If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. A new player in the privacy-focused browser space, Psylo, has launched on Apple’s App Store, offering iOS and iPadOS users a fresh tool designed to combat pervasive tracking techniques like browser fingerprinting. Become a Member and Keep Reading… Reclaim your digital freedom. Get the latest on censorship, cancel culture, and surveillance, and learn how to fight back. Email Subscribe Already a supporter? Sign In. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Explored: A New iOS Browser With Silo-Based Anti-Tracking Tools appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Florida has moved to shield public funds from being used to support what many see as efforts to police speech under the guise of media bias monitoring. Under the state’s new fiscal year 2026 budget, taxpayer dollars can no longer be spent on advertising or marketing firms that contract with groups like NewsGuard, Ad Fontes, or the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). The measure was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday. We obtained a copy of the bill for you here. A press release from the Independent Media Council emphasized that the restriction is aimed at blocking state agencies from doing business with companies that rely on “politically biased media monitoring services.” The council stated, “These monitoring groups purport to be impartial, but consistently skew their ratings to target conservative and independent media from receiving advertising from major brands.” NewsGuard, one of the most prominent organizations caught in the spotlight, has received federal backing in the form of a $750,000 grant from the Department of Defense. This funding helped the group develop its “Misinformation Fingerprints” technology, which it now offers to social media platforms, artificial intelligence developers, and tech firms as a tool for tracking so-called misinformation. Legal battles have already been mounted over government ties to groups like NewsGuard and GDI. The Federalist, The Daily Wire, and the state of Texas have sued the US State Department, arguing that federal dollars have been funneled into technologies that are “designed to silence Americans who question government claims.” The lawsuit accuses the department of violating the Constitution and is still working its way through the courts. Meanwhile, efforts by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to dismantle the federal office involved in funding these initiatives have been stymied by judicial intervention in California. Congress has not stayed on the sidelines. The House Oversight Committee launched its own investigation into NewsGuard’s government contracts and the broader concern that taxpayer-funded tools are being used to suppress speech rather than protect it. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Florida Bans State Funds for Groups Accused of Speech Policing appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The Supreme Court’s endorsement of Texas’ age verification law for adult websites has paved the way for a surge of similar online digital ID measures across the country. South Dakota is the first to follow, as its new statute requiring age verification or estimation for sites distributing adult content takes effect today. However the South Dakota law is much broader and applies to a wider range of websites, not just those that have a large percentage of adult content. We obtained a copy of the bill for you here. The law applies broadly to any platform that regularly deals in explicit material, without setting a specific threshold for how much of the site’s content qualifies. This contrasts with Texas’ approach, where the rule kicks in if at least one-third of a site’s material is deemed pornographic. More: The Digital ID and Online Age Verification Agenda South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley pointed to the Supreme Court’s ruling as validation of the state’s effort to “protect” citizens through legislation aimed at shielding minors. However significant concerns about the impact on adults’ rights persist. Justice Elena Kagan, dissenting from the Supreme Court majority, argued that Texas’ law should have been more narrowly designed to respect free speech. She wrote, “Many reasonable people, after all, view the speech at issue here as ugly and harmful for any audience. But the First Amendment protects those sexually explicit materials, for every adult. So a state cannot target that expression, as Texas has here, any more than is necessary to prevent it from reaching children.” Critics argue that vague legal standards could pressure platforms to over-censor and check the digital ID of a wider range of website visitors in fear of lawsuits. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post South Dakota Follows Texas with Broader Online Digital ID Law appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. A San Jose jury has ordered Google to pay more than $314.6 million to Android users in California, finding that the company improperly harvested data from smartphones without user permission. We obtained a copy of the decision for you here. The case centered on claims that Google, through its Android operating system, collected information from idle devices, placing what the lawsuit described as “mandatory and unavoidable burdens shouldered by Android device users for Google’s benefit.” The class action, filed in 2019, represented around 14 million Californians. According to the plaintiffs, Google’s covert data collection fueled its advertising operations while unfairly consuming users’ cellular data. Jurors agreed that the company’s practices violated privacy rights by transmitting data even when phones were not in active use. Attorney Glen Summers, representing the plaintiffs, welcomed the outcome. He said the verdict “forcefully vindicates the merits of this case and reflects the seriousness of Google’s misconduct.” Google, on the other hand, pushed back against the ruling. Spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the company would appeal, asserting that the decision “misunderstands services that are critical to the security, performance, and reliability of Android devices.” The company also argued during the trial that users had agreed to the data collection through existing terms of service and privacy agreements and that no actual harm had resulted from these transmissions. Beyond California, Google is facing additional legal action. A separate lawsuit has been filed in federal court in San Jose on behalf of Android users in the other 49 states. That case, raising similar claims, is slated for trial in April 2026. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Google Fined $314.6M for Data Collection by San Jose Jury appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Potential, one of the consortia selected to trial the EU’s planned Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet, is preparing to conclude its work by September 2025. The group, which came together in 2023, has played a role in laying the foundation for a system that privacy advocates warn could dramatically expand the surveillance and data collection capabilities of both governments and private companies. The EU’s original target of launching the wallet in 2024 has already shifted, with the current deadline now pushed back to 2026. Over the course of its mandate, Potential coordinated with 155 organizations across 19 countries, drawing in major corporations including Idemia, Thales, Amadeus, and Namirial. Together, they developed six proposed uses for the digital wallet, covering activities such as opening a bank account, registering SIM or eSIM cards, accessing government services, using a mobile driving license, applying a Qualified eSignature, and presenting electronic prescriptions. Each of these use cases, while framed as a convenience for citizens, raises questions about how personal data will be stored, shared, and protected in this new ecosystem. A series of large-scale tests have already been conducted. The first remote trials began in May 2024. February 2025 saw cross-border testing in Warsaw, where 15 national wallets and 20 services exchanged data in peer-to-peer mode. Ukraine also participated in testing whether its digital documents could integrate with EU systems. In May, interoperability checks in Vilnius involved 1,300 tests across 34 public and private entities, further entrenching private sector involvement in digital identity infrastructure. Potential has outlined several ways people could be asked to prove their identity, whether through in-person checks using QR codes or NFC, supervised or unsupervised interactions at offices or kiosks, or remote logins across multiple devices. Each method introduces new points of vulnerability where privacy could be compromised if robust safeguards are not in place. As the EU moves closer to rolling out the EUDI Wallet, there is growing concern among privacy defenders that the push for digital identity is racing ahead and bringing about a digital checkpoint society. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post EU Digital ID Wallet Trials Near End Amid Privacy Concerns appeared first on Reclaim The Net.