Olives @olives@qoto.org

https://edri.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/EDRi_Summary.pdf I'm curious how someone manages to fight against the suppression of free expression when they don't have someone to deal with that. Is it a funding thing?
QT: https://qoto.org/@olives/112722348338443433

https://edri.org/about-us/our-team/ Barely any free expression expertise (particularly outside of "misinformation").

One of the dumbest takes I've seen from someone advocating against rights is that if the government over-reaches then someone can "just vote for someone else". #FreeSpeech #privacy

https://nichegamer.com/crossdressing-romcom-anime-senpai-wa-otoko-no-ko-premieres-this-week/ Interesting idea.

It still feels weird when someone says Meta instead of Facebook.

Just as you wouldn't use a hammer to screw something in, it doesn't make sense to pick totally inappropriate countries to host sites in (and it's probably more expensive to do this too).

This should go without saying but I would recommend against hosting anything in the U.K.

I'm not going to cover every bit of drama, lol.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/07/02/world/politics/french-left-macron-far-right-takeover/ "after the president's gamble on early parliamentary elections backfired" The Dutch made that very same mistake.

I see someone is suddenly discovering that the entire point of "digital identity" shenanigans is surveillance and other human rights abuses. Of course it is, if you think about it for a moment.

As you can see there, the landscape has a bit of nuance to it, and I'd like to avoid saying anything too simplistic.

https://qoto.org/@olives/112698746540580221 It is already covered here (which I only posted a new draft of the other day).

On second thought, I won't comment further on "AI". This is already covered in another post and in a better way than I could cover it here impromptu.

His arguments about E2EE were also very specific, so that he could oppose it for Messenger (until Facebook actually implemented it) but not for Whatsapp. Presumably, because he is supporting whatever it is that Facebook is doing.

His arguments about AI are also overly specific, intended to give Facebook a way out. It focuses on very specific types of offensive content but otherwise upholds their model of collecting data.

If he was a genuinely concerned person, he would have seized on more pertinent concerns about web scraping or other things. Instead, it provides a veneer of such scrutiny while doing no such thing.

Essentially, his goal is to trip competitors up on whatever he can come up with, while giving a pass to Facebook.

He dislikes transparent training sets, even though it makes it easier for someone to figure out if something shouldn't be in there. Why? Because, Facebook has a non-transparent training set (whose contents are unknown).

Even in the case of end-to-end encryption. He was opposed to it because Facebook was opposed to it and wrote grandiose remarks on that.

Then, when Facebook swung towards implementing it (due to European pressure), he doesn't care in the slightest about it.

Earlier on, the guy seemed more like a karen than a shill, but as he went along, his arguments overwhelmingly leaned towards attacking Facebook's competitors and being friendlier towards Facebook.
QT: https://qoto.org/@olives/112709003324867944

I honestly can't say I'm surprised someone would sue him for defamation as he would often present things in a misleading (or hypocritical) fashion.

Remember the former Facebook executive who tried to smear the #fediverse into acting more like Facebook (and thereby undermining it's differentiators)?

Well, his outfit was disbanded after facing three defamation lawsuits. This wasn't the only instance where they tried to smear someone though, they also tried to smear Parler and Stability AI, who both happen to be Facebook's competitors.

Some might not like Parler because they're conservative, or because they lie about actually having free speech, however, it is alarming how Facebook might try to assassinate the reputation of a competing service.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/facebook-meta-tiktok-targeted-victory_n_62446838e4b0742dfa59f045 Facebook also smeared TikTok.

Also, I only tear into someone like that when they have a strong record of being a bad actor.