Olives @olives@qoto.org

Also, remember how YouTube used to collect very little data? I don't think it was much more than an email address.

Then, when it got integrated into Google+ one day to try to compete with Facebook, and they demanded the use of Google Accounts, that led to all that data which such accounts require (names, addresses, and so on) being collected as well.

But, they never needed all this data.

I think what really bugs me about Facebook in terms of privacy is how practically every part of it pulls out the maximum data possible.

There are fields on the profile for people to put all their personal into. It has a "real name" policy. There were those "like buttons" and such which winded up on countless websites. Tracking pixels for marketing. I'm sure there is more than that.

All that data is then pitched to advertisers as a product.

Drugs in candy is a strangely American moral panic (which literally no other country in the world has) over a problem which doesn't exist.

War on Drugs rhetoric...

https://www.woodhullfoundation.org/get-involved/stop-kosa/

"Instead, this bill poses a serious threat to our fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and access to information. The requirement for online platforms to censor content deemed “inappropriate” for minors will stifle the free exchange of ideas and information that is vital for our democracy."

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/ald-jim-gardiner-fined-20000-retaliation/

"The Chicago Board of Ethics has fined Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) $20,000, after finding probable cause he committed 10 ethics violations, by retaliating against a constituent who frequently criticized him.

In July, the Chicago Inspector General's office found Gardiner "directed City employees to issue unfounded citations for overgrown weeds and rodents to the home of a constituent who had been publicly critical of the alderperson."

Although Gardiner was not specifically named in the report, the inspector general's report said he went ahead with plans to have the constituent cited, even after being told the plants in his yard were legal.

Those citations could have cost his constituent $600, but they were ultimately thrown out by a judge."

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/10/31/court-tells-cops-that-a-driver-not-laughing-at-an-officers-terrible-joke-is-not-reasonable-suspicion/ Well, it's nice to see the court pushback against it.

We call this theft.

The government calls it "civil forfeiture".

Same thing. Different language.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/09/14/poland-abortion-witch-hunt-targets-women-doctors

"Additionally, since January 2021, at least six women are known to have died after doctors did not terminate their pregnancies despite complications that posed a danger to their health or lives, which remain legal grounds for abortion in Poland."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/01/love-bikes-hate-wild-parking-dutch-city-puts-rule-breakers-on-the-rack I don't really see the point of this tbh.

If you want my opinion, PiS is a vile and inhumane party, and it shows in a lot of what they do.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/01/nick-clegg-ai-clamour-similar-moral-panic-video-games He's not wrong.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/01/nightmare-is-over-polish-election-result-brings-relief-for-lgbtq-people Discourse around the fall of PiS.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/01/hungary-anti-lgbt-law-under-18s-barred-world-press-photo-exhibition

"People younger than 18 have been barred from visiting this year’s World Press Photo exhibition in Budapest after Hungary’s rightwing populist government decided that some of its photos violate a contentious law restricting LGBTQ+ content.

The prestigious exhibition, being shown at Hungary’s National Museum in Budapest, receives more than four million visitors from around the world every year. Showcasing outstanding photojournalism, its mission is to bring visual coverage of a range of important events to a global audience."

https://reason.com/2023/10/29/free-the-meds/ What do you think of this?

https://www.wired.com/story/pornhub-tracking-cookies-gdpr-video-history/ What do you think of this?

There is a lot of warm and fuzzy language, and high aspirations. Those aren't necessarily bad aspirations to have, or not all of them. There are certainly parts which seem very moral panicky.

Still, it's not the aspiration, it's how it comes out in practice.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/30/fact-sheet-president-biden-issues-executive-order-on-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence/

First Amendment says hi.

https://techfreedom.org/loot-boxes-benefit-videogame-developers-and-players-alike-techfreedom-tells-ninth-circuit/

I'm honestly not a fan of loot boxes. I've played games with mechanics like this, and I honestly think they're annoying, and make the experience worse. That said, I don't think the government should ban them.

https://ncac.org/news/ncac-set-to-host-first-annual-stand-up-for-free-speech-comedy-benefit Interesting.