will then pass
that request along to a second relay point which is operated by the
Fastly, a content delivery network. This has the effect of separating
your IP address from your data traffic, with neither INVISV nor Fastly
having all the information required to know which data was sent to which
phone.
[[NOTE: I’m not advocating for this new carrier, I’m just making a note that it exists and will be watching to see how it preforms as it is released]]
“The need for protections against companies’ over-collection and
retention of sensitive data has also come into stark relief as state
prosecutors subpoena tech companies for private information about people
seeking reproductive healthcare information and services.”
“Big Tech has shown again and again that they will choose monetizing user data over protecting individual privacy, and the federal government
has been reluctant to offer serious regulation,” she says. “So if
people want to keep their information private, especially when it comes
to reproductive care, the time to learn the basics of online privacy is
now. Some of my favorite resources are the Our Data Bodies project, the Tech Learning Collective, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.”
[[NOTE: Worth looking at the links in that last paragraph, particularly Our Data Bodies project]]
tiktok age-protects cock jokes unless u send ur drivers license/passport to prove ur over 21. kill everyone now
this is what their support sent me. doesnt help every social media is copying tiktok atm the future of the web looks so grim rn. interent anonymity is in critical condition
I feel like signs like this of where the web is going are the number one sign to delete accounts on sites like TikTok and start using places that prioritize privacy even if their methods are imperfect. Any nugget of privacy you can get is crucial now.
Install duckduckgo and decentraleyes, use signal or element instead of discord for sensitive discussions, try not to post your face or name at all, and if you do don’t do so extensively.
Make a DRM free music repository and for the love of God install an adblocker, hell if you have the free time make your own website and rss feed!
Make the web work for you instead of being a passive product. If a forum or site asked for like my id or passport to prove I was able to register or access parts of it a few years back I would think it’s identity theft, and now it’s just something that people view as fuckin everyday shit. Christ!!!
And uninstall TikTok! Uninstall Facebook Instagram any shit unless u know what you’re getting into and put up several layers to stop tracking. Like. God. Dystopic shit here.
so let me get this straight. hbo aquires sesame street (an educational television show that was publicly broadcasted and free that has impacted millions of children), put it behind a paywall, and has now taken 200+ episodes off of its service which are now effectively “lost”
in all seriousness sesame street is such an important piece of living media. it has been around for DECADES and from day 1 shined the importance of diversity empathy and education for children in a fun way. their mission statement is “Helping Kids Everywhere Grow Smarter, Stronger, and Kinder”. it’s been such an influence for so many people at a formative age. it’s creators made it w the intention that it could be a res source for underprivileged kids and help them prepare for kindergarten. it is meant to be accessible !!!
With that story of the person buying a pregnancy test being sent formula samples in the mail getting traction recently, it needs to be pointed out that this is not new.
With my most recent pregnancy in 2020, I started receiving formula samples in the mail from Similac and Enfamil in my first trimester. My email was quickly passed between pregnancy and baby specific companies and my inbox became flooded with emails advertising countless products and services.
I was harassed by 2 cord blood storage companies after briefly browsing one of their websites. After my baby was diagnosed as terminal, I had a phone conversation with a rep who tried to convince me multiple times to store her cord blood for my future babies.
After Sam was born/died, within a week of my delivery I received a congratulations letter and offer from Gerber Life Insurance in the mail, also without my consent. I continued receiving formula coupons despite reporting her death to the companies multiple times, and even now I receive toddler formula coupons from time to time.
Amazon has tracked my purchases to the point that they know I (should) have a 19 month old and will advertise me toddler and baby things for girls, despite never having linked an AGAB to my Amazon account.
This level of capitalistic surveillance of pregnancy in the US specifically is not new and with the repeal of Roe v. Wade it should terrify you.
Hmm, if you mean modern media inspired by those type of folktales, I’m afraid not. My interest lies with the folktales much more than modern fantasy! But if you mean “modern folktales”… Possibly my favourite fairy tale about a deal with the devil is a literary fairy tale written in 1965 by Dutch writer Godfried Bomans. I’ll try to do it justice in a retelling, it’s called The Stolen Heart:
There once was a fisherman who was rich in family but lacking in almost everything else. He and his wife lived in a little house by the sea. They had six children and one more on the way, but the fisherman barely caught enough fish to feed them all.
Since he loved them all very much it hurt him terribly to see them hungry. And one evening when he had caught even less than usual, he sighed: “If only I was able to catch more.”
“That can be arranged,” a voice behind him spoke, and the fisherman saw the voice belonged to a richly dressed nobleman who was blowing on his hands as if he was freezing cold. “Sell your soul to me and you will be rich beyond belief. All you have to do is breathe into my mouth.”
The fisherman considered this and while he did so a chill wind touched his face. “Then you are the devil,” he replied.
The nobleman stopped smiling. “Sell me your soul and you will be rich beyond belief.”
“Alright,” the fisherman relented and he did as the nobleman instructed and exhaled his breath into the mouth of the stranger. The very moment he did so he felt a coldness in his chest where his heart ought to beat. “What have you done with my heart?” he asked, frightened.
“Every year, the bright Scandinavian summer nights fade away without anyone’s noticing. One evening in August you have an errand outdoors, and all of a sudden it’s pitch-black. A great warm, dark silence surrounds the house. It is still summer, but the summer is no longer alive. It has come to a standstill; nothing withers, and fall is not ready to begin. There are no stars yet, just darkness. The can of kerosene is brought up from the cellar and left in the hall, and the flashlight is hung up on its peg beside the door.”
I love you pre-Autumn. I love you first chilly night after a hot day. I love you first crunchy leaves on the ground while the trees are still green. I love cicadas. I love you crickets. I love you dusk sneaking in earlier for the first time. I love you deep sigh of relief after summer.
