Olives @olives@qoto.org

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/21/uk-government-keeping-files-on-teaching-assistants-and-librarians-internet-activity

"The government has been monitoring the social media accounts of “dozens” of ordinary teaching staff, including teaching assistants, and is keeping files on posts that criticise education policies, the Observer has learned."

"Two weeks ago, this newspaper revealed how the Department for Education is monitoring the social media activity of some of the country’s leading education experts. Now evidence has emerged that the monitoring is much more widespread, covering even the lowest paid members of staff."

https://thecrimereport.org/2023/10/14/rhode-island-report-recommends-full-decriminalization-of-sex-work/

"A new report by a Rhode Island study commission recommends the full decriminalization of consensual adult sex work in the state. The commission of thirteen individuals, including legislators, sex workers, medical professionals, and police representatives, spent two years reviewing research and evidence, and listening to lived-experience testimonials, before releasing the report, which highlights multiple reforms intended to reduce human trafficking and promote the health and safety of sex workers."

"In fact, one of the Rhode Island study commissions first findings was that human trafficking is distinct and different from consensual sex work and that when indoor prostitution was legal in Rhode Island, from 1980 to 2009, there was a significant decline in sexually transmitted diseases and sexual assaults. When prostitution was again criminalized in 2009, the decline ended."

"In addition, the report found that the widespread criminalization keeps the sex industry underground, removes the ability of workers to exert their rights or redress wrongs or violence committed against them, and places people in a cycle of arrest and incarceration. This legal approach fuels stigma and discrimination against sex workers, which impedes their access to basic necessities, including healthcare, housing, and other social services."

"Other recommendations from the commission’s report include: Considering legislation which provides that police officers cannot claim consent as a defense to having sex with any individual who is formally in their custody."

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/19/met-rammed-boy-13-playing-with-water-pistol-off-bike-and-pointed-guns-at-him

"The Metropolitan police have admitted that a 13-year-old boy playing with a water pistol was rammed off his bike by armed police, knocked to the ground and officers pointed their submachine guns at him."

"The Met said it was called to a report of a gun in the street and was obliged under policy to treat all firearms as dangerous until proven otherwise."

"The boy had been playing near his home with a blue plastic water pistol with his sister, who had a pink one."

"I know – and the police know – that they would not have treated my son in the way they did if he had been a white 13-year-old boy.

I know that they would not have treated me with the contempt shown towards me or described me as ‘aggressive’ if I was not black."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-tech-repair-snooping-1.7000775 Laptop / smartphone repair technicians snooping on user files, and even copying them.

When a site is so ad laden that you click on a random drop-down in a form which has nothing to do with the ads, and it tries to redirect you to an advertiser's site, then they wonder why people block the ads.

https://nichegamer.com/atelier-resleriana-pantsu-covered-with-black-void/ Hmm... Maybe, they could make it an option, though I don't have a problem with it not being censored.

"I don't like the idea of 'paraphilia' as it treats non-vanilla sexuality as pathology"

I don't really like it either, although it can still tell us something useful. I.E. Someone is interested in certain things prior to consuming such content (and there is data to show it).

I don't think *that part* is in and of itself problematic, it is only so when someone is paranoid about that (in a manner that is discriminative against someone's kinks). *That* can be helpful in arguing against censorship or other fundamental rights violations.

One of the talking heads is a "start-up" trying to sell moderation services and trying to work hard to show that they have meaning. It really makes you wonder how much of this is driven by a few companies looking to make a quick buck off it.

"with 66 percent of it “highly photorealistic.”"

Also, while this number seems "impressive", it suffers from significant selection bias. You go to a place where you know the proportion will be higher and go "oh look, the proportion is high".

It still feels like someone is desperately trying to scrounge up anecdotes, weak and vague opinions from various talking heads, and playing up a problem which isn't really much of a thing. It's a weird obsession when there are far bigger fish to fry.

A company which is worth hundreds of billions of dollars is upset that they might have to do a bit more moderation and spend a bit more money.

"Explicit computer-generated images of kids are popping up online, and no one knows how to stop them"

Some more bad takes:

1) Someone was posting them to piss the admin off on one specific tiny site.

2) It's bad because it's bad.

3) Facebook is upset that it adds to their moderation workload.

These takes are so lazy and so boring that they're not even wasting energy on. Just putting them out as examples of bad takes.

Even with a hosting service, there might be hundreds or thousands of sites (and differing contexts), run by different people, on a server. There might be many servers in such a company.

It's also extremely likely that they don't have the technological capability to spy on people (or it would involve the use of considerable resources), as that would greatly constrain possible technologies that customers could make use of, and undermine their security.

Also, spying on random things on a server is clearly bad for privacy. Do you want your trade secrets to be siphoned off by someone's half-baked algorithm? Have you begun to think about how stupid this idea is?

#chatcontrol

It feels more like "we've never thought of it", "we don't know what you're talking about", or click a button and send a pre-fabricated response by routine.

Could be way off though.

How about transparent walls around the toilet. You have nothing to hide, right? It's not as if we don't already know what you're doing in there.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/18/man-accused-of-finland-psychotherapy-hack-charged-with-21000-counts-of-extortion

"Prosecutors in Finland have charged a hacker, accused of the theft of tens of thousands of records from psychotherapy patients, with more than 21,000 counts of extortion.

“The suspect is held on remand and has denied being guilty of the offences,” the national prosecution authority said in a statement on Wednesday."

"In the 2018 breach of the Finnish firm Vastaamo, which oversaw dozens of psychotherapy centres throughout the Nordic nation, the private treatment records of tens of thousands of patients were stolen."

"According to the prosecution, Kivimäki also sent extortion letters to patients demanding sums ranging from €200 to €500 to prevent the disclosure of records of their therapy sessions.

Kivimäki was also charged with 9,598 counts of dissemination of information infringing on personal privacy.

Following a European arrest warrant issued by the Finnish police in October 2022, he was arrested in the Paris region on 3 February."

https://reason.com/2023/10/18/should-governments-need-a-warrant-to-spy-on-you-with-a-drone/

"Should Governments Need a Warrant To Spy on You With a Drone?"

"A Michigan township sued a local family over a minor zoning violation, but the case could determine whether governments can spy on citizens without warrants. Today, the Michigan Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the case."

"Todd and Heather Maxon live in Long Lake Township, on five acres of land with two garages. Todd likes to work on cars, so he keeps some on the property. In 2008, the township sued, accusing them of storing "junk," a zoning violation. In exchange for dropping the charges, the couple agreed not to expand their collection. Neighbors later complained that the Maxons had indeed acquired more cars, but the collection was not visible from the road.

Instead of getting a warrant—or, since nothing was visible from the road, dropping the issue altogether—the township hired a private drone company to fly over the property and take pictures several times between 2010 and 2018. Citing the pictures, the township sued the Maxons for violating the agreement."