'We're stretched way too thin'

Give this man a &;quot;Fan of the Year&;quot; plaque now

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Brazil has caused quite a stir lately when the country’s ongoing internet censorship policies and actions hit the international limelight‚ thanks to a clash between Superior Electoral Court President Alexandre de Moraes‚ a long-time champion of those policies‚ and X owner Elon Musk. But Musk is by no means the only one pushing back against censorship demands – many in Brazil do as well‚ so the authorities there recently decided to go into damage control mode and attempt to “rebrand” censorship legislation. Up until this point‚ the general policy was known (and according to the local press‚ unpopular) as‚ regulation of social networks‚ but now‚ it is to be referred to as – laws meant to usher in “free‚ responsible‚ and transparent internet.” This specifically refers to Congressional Bill 2630‚ “Law on Freedom‚ Responsibility and Transparency on the Internet” – which the media in Brazil like to call the Fake News Bill and Censorship Bill. According to some of those media outlets‚ Arthur Pereira‚ president of the Chamber of Deputies‚ has come under pressure to proceed with Bill 2630 following the hacking last December of the X account belonging to President Luiz Inacio Lula’s wife. However‚ according to the same sources‚ Pereira is yet to “deliver” on his promise that the law would‚ effectively‚ get expedited‚ but has in the meantime asked a member of the Chamber of Deputies from the Communist Party Orlando Silva (who is seen as the main protagonist behind Bill 2630) to make changes to the text‚ in the hope of making it “more palatable” among conservative deputies. Meanwhile‚ observers like US journalist Michael Shellenberger‚ are exploring the “evolution” – or regression of President Lula’s policy on freedom of speech over the past decades‚ which now looks like an attempt to impose a wide-ranging crackdown on that freedom. According to Shellenberger‚ the scope and nature of the restrictions Lula and his key allies‚ like Justice Moraes‚ are trying to push through are comparable to what was happening in Cuba immediately after the Fidel Castro-led revolution‚ i.e.‚ in the early 1960s. The efforts in Brazil now go well beyond a single bill – several new agencies capable of exercising censorship‚ including the ironically named “Department for the Promotion of Freedom of Expression‚” have been formed over these last years. US lawmakers are also now getting involved in the public “skirmish” between X owner Elon Musk and Brazil’s top authorities‚ which flared up over the latter’s censorship of accounts and content on X. Musk on Wednesday announced that he received “an inquiry” from Congress about what he said were “actions taken in Brazil that were in violation of Brazilian law.” In a post on his platform‚ Musk added that there were “hundreds‚ if not thousands” of such “actions.” Signaling that the said skirmish with President of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court and Supreme Federal Court Justice (and‚ critics might say‚ censorship enthusiast) Alexandre de Moraes might turn into something bigger‚ Musk concluded his post by writing‚ “This is getting spicy.” Musk did not reveal where the inquiry came from‚ and chose not to name the committee or member of the House that had sent it. But the reference to “violations of Brazilian law” seems to concern his company’s decision not to comply with Supreme Court orders to ban a number of accounts there. On the other hand‚ Musk considers these orders to be illegal in the first place. He did‚ however‚ subsequently clarify that the accounts Brazil’s authorities slated for censorship belong to “sitting members of the Brazilian parliament and many journalists‚” while X was prohibited from revealing who the orders came from (we now know‚ that would be Moraes)‚ and was not told why they should be blocked. “We could not tell them (account owners) that this was at the behest of Alexandre. We had to pretend that it was due to our rules‚” Musk is purported to be saying in an audio recording published on X. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/67528438038.mp4 Saying that “all restrictions” would be lifted‚ the platform’s owner also revealed that Moraes “applied massive fines‚ threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to X in Brazil.” And‚ over the last couple of days‚ he once again went after Moraes‚ calling him “a dictator” in a reply to a post. All this is happening after Musk last weekend announced the previously blocked accounts (on orders from coming from the same quarters) would be reactivated‚ which prompted Moraes to launch a “digital militias” investigation into Musk’s “conduct.” All of this is likely to result in X losing all revenue in Brazil‚ Musk said in one of his posts‚ as well as in the shutting down of the company’s office in the country. “But principles matter more than profit‚” he wrote. The post Brazil Rebrands Internet Censorship Amid Pushback appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Bipartisan legislative efforts are underway in the US House of Representatives to adopt new versions of two laws originally drawn up to deal with the safety of youth online. But the fear is that the bills introduced now – H.R.7891‚ the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)‚ and H.R. 7890‚ the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 2.0 – will facilitate implementation of a future sweeping age verification and digital ID push. These concerns are raised because KOSA is directing the secretary of commerce‚ together with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to conduct a study “evaluating the most technologically feasible methods and options for developing systems to verify age at the device or operating system level.” At this stage of the proceedings‚ the study will not be used to mandate that platforms implement “an age gating or age verification functionality” – however‚ once the authorities have at their disposal the technical solutions to do it‚ some observers expect it could be used for a more aggressive legislative push at the federal level later on. The key difference between the existing Senate version of KOSA and the proposed House bill is found under the “care of duty” component‚ with the House text now defining that to apply to “high impact online companies” with $2.5 billion or more annual revenue‚ and 150+ million global monthly active users over at least three months of the preceding year. The Senate version refers to platforms “reasonably likely to be used by a minor” (employing 500 or more people‚ with gross annual revenue of $50 million or more). Related: Florida Lawmakers Pass Social Media Age Verification Online ID Law‚ Ignoring Constitutional Concerns Regarding the way COPPA’s new version could pave the way for more expansive age verification online‚ it seeks to impose new forms of data collection restrictions concerning minors‚ and also shield them from targeted advertising. But for that to be achieved‚ platforms will have to find a way to verify users’ age. At the same time‚ COPPA 2.0 states that the bill will not require platforms to “implement an age gating or age verification functionality.” The bills were introduced by Representative Kathy Castor as a “landmark” regarding the protection of data privacy. Castor at the same time accused apps and platforms of “exploiting our kids and causing harm” and Big Tech of resorting to “manipulative and dark practices” – but did not specifically address the issue of age verification while announcing the bills. The post Big Brother in Training&;#63; How Proposed Legislation Might Pave the Way for Online Age Verification and Digital ID appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Lawmakers in the UK are trying to get the government to come up with “a strategy” to tackle “misinformation” on TikTok. To make such demands seem less controversial‚ the good old “think of the children” is brought up‚ as MPs behind this initiative claim it is supposed to stop “misinformation directed at young people.” But‚ this is only one element – albeit one highlighted by some legacy UK media – contained in a report that just came out‚ claiming that the government there “should learn lessons from pandemic to improve communications and counter misinformation.” In fact‚ no lessons are likely to be learned here‚ at least not thanks to the “trusted voices” report from the parliamentary Culture‚ Media and Sport Committee‚ considering that “combating misinformation” during the pandemic was used to cover up for unprecedented censorship. And now‚ the committee wants the “war on misinformation” to keep going along the same lines‚ and‚ more efficiently. When it comes to children and teens‚ the concern is that platforms such as TikTok have become an important “source of news” for them. The fear is that this means they are more and more abandoning “traditional sources of news‚” as one report‚ in one such source of news‚ put it. The Ofcom regulator claims to have data that shows that one in ten internet users in the 12-15 demographic now rely on TikTok for “news” while this number is much higher (71%) among those aged 16 to 24. It isn’t clear if TikTok is singled out because of this‚ or because of (geo)political concerns since the app is already banned on official government devices. But now‚ the authorities seem to be concerned that they are “missing out” if they don’t participate on a platform that has such wide reach‚ so some do it using personal phones. The report came at the end of an inquiry‚ which heard Rebecca Skippage‚ who is BBC’s “disinformation editor‚” profess she would like to “learn from disinformation merchants.” “They are extremely good at getting people’s attention‚” Skippage shared. Having access to many sources of news is not considered by the MPs behind the report to be a sign of a flourishing democracy; instead‚ it’s oddly termed‚ “fragmentation.” “New apps and platforms rapidly become major players‚ shifting audience habits but also fragmenting the sources the public use for information‚” the report reads. Evidently‚ the committee doesn’t want the audience’s “habits” to shift‚ so the proposal is for the government to adopt “a clear strategy for communicating with young people and adapting to the development of new apps and platforms which appeal to this audience.” The post UK Lawmakers Target TikTok in the Name of Fighting “Misinformation” appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

In the wake of the April 2024 eclipse‚ oceanographers and meteorologists are scratching their heads over a mysterious anomaly that appeared in the southern hemisphere’s oceanic waters. According to Ventusky.com‚ a reputable ocean monitoring system‚ an enormous disturbance roughly the size of Texas was detected originating near Antarctica on April 9th‚ around 2 pm‚ only to vanish from the radar two days later without a trace. This enigmatic phenomenon‚ which seemed to traverse the gap between South America and Antarctica before ascending through the Atlantic Ocean‚ has been described as a vast field of waves‚ some reaching heights of approximately 80 feet. 🍿 an anomaly moving under water – the size of Texas 💭 maybe it’s the mobile ufo construction unit mentioned by the 4chan leaker 📍 West of Africa (#UFOTwitter #UFO #UFOs #UFOSightings #UAPTwitter) pic.twitter.com/8NhFb40IeF — 💭 think tank (@528vibes) April 12‚ 2024 The sudden appearance and disappearance of such a significant anomaly have sparked a flurry of speculation among experts and amateurs alike. One prevailing theory suggests that the anomaly could be the result of a meteor impact‚ a not entirely uncommon occurrence yet capable of producing significant disturbances in the ocean. Alternatively‚ some have proposed that it may have been caused by an undocumented seismic event‚ which could generate similar wave patterns without leading to a tsunami. Adding to the intrigue is the hypothesis involving an Unidentified Submerged Object (USO). Proponents of this idea believe that the anomaly might not be a natural occurrence at all but rather the work of a colossal underwater craft‚ emitting signals that mimic those of a massive wave. This theory is bolstered by the absence of any tsunami warnings‚ which would typically accompany such large-scale oceanic movements. The lack of concrete evidence has only fueled the fire of speculation‚ with some pointing to the possibility of an unknown energy form or a large object lurking in the ocean’s depths. The scientific community remains cautious‚ emphasizing the need for further investigation and data analysis before drawing any conclusions. A day later‚ a representative of the Ventusky company wrote on social networks that “giant waves near Africa yesterday were associated with a model error.” Despite numerous reports of UFOs or Atlanteans launching from the ocean 👽🛸‚ yesterday's image of giant waves near Africa was due to a model error. Fortunately‚ our provider‚ the German Meteorological Institute @DWD_presse‚ has already resolved it‚ and the forecast is fine. pic.twitter.com/slOU9jtxcJ — Ventusky (@Ventuskycom) April 12‚ 2024 However‚ this answer did not convince some users‚ because they dug into the archives and found out that in February 2024‚ near West Africa‚ the same anomaly also appeared in the same place. The post Mysterious giant anomaly spotted in the ocean near South Africa appeared first on Anomalien.com.

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