FYI - all my music is DMCA free, you can use it on your videos or streams without fear of banhammers etc. I will never send a takedown notice to anyone using my music (unless it's clearly hate speech or immoral etc)
https://t.co/v39WAdSQuD
This is what the UK spyware proposal means.
There must be government spyware on every mobile device. It shall watch everything that happens, including always watching the screen, looking for things the government disapproves of.
When anything is flagged by the software as something the government doesn't like, the software must block it from being sent or displayed (in realtime).
The user of the device must not be able to shut this watching and blocking off. The only way to shut it off would be to ask the government or its proxies to do so for you, at their discretion.
Therefore the whole device must be locked down. Administrator rights and the decision of what software or operating system to run or not to run must be taken from the owner/user and handed to the government and its proxies.
Apple and Google are themselves working hard to lock down the devices they are involved in to shut out competition and establish a duopoly.
The UK government says it is "working closely" with Apple and Google and currently they synchronise and coordinate their communication on this subject.
The UK government is now proposing to mandate what would otherwise be illegal anti-competitive practices.
@GrapheneOS on the Apple and Google duopoly:
https://t.co/rbRmcUDTRu
Statement from @signalapp
https://t.co/vJILcSrs4s
@ReclaimTheNetHQ on the state spyware:
https://t.co/3FCi06bP77
The government announcement:
https://t.co/ynYjR3DIRo
🚨 Tech companies like Apple and Google have three months.
Activate safeguards on smartphones and tablets to detect and block nude images for children or we will bring forward legislation to force you to do so.
Today, we remember Alan Turing, who died on 7 June 1954.
A mathematician, codebreaker and pioneer of modern computing, Turing's work helped shorten the Second World War and laid the foundations for technologies that shape our lives today.
For decades, his achievements went largely unrecognised, and he faced profound personal challenges because of who he was. Yet his contribution to science, innovation and society remains extraordinary.
On the anniversary of his death, we honour a man whose ideas changed the world and whose legacy continues to inspire generations of thinkers, problem-solvers and innovators.
Photo: Princeton University Archives – Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Is the UK on the verge of banning VPNs?
On May 26, the consultation intended to help the British government make decisions on age verification for websites, digital services, and social media platforms came to an end. Some form of restrictions regarding at least age limits for social media already appear inevitable; government officials have confirmed as much. The only question is what kind of restrictions will be imposed.
For example, the age verification restrictions could end up including VPN services. National restrictions for websites and social media can be bypassed using tools such as VPNs, virtual phone numbers, eSIM cards, Tor and dedicated services. It is therefore unsurprising that politicians have begun looking toward VPN services, which are the most common and accessible method of changing one’s geographic location.
In early 2026, the House of Lords sent an amendment(regarding the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill) to the House of Commons, proposing an 18-year age limit for using VPN services. The House of Commons rejected the House of Lords amendment four separate times. However, the House of Commons instead introduced its own proposal, which was passed and has now become law. This agreement grants the government the power to introduce restrictions through secondary legislation, with only limited parliamentary scrutiny.
Unfortunately, the risk that the UK government will crack down on VPN services is real – effectively joining countries such as China and Russia in opposing VPN services. Officials have already hinted that they may consider introducing age restrictions for VPN usage under the slogan “No platform gets a free pass”.
If VPN services were to implement identity verification, this would mean collecting data that could be abused through either malice or incompetence. It would, for example, make such services risky for whistleblowers and activists, make it harder for journalists to work with sensitive information, and create a chilling effect on online debate (VPNs can help people post anonymously on social media). In a society like the UK, where 30 people are arrested every day for writing something online that authorities classify as “grossly offensive”, VPN services are an important tool for free speech.
If VPN providers were to impose an age limit on their service, this would also mean that underage users would effectively lose their right to online privacy. Ironically, one consequence would be that social media companies mapping people’s lives through third-party trackers on websites could continue monitoring young people’s online behavior via their IP addresses without any interference. In other words, politicians would remove one of the protections children have against the very companies they claim to want to protect children from.
Music frens
Has anyone else noticed a massive drop in responses to submithub submissions? I submitted my latest track and mostly got refunded for no replies. Not sure if its just unlucky or a bit of a trend.....
So-called age verification for social media is spreading across the world, framed as an effort to create a safer internet for children. In reality, age verification lays the foundation for a fully controlled internet.
The age verification rush must be slowed down, and politicians need to recognize the consequences of different types of legislation and systems.
Age verification is the wrong approach to fix “the social media problem”
The big tech social media companies are bad. Their business model is bad; it is based on mass surveillance and manipulation, and they cooperate with governments in mapping entire populations. But age verification is fundamentally the wrong approach to preventing children from using big tech social media platforms. Introducing age verification is based on coercion; the state forces social media companies to verify their users’ identities. But the big tech social media platforms already know which of their users are children. Their business model depends on knowing this. They know how old users are, and they know exactly what type of person they are. As age verification is based on coercion, politicians could instead force platforms to stop doing the things politicians consider harmful to children, or force them to block children (again, they know who they are) from using their services. But instead, politicians seek to massively invade everyone’s privacy and undermine democratic rights on a global scale. In other words, the latter is the real objective – they do not want to protect children; they want to impose control.
Slippery slope of age verification
It is undeniable that age verification threatens freedom of expression, risks increasing mass surveillance, and is likely to lead to censorship. It will not only shrink the online world and reduce young people’s right to privacy (for example, if VPN services were to be restricted); but also risks becoming a significant step toward a controlled internet for everyone.
Most age verification is identity verification
Most countries are now considering introducing age verification systems, meaning that everyone would have to identify themselves either to the service/website they want to use or to a third party capable of linking them to their activity on that service or website. This is not age verification but identity verification, and the consequence is therefore that freedom of information is restricted (you can no longer visit regulated websites anonymously) and that you can no longer post anonymously on social media. This is a major problem in countries like the UK and Germany where the police conduct raids on people’s homes for posting content on social media that the authorities dislike. Or in the United States, where authorities are trying to pressure tech companies into revealing the identities behind accounts protesting ICE. Social media identity verification removes important tools for activists in countries where criticizing those in power is dangerous.
Restrictions on app store or operating system level
Some countries are looking to impose identity verification at the app store level or even within the operating system itself. This is an exciting experiment, since this is possible to circumvent using open-source operating systems. Some countries are already looking to include open-source systems. Since open-source systems cannot be controlled, politicians would ultimately need to ban devices that are not controlled by the state. The end point: telescreens like those in Orwell’s 1984, devices that both monitor you and broadcast only the information approved by the state.
The Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) alternative and the EU
The EU has presented its own age verification app as “completely anonymous”. The idea is to use Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) cryptography to break the link between the age credential issuer (EU governments) and the regulated services/sites. Currently, the EU app does not have ZKP functionality, contrasting Ursula von der Leyen’s claim that the app ”is technically ready to be used”. But more importantly, the app is currently designed to always function without ZKP technology; if ZKP is unavailable, the app falls back to a non-ZKP model. Even if fully developed ZKP technology could be implemented in the future, it would remain an optional extra feature that countries may choose to disable and that the EU could remove at any time.
Read more on our site.
https://t.co/wTVKHMS1zg
Had to work until she was 68, never saw a cent from her invention.
None of the billionaires are inventors they are all the crooks that stole from the inventors.
Can you open your heart and home to a retired police dog in need? Meet Retired Police Dog Roscoe, a loyal and affectionate dog who has spent his life serving with the @MODPolice and is now looking for a calm, experienced retirement home where he can finally relax and enjoy the good life he deserves.
Roscoe is a large, intelligent boy with a loving nature who absolutely adores human attention. He loves fuss, belly rubs and spending time with his people. Despite his working background, he settles well in the home and enjoys regular walks and companionship.
📍 North Yorkshire
🐕 Belgian Malinois
🎂 DOB: 01/09/2017
👦 Male (entire)
🏡 Roscoe would suit:
✔ Experienced owners familiar with working breeds or behavioural management
✔ A calm home environment
✔ Children aged 15 and over
✔ A home where he is the only pet
⚠ Things to know:
• Due to his previous operational role, Roscoe can be alert around people with covered faces or hoods
• He may react to fast-moving bicycles
• Dog introductions need to be slow and carefully managed
• He can become physically playful when excited due to his size and strength
🩺 Health:
• Seasonal skin allergies (managed with medication when required)
• Early onset osteoarthritis, currently managed well with daily pain relief
• He still enjoys his walks and quality time outdoors
He will be fully supported by the Foundation with the above medication 💙
Roscoe has given a lifetime of service and now deserves a peaceful retirement filled with love, patience, understanding… and a very comfortable sofa. 🛋️🐾
If you believe you could offer Roscoe the loving retirement home he deserves, please email expressing your interest, including a little about yourself, your experience with dogs, and why you feel you could provide the right home for him. Please email: [email protected] 📧
Please share to help this incredible boy find the right forever home.
It's been a week since I dropped this all over your pretty faces n I'm loving the feedback so far!
Not just lip service, I really wanna hear what you think 💜
#newmusic#industrial#spotify