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If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) recently made a social media censorship suggestion that seemingly made even the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director, an agency that has flagged many social media posts for censorship, uncomfortable. Romney made the proposal during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing where Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) had already extensively laid out the FBI’s recent history of social media censorship coercion which the Fifth Circuit found to have likely violated the First Amendment. But Romney seemed to think the FBI’s current social media censorship activities don’t go far enough and suggested that because some hate groups and terrorists target Jews, the FBI should be doing more to fight “hate” on social media. Wray appeared to realize that such a proposal rubs up against the First Amendment and told Romney, “Now you’re getting into a legal area that I’m not the expert on.” He then pivoted away from social media and proposed community outreach to law enforcement as a better solution to the problem. However, Romney steered the conversation back to social media and insisted that the FBI needs to “reduce the communication of hate across social media” because American citizens “offer various forms of hate.” https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/mitt-romney-fbi-director-social-media-hate.mp4 This isn’t the first time Romney has made social media censorship suggestions that raise First Amendment concerns. Earlier this year, he argued it should be legal for the government to curb “misinformation”…Watch: Even the FBI Director Doesn’t Seem Comfortable With Mitt Romney’s Proposed Social Media Crackdown

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. China’s internet is facing a sharp bout of censorship imposed by the nation’s internet regulatory body, as it clamps down heavily on content regarded as “vulgar.” Alibaba’s search engine, Quark, and the livestreaming platform, NetEase, are the latest victims of this restrictive campaign, being penalized and reprimanded for content deemed inappropriate by the Chinese authorities. This tightening grip on free speech and individual expression by the Cyberspace Administration of China could be seen as an encroachment on the fundamental liberties enshrined in free, democratic societies. Fined the equivalent of $68,000 for “vulgar” search results, Quark and NetEase, forced to halt updates on a dance-content channel for a week, signify the establishment’s low tolerance for what it deems to be explicit content. The Register is reporting that the CAC, while censuring Quark for this alleged obscene content, further criticized the platform for allegedly recommending vulgar keywords to its users. NetEase, on the other hand, was accused of airing accounts linked to explicit content and vulgar language. This kind of crackdown is the latest in the government’s intent to control digital narratives and stifle online freedom. In addition to content censorship, the CAC is seemingly reinforcing its preference for all online influencers to be identifiable by their real names, adding another layer of state control over digital content. This has led major social media platforms such as WeChat, Doyin, Baidu, and Sina Weibo to mandate real…China Fines Alibaba For Allowing “Vulgar” Keywords

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is launching a project based on what’s known as “digital public infrastructure,” aka, DPI. And the overarching justification/explanation of these activities is reaching the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). What UNDP is supposed to be doing is pretty clear from its name, but what DPI itself is, is a buzzword used in somewhat interesting/alarming concord by organizations such as the UN, but also the European Union (EU), the Gates Foundation, and of course, the World Economic Forum (WEF) is never quite out of any such picture. What DPIs are supposed to do, in the best case scenario, is aid development in a number of ways. Those looking deeper into platitudes and “corporatespeak” coming from these organizations, however, are dismissing the term and the policy as a ruse to speed up introduction of digital IDs and payments, with a deadline of 2030. November 8 is the date when the UNDP is implementing its “50in5” program, described as advancing “the conversation around the development of safe, inclusive and interoperable digital public infrastructure (DPI).” Guess who’s there for the launch: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. And why not – the group’s “Digital Public Goods Alliance and Co-Develop” has taken the center-stage of a lot of this effort. If you’re a citizen of a UN member-state, and your government (i.e., taxpayers) are contributing to various UN efforts and, you feel either…UN Program Pushes Digital Public Infrastructure as EU and Gates Foundation Push For Digital ID By 2030

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. In a move that demonstrates its commitment to fostering a vibrant creator community, video platform Rumble has announced that it will open up live-streaming to all of its users, eliminating the previous requirement for channels to have a minimum of five subscribers. Previously, in order to live-stream, Rumble users had to reach a threshold of five subscribers. While this might have seemed like a modest benchmark for some, for many new and emerging creators, this posed an initial barrier. The decision to remove this threshold is being viewed as an encouraging gesture for those who are just starting out on the platform. By offering unrestricted live-streaming capabilities, Rumble is emphasizing its position as a platform that believes in the potential of all creators, irrespective of their current audience size. Here are a few ways this change is beneficial for content creators: Level Playing Field: By removing the subscriber minimum, Rumble is leveling the playing field for all creators. This allows newcomers to immediately tap into the interactive possibilities of live-streaming without having to first focus on subscriber growth. Increased Visibility: Live streams have the potential to draw larger, real-time audiences. For creators trying to grow their presence, this is an invaluable tool. Live broadcasts can significantly increase engagement, and with no initial requirements, creators can harness this benefit from day one. Community Building: Interacting with viewers in real-time fosters a strong sense of community….Rumble Opens Free Live-Streaming To All, Removes Five Follower Minimum

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. As a strategic maneuver to tighten its control over internet access, Russia has intensified its campaign against VPNs – not merely the use but also the promotion or discussion of these privacy and anti-censorship tools. These recent developments expose deeper concerns about internet censorship and its implications for the fundamental principle of free speech. In the spring of 2023, as part of an elaborate communications campaign, Russia issued public service announcements denouncing VPNs. Fast forward to the summer, these seemingly harmless ads took a stark transition into concrete policy changes. President Vladimir Putin endorsed regulations demanding select internet platforms, including social media, to verify the identity of new users, potentially via their passports. Providing guidance on using VPNs to access banned internet resources was deemed a criminal act under these new edicts. The Kremlin is becoming even more brazen in its attempts to clamp down on VPN services. It seems intent on putting an end to any VPN companies unwilling to comply. However, the ramifications are not just limited to these companies but may extend to anyone bold enough to make use of these services or discuss them. Recent revelations at a Sochi forum “Spectrum-2023,” and reported by TorrentFreak, unveiled further dimensions of Russia’s VPN offensive. Sergei Khutortsev, an integral figure in Russia’s sovereign internet project, confirmed that 167 VPN services, non-compliant with government stipulations, and over 200 email services were now under active…Russia Widens Its VPN Block

Dateline: New York, 2nd November 2023.Well, this is ironic (and not just merely annoying, like rain on your wedding day). Marianna Spring, the BBC’s first disinformation correspondent, has been called out for embellishing the truth on her resume while applying for a job few years ago.  Is that really disinformation though? I mean, come on, we’ve all jazzed up our capabilities on a resume haven’t we? It’s the normal course of human affairs, candidates lying to their prospective employer just like hiring managers lying to the candidates that they are interviewing. Maybe that’s about to end though, as continuous real-time online reputation management becomes the norm and the provenance of people (as well as things) becomes public, unforgeable and immutable.SharePeople And ProvenanceGiven that candidate fraud has pretty much doubled since the pandemic (and that a fifth of job hunters cheat on tests), recruitment clearly has some challenges. Since it’s been years since I actually interviewed a candidate, I can’t say what the modern approach to this sort of thing is. If I were hiring someone tomorrow, I’d probably look at their LinkedIn profile rather than their resume, since I would have thought it much more difficult and risky to adjust your LinkedIn profile to show your years as Elon Musk’s right-hand man than to add a bit of embellishment to your Google Docs resume. Although it seems there’s a lot of tweaking there too. While LinkedIn estimates that only 15-20% of candidates are dishonest in the way they present themselves, which I am sure must be…People, Parts, Provenance

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Sign Up To Keep Reading This post is for Reclaim The Net supporters. Gain access to the entire archive of features and supporters-only content. Help protect free speech, freedom from surveillance, and digital civil liberties. Join Already a supporter? Login here The post How Online Ads Assist the Government With Mass Surveillance appeared first on Reclaim The Net.How Online Ads Assist the Government With Mass Surveillance

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has published a new draft of its troubled pandemic agreement/accord/treaty – which the agency has complained is taking too long to finalize. The latest draft of the negotiating text, released by the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on Monday must be considered until the INB session scheduled for November 6-10, when it should be formalized. Some of the commitments contained in this version of the document have to do with combating “false, misleading, misinformation or disinformation, including through effective international collaboration and cooperation” – which skeptics might easily dub, “cross-border censorship.” And then there’s surveillance, too: something called One Health approach for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, which the draft wants to see promoted and implemented. Meanwhile, One Health is a surveillance tool that is supposed to create new methods of disease control. Yet another point from the proposal is to “develop and strengthen pandemic prevention and public health surveillance capacities.” Critics have many concerns and misgivings about all of this, including WHO setting up what’s known as a conference of the parties – an international convention’s top governing body – around the pandemic accord. The fear here is that it would be one more instrument taking agency and consent away from national governments and people and transferring the decision-making processes, in this case related to health, to the world organization, specifically, WHO. However, the…WHO Publishes Latest Draft of Pandemic Treaty To Combat “Misinformation”

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMG) – a body set up by the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank – has released its annual report for 2023. WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus offered his reaction to it, the key takeaway from both the report and his remarks being that work on the proposed pandemic accord/agreement/treaty is progressing too slowly. Related: UN Publishes Final Draft of Declaration That Targets “Misinformation” Backs WHO Pandemic Treaty The WHO has a great interest in this treaty coming into force as soon as possible and wants UN member-states to speed things up, as it would give WHO new, not only health-related but also essentially political powers – such as targeting what it designates as “misinformation,” all the way to surveillance. The way the WHO head is selling the need for the document to be completed and adopted ASAP is, naturally, different: Tedros says it has to do solely with preparedness and response to health emergencies. And he is using Covid as proof and justification that this treaty is needed. As Ghebreyesus put it in urging countries to hurry up finalizing the document, “Another pandemic or global health emergency could come at any time, just as it did in 2019.” And he is “concerned that negotiations are progressing too slowly, and that the agreement may not be ready in time for the World Health Assembly next year.” GPMB,…WHO Director-General Tedros Complains of Slow Progress on Pandemic Treaty, Giving the WHO Powers to Target “Misinformation” and “Infodemics”

Author Stephen King is once again heckling Elon Musk. This time it is over the Twitter name change to “X.”Stephen King calls on Elon Musk to change 'X' back to Twitter