Our statement on the UK government’s demand that all content on all devices sold or used in the country be scanned, on the presumption of nudity, using a dystopian combination of age verification and content scanning. This proposal will not safeguard children. It endangers us all.
https://t.co/VdWe9uhi8p
I’m turning 41, but I don’t feel like celebrating.
Our generation is running out of time to save the free Internet built for us by our fathers.
What was once the promise of the free exchange of information is being turned into the ultimate tool of control.
Once-free countries are introducing dystopian measures such as digital IDs (UK), online age checks (Australia), and mass scanning of private messages (EU).
Germany is persecuting anyone who dares to criticize officials on the Internet. The UK is imprisoning thousands for their tweets. France is criminally investigating tech leaders who defend freedom and privacy.
A dark, dystopian world is approaching fast — while we’re asleep. Our generation risks going down in history as the last one that had freedoms — and allowed them to be taken away.
We’ve been fed a lie.
We’ve been made to believe that the greatest fight of our generation is to destroy everything our forefathers left us: tradition, privacy, sovereignty, the free market, and free speech.
By betraying the legacy of our ancestors, we’ve set ourselves on a path toward self-destruction — moral, intellectual, economic, and ultimately biological.
So no, I’m not going to celebrate today. I’m running out of time. WE are running out of time.
📣 Germany is close to reversing its principled opposition to mass surveillance & private message scanning, & backing the Chat Control bill. This could end private —& Signal—in the EU.
Time is short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how harmful, counterproductive, and self-sabotaging their reversal would be.
We are alarmed by reports that Germany is on the verge of a catastrophic about-face, reversing its longstanding and principled opposition to the EU’s Chat Control proposal which, if passed, could spell the end of the right to privacy in Europe.
https://t.co/015qmQnIS2
CENSORSHIP IS ACCELERATING
UK now requires ID for websites, EU is working on Chat Control and other countries are trying to replicate this.
Learn how to access information and communicate with others despite the oppression TODAY.
Before we start, please RT this post. It helps spread the message and more people need to hear about this.
It is no longer true that the Internet is censored only in Chine, Iran or Russia.
Countries which you might consider free 30 years ago are now using the same playbook.
And all that in the name of "Protecting Children" or using other excuses.
But the goal is still the same - limit access to information and other people on the internet.
So how to get around this?
Access Information
Before you even search for anything your government doesn't want you to see, you first need to connect to the internet.
Tor
Let's assume that visiting foreign websites or certain types of information is illegal in your country.
Tor will be the most secure and private option for you, allowing you to operate anonymously.
You will also be able to use Tor bridges, which will disguise the fact that you're connecting to Tor network.
Some websites also have their .onion address, allowing you to stay on Tor without exiting to clearnet (such as Facebook, ProtonMail, etc.).
You can use it trough Tor browser, on operating systems such as TailsOS (where all your traffic is routed trough Tor), or on phone with tools like Orbot.
VPN
VPN is second tool you can use to access information that are hidden from you.
In comparison to Tor, it's paid (if you want good one) and less private (because it's centralized).
Understand that VPNs don't make you anonymous.
Also depending on your state's network surveillance and censorship, even VPN might not be enough.
However, it will offer much faster browsing speed than Tor.
In case your Internet Service Provider is blocking the VPN, switch to VPNs DNS or use different DNS than your Internet Service Provider's.
My recommendations are @mullvadnet, @ivpnnet. I also have great hopes for @obscuravpn, just Monero as payment option is missing.
Communicate Privately
Accessing information is just half of the journey - most likely you'd like to share them with others in your country, or share some information with people outside of it.
While doing this, you'll have to use end-to-end encryption to ensure that only you and the receiving person can read the message.
Avoid SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram and similar.
SimpleX
@SimpleXChat messenger allows to create multiple profiles/accounts without having unique identifier or requiring phone number to sign-up.
You can also use a SOCKS proxy, which needs to be supplied by another application operating on your device.
You can also host your own really to help the decentralisation.
Nostr
Nostr, which stands for "Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays," is a decentralized network protocol designed to create a censorship-resistant social media platform.
Most uses relays to which users can publish content using cryptographic key pairs.
This architecture allows for greater user control over data and the ability to resist censorship since there's no single point of failure or control.
Overall, Nostr is a great step forward, however still requires lot of work.
Payments
You will probably have to pay for something - VPN, some packages or other payed services.
Using card or bank wire won't be possible.
Since we are talking online censorship, physical cash doesn't need to be mentioned (but great privacy tool).
Monero
Monero is your go-to tool for anonymous payments. Its privacy default now makes it number cryptocurrency not only on darkmarkets.
Low fees, anonymity and circular economy will allow you to use it without worries.
Backup public data
Even if you try and connect to some website, the information might not be there.
Grab 1 TB Drive (or probably more) and backup everything that's dear to you.
Examples:
- Wikipedia
=> Full EN without pictures
- Gatalog
=> Full DIY models
- Internet Archive books
=> First Aid, Gardening...
- Multiple LLMs, including uncensored ones
=> and learn to run them locally
REVOLT AGAINST THE OPPRESSION
Even if it might look like that we are loosing one battle, the war is still going on.
I believe that with Freedom Tech and disobedience we will win.
Internet is unstoppable. This is not just about censorship, but also surveillance and freedom in digital realms.
Use Open Source tools that encrypt your data, don't track you and serve you as a user, instead of making you a servant or slave.
Stay Private.
Not only online.
Marconius Solidus
Trump vs Musk: The Palantir Presidency?
President Trump is deepening his alliance with Palantir, the surveillance tech giant with ties to Israel and the CIA, just as he threatens to cancel Elon Musk’s contracts over their recent fallout around the spending bill.
“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars,” Trump posted on Truth Social, “is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.”
Palantir is building a sweeping AI-driven database of U.S. citizens, integrating government-held data on everything from political activity to firearms ownership. Even within the Trump-aligned America First movement, this direction is raising alarm.
Nick Fuentes, an influential hardline America First commentator, wrote: “Feeding every ‘MAGA extremist’ into an AI database controlled by a CIA/Mossad cutout… Seriously, if Palantir isn’t the deep state, then what is?”
A deeper shift is underway: Trump is increasingly siding with Peter Thiel’s surveillance empire—and turning on Musk and the libertarian-leaning tech wing of MAGA.
10 verdades incómodas que los programadores no quieren oír ↓
1. El código perfecto no existe, tu "refactor final" durará una semana
2. Dominar un framework no es dominar la programación. Cambia la moda y vuelves a junior. Domina siempre las bases
3. Las horas extras no multiplican la creatividad, solo el burnout. Pan para hoy, bugs para mañana
4. Comentar cada línea no es documentación. Comenta solo lo necesario. Los tests funcionan mejor como documentación en muchos casos
5. Copiar y pegar no es saber programar. Usa la IA pero entiende el código
6. El 80 % del tiempo depuras tu propio pasado; el 20 %, el de alguien más
7. Para ser un gran programador no basta con saber mucho. Hay que ser buen compañero de equipo y persona
8. Es duro pero... Código sin tests = legacy. Cualquier cambio ya es un riesgo
9. La complejidad seduce al ego, la simplicidad alegra al equipo. El verdadero reto es resolver lo difícil de forma simple
10. La tecnología más sexy hoy será legado mañana, programa como si tú fueras el mantenedor... porque probablemente lo serás
Right now there are a lot of new eyes on Signal, and not all of them are familiar with secure messaging and its nuances. Which means there’s misinfo flying around that might drive people away from Signal and private communications.
One piece of misinfo we need to address is the claim that there are ‘vulnerabilities’ in Signal. This isn’t accurate. Reporting on a Pentagon advisory memo appears to be at the heart of the misunderstanding: https://t.co/QfWgOxHAzp. The memo used the term ‘vulnerability’ in relation to Signal—but it had nothing to do with Signal’s core tech. It was warning against phishing scams targeting Signal users.
Phishing isn’t new, and it’s not a flaw in our encryption or any of Signal’s underlying technology. Phishing attacks are a constant threat for popular apps and websites.
In order to help protect people from falling victim to sophisticated phishing attacks, Signal introduced new user flows and in-app warnings. This work has been completed for some time and is unrelated to any current events. If you’re interested in learning more, this WIRED article from February 19th (over a month ago) goes into more detail:
https://t.co/xvVVdPDhSs
Signal is open source, so our code is regularly scrutinized in addition to regular formal audits. We also constantly monitor [email protected] for any new reports, and we act on them with quickness while also working to protect the people who rely on us from outside threats like phishing with warnings and safeguards.
This is why Signal remains the gold standard for private, secure communications.