I'd say that, as a rule of thumb, if someone isn't bothering other people (to be clear, "I am offended" does not count, lol), then I'd say that people should enjoy and entertain each other however they please. Does it really matter how? Why is it anyone else's business?
In principle, I shouldn't even really have to get into considerations about War on Drugs type harms (an "intervention" can be harmful in itself in a lot of ways), or other harms from censorship (or someone being plain mean about some kink...)
I'm not focusing on this line as it's over-specific and makes it easy to miss the forest for the trees compared to: https://qoto.org/@olives/112150556494019470
Mark Zuckerberg: I had a terrible nightmare. I couldn't collect anyone's data.
lol
#privacy
https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/28/california-state-senator-pushes-bill-to-remove-anonymity-from-anyone-who-is-influential-online/
What if someone makes a viral meme about cats (or video game footage)? Should that be potentially throttled because it comes from an "unauthenticated user"? Not all content is politics, much less political controversies. #FirstAmendment
Data minimization is a big one. If you think about it, companies collect far too much data which they don't even need. That data is then vulnerable to being leaked.
In fact, even if it isn't leaked, sucking up a ridiculous amount of data you don't need can still be troublesome.
https://therecord.media/lawmakers-set-sights-on-data-minimization-with-new-bills
"A comprehensive data privacy bill that includes the country’s toughest data minimization standards is on the cusp of passing the Maryland state legislature, giving advocates hope that similar bills will follow nationwide.
The Maryland Online Data Privacy Act has passed both the state’s House and Senate, and will soon go to a conference committee where small differences between the versions will be ironed out. It is expected to pass by April 8, the bill’s sponsor, Maryland State Delegate Sara Love, told Recorded Future News in an interview.
The bill stands out because of its requirement that the gathering, processing or sharing of sensitive information be “strictly necessary” when a vendor is completing a consumer’s service request. Under so-called data minimization laws, vendors typically must collect or use a minimal amount of information — only what’s needed to deliver a service — and may only retain the data they collect for as long as it takes to render the service."
#privacy
Character customisability options can be cool but this one is more about constraining player freedom than that.
https://theintercept.com/2024/03/16/safe-deposit-boxes-fbi-warrantless-raid-fourth-amendment/
"Two lawsuits will move forward against the federal government over the FBI’s warrantless search of hundreds of safe deposit boxes, a court ruled this week. Last year, in a related case, a federal appellate judge called the FBI’s raid “egregious” and “outrageous.”"
Warning: Site might contain images of injured people in Gaza. These are for a different article.
#privacy #FourthAmendment
The point of strong safeguards is usually to avoid going down the path of "fuzzy algorithms which auto report people to the police".
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/25/san-jose-homelessness-ai-detection
"Revealed: a California city is training AI to spot homeless encampments"
This is very likely going to be used to oppress homeless people. #privacy #ai
Sometimes, companies try to get much too involved, and wind up creating problems which don't really need to exist (and fail at solving others). This one is more of a nudge but it's still not good.
https://nichegamer.com/microsoft-cautions-developers-to-avoid-curvy-female-characters/
#Microsoft really should mind their own business about what kinds of characters players want to play. It's okay for a character to be "sexy". I think that ultimately, the style of the game is going to depend a lot on the game. It's silly to pretend that every game should fit awfully particular and seemingly utilitarian criteria.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563222001637
There also isn't really a scientific basis for it.
https://nichegamer.com/sam-bankman-fried-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison/ This is the same guy who lobbied against decentralized exchanges and probably also crypto wallets you control yourself.
https://nichegamer.com/twitch-targets-butt-streamers-with-new-policy-banning-intimate-body-parts/
#Twitch could at least allow sexual video games, if they haven't already. Being a game streaming site, that would make sense, even if they wind up putting a "mature label" on those.
Software Engineer. Psy / Tech / Sex Science Enthusiast. Controversial?
Free Expression. Human rights / Civil Liberties. Anime. Liberal.