By now, everyone knows Google is more than a tech company. It’s a lifestyle, a religion, and for many, a default setting they didn’t know they agreed to. From your inbox to your photo album to your morning commute, the company has managed to park itself in every corner of your digital life without ever needing to knock. 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. Join Already a supporter? Sign In. (If you’re already logged in but still seeing this, refresh this page to show the post.) Having trouble logging in? Get help here. The post Ditching Google: Practical Self-Hosted Replacements appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Florida’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Roku, drawing attention to the growing privacy risks tied to smart devices that quietly track user behavior. The case, brought by Attorney General James Uthmeier under the Florida Digital Bill of Rights, accuses the streaming company of collecting and selling the personal data of children without consent while refusing to take reasonable steps to determine which users are minors. We obtained a copy of the lawsuit for you here. The lawsuit portrays Roku as a company that profits from extensive data collection inside homes, including data from children. According to the complaint, Roku “collected, sold and enabled reidentification of sensitive personal data, including viewing habits, voice recordings and other information from children, without authorization or meaningful notice to Florida families.” It continues, “Roku knows that some of its users are children but has consciously decided not to implement industry-standard user profiles to identify which of its users are children.” Another passage states, “Roku buries its head in the sand so that it can continue processing and selling children’s valuable personal and sensitive data.” The growing push for digital ID–based age verification is being framed as a way to protect children online, but privacy advocates warn it would do the opposite. More: Discord Support Breach Exposes Over 70,000 Government IDs These systems require users to prove their age before accessing certain services, often by uploading identification documents, facial scans, or linking accounts to government databases. That process creates a new trail of sensitive data that can be stored, shared, or breached. Instead of limiting data exposure, digital ID verification adds another layer of surveillance, turning routine activities like browsing or streaming into transactions that reveal who users are and what they do. Once age verification becomes normalized, anonymity online and at home could disappear. Every interaction, from watching a show to reading news or joining a discussion, could be logged and tied to a verified identity. This approach undermines privacy and free expression by discouraging people from exploring lawful but sensitive content or speaking freely without fear of being tracked. The filing also claims Roku “should reasonably have been aroused to question whether a consumer was a child and thereafter failed to perform reasonable age verification.” It adds that Roku processes “the sensitive data of known children under the age of 13 without performing any age verification” and “without any affirmative authorization or consent.” In announcing the action, Uthmeier said, “Florida families deserve to know what is happening with their children’s personal information. Parents – not technology companies – direct the upbringing of their children. We will hold any company that conceals or exploits that information accountable.” Roku reaches about 145 million viewers in the United States through its smart TVs and streaming devices, giving it immense access to household data. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Florida Attorney Sues Roku Over Failure to Implement Age Verification, Privacy Concerns appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Britain’s largest police force has announced it will stop investigating non-crime hate incidents, saying officers should no longer spend time investigating matters that fall short of a criminal offense. The decision comes just as the Metropolitan Police confirmed it has abandoned its case against Father Ted creator Graham Linehan, who had been arrested at Heathrow Airport last month. A police spokesperson said the force “understands the concern” surrounding the case. “The Commissioner has been clear he doesn’t believe officers should be policing toxic culture war debates, with current laws and rules on inciting violence online leaving them in an impossible position,” the spokesperson said. The new approach, they added, will “provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations.” Non-crime hate incidents, Orwellian in name, are situations reported to police that are thought to involve hostility or prejudice toward people based on attributes such as race, religion, or gender identity. They are recorded under Home Office guidance to monitor potential hate-related behavior that might “escalate into more serious harm,” but these incidents do not constitute criminal acts. The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that while it will stop investigating non-crime hate incidents, officers will still record them for intelligence purposes. The shift marks a major change in policy but not a complete abandonment of data collection. A spokesperson clarified the distinction, saying, “These incidents will still be recorded and used as valuable pieces of intelligence to establish potential patterns of behaviour or criminality.” In a statement following the Met’s decision, the the Free Speech Union wrote, “Great news that the @metpoliceuk will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents — a direct result of our successful campaign to get the Met to drop its investigation of @glinner, which it has now done.” The group warned, however, that the broader issue remains unresolved, saying, “This is a tremendous victory, but the war is not yet over. We now have to make sure all the other police forces in the UK follow in the Met’s footsteps and they all now stop recording NCHIs, including the Met, in a way that means they can show up in enhanced DBS checks and prevent you from getting a job as a teacher or a carer. No one should be prevented from getting a job because they’ve committed a ‘non-crime’.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post UK Met Police Will Stop Investigating (But Will Still Record) “None-Crime Hate Incidents” appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. A high-profile arrest in Germany has triggered outrage over what many see as part of an alarming encroachment on free expression. Jürgen Todenhöfer, the author and former member of parliament, was taken into custody in Munich after publishing social media posts that likened Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s treatment of Palestinians to Nazi crimes during World War II. Police reportedly searched his apartment and seized all electronic devices following weeks of surveillance. The 84-year-old, once a prominent figure in the center-Right Christian Democratic Union before founding his own Justice Party in 2020, revealed on X that he had been detained, citing the message that led to his arrest: “Mister Netanyahu, does your conscience never actually protest when you do to Palestinians the same thing that the cursed Nazis did to the Jews?” Authorities have yet to comment publicly, but the incident falls under Germany’s strict anti-incitement laws, which forbid statements perceived as diminishing the Holocaust. Todenhöfer has never been shy about challenging Germany’s foreign policy. His books on conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria earned him a reputation as a persistent voice against militarism. Despite his party’s lack of electoral success, his arrest has amplified his message. More: Germany’s Shocking War on Online Speech: Armed Police Raids for Online “Insults,” “Hate Speech,” and “Misinformation” After being detained, Todenhöfer accused the authorities of suppressing dissent, asking: “Is there a ‘thought police’ in Germany again?” He went on to say, “If a prison sentence comes out of this investigation, it will be an honor for me to serve it. Because standing up for peace and freedom in Palestine is our duty.” This is not his first confrontation with law enforcement. Todenhöfer said police had previously investigated him after he accused former Chancellor Olaf Scholz of treason for allegedly permitting the destruction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post German Police Arrest Author Over Posts Criticizing Netanyahu appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Graham Linehan, the Irish writer best known for Father Ted and The IT Crowd, says police have now confirmed he will face no further action following his controversial arrest at Heathrow Airport last month. The 57-year-old comedy creator had been arrested by armed officers after landing in London from Arizona, accused of using social media to incite violence, a claim now dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service. Linehan’s arrest became a flashpoint in a growing concern over the decline of free speech in modern Britain. What might have been a brief police encounter instead exposed a deeper problem: the creeping normality of criminal investigations into words rather than actions. The image of an airport surrounded by armed officers confronting a comedy writer for tweets struck many as absurd, even dystopian. In a post on X, Linehan announced that “the police have informed my lawyers that I face no further action in respect of the arrest at Heathrow in September,” adding that “after a successful hearing to get my bail conditions lifted (one which the police officer in charge of the case didn’t even bother to attend) the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case.” He credited the Free Speech Union for its support and vowed to “hold the police accountable for what is only the latest attempt to silence and suppress gender critical voices on behalf of dangerous and disturbed men.” The writer’s detention caused a storm of outrage online, with many viewing it as another sign of Britain’s tightening grip on speech around gender debates. JK Rowling came to his defense, describing the arrest as “utterly deplorable.” Police had linked their investigation to three tweets written by Linehan earlier this year. One, posted on April 20, read: “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.” Following his release, Linehan said he had been taken to hospital because the stress “nearly killed” him, claiming his blood pressure was measured at over 200mm Hg. He later described the Heathrow arrest as “the greatest mistake they could have made,” insisting that five armed officers had confronted him unnecessarily. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Graham Linehan Cleared After Heathrow Arrest as CPS Drops Case in Free Speech Controversy appeared first on Reclaim The Net.