"As the community grew, its needs changed and our infrastructure grew to fit those needs. Community need guided every step."

Yeah really. So exciting to see!!!!!

"Building out this system made clear how deeply embedded moderation is into every piece of infrastructure."

Again, how many other social networks is that true of?

And Blacksky is taking a great approach to moderation, grounding it in community -- and prioritizing moderators' well-being

There's so much to like about Blacksky that this aspect doesn't always get the attention it should, but think about it: how many other social networks have *started* with a focus on moderation, as opposed to initially ignoring it and then trying to play catch-up?

Extremely impressive work by @rishkebab.blacksky.team and the Blacksky team: Acorn, a platform for growing and managing communities on decentralized infrastructure.

"It started, as most things do at Blacksky, with moderation" ... gotta like that!

yeah it's challenging ... i filter out anything with birds in it, or "flock to", or a few other things, but some stuff still gets through.

If you're interested in Flock and other ALPRs, oh boy, do I have a feed for you!

blacksky.community/profile/then...

On Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/then...

Seneca police end Flock camera contract after less than 90 days SENECA, MO. - (KOAM) — The Seneca Police Department has ended its contract with Flock license plate readers after operating the surveillance cameras for less than 90 days, citing poor

Victory in Seneca, MO! 🏆

"Beyond the technical and customer service issues, Chief Altic expressed concerns about reports of camera misuse throughout the country. These reports reinforced his decision to discontinue the program." [1/2]

#deflock #surveillance #alpr

SB 6002: Sign in OTHER (Strengthen) and provide written testimony to tell legislators how to improve the Driver Privacy Act The Driver Privacy Act regulates Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) like Flock, which allow law enforcement to track where people drive and when. The bill has some strong protections but needs to...

#waleg update: There's a committee hearing tomorrow morning on SB 6002, the Driver Privacy Act, regulating Flock and other ALPRs.

If you're in Washington, please sign in OTHER (Strengthen) - and consider submitting written testimony. (1/N)

www.takeaction.network/xactions/47677

FediForum "Growing the Open Social Web" Un-Workshop position statement Note: feel free to skip the narrative, and go straight to the position statement! ""Open Social Web" is a term surveillance capitalism companies and their friends have been using since at least 2008....

FediForum "Growing the Open Social Web" Un-Workshop position statement

thenexusofprivacy.net/fediforum-growing-the-open-social-web-un-workshop-position-statement-2/

Apparently (have been a WA stater for almost six years, and just learning now) when it's an even year, the leg. session goes twice as fast as odd-numbered years. Darn even years! 😄

#waleg 2026 at the midpoint: surveillance, privacy, AI, and age verification legislation overview Things are moving fast in a short session.

#waleg 2026 at the midpoint: surveillance, privacy, AI, and age verification legislation overview

privacy.thenexus.today/waleg-2026-o...

We're almost exactly halfway through the 60-day session ... so it seems like a good time for an update.

Colleagues and I recently completed a study (to be published in the next few months in the Yale Journal of Law and Technology) in which we evaluated data brokers’ claims: we acquired several million rows from data brokers selling data they claimed to be anonymous and collected with consent.

2/

PRESS RELEASE: EPIC Welcomes Three Distinguished Members to its Board of Directors

We're thrilled to welcome three new privacy experts to our Board of Directors: @dbrody.bsky.social, @rcalo.bsky.social, and Katherine Strandburg! We're looking forward to their guidance as we continue fighting to protect the fundamental right to privacy in 2026. epic.org/press-releas...

What are you looking for in social media?

privacy.thenexus.today/what-are-you...

Your perspectives welcome!

- as replies here

- in the pol.is conversation at pol.is/7xjmwmuxnt?r...

- in the CryptPad form at cryptpad.fr/form/?ref=pr...

I'll write up the results later this month

And if you're on Mastodon (etc), I've also got a thread of polls starting at infosec.exchange/@thenexusofp...

What are you looking for in social media?

privacy.thenexus.today/what-are-you...

Your perspectives welcome!

- as replies here

- in the pol.is conversation at pol.is/7xjmwmuxnt?r...

- in the CryptPad form at cryptpad.fr/form/?ref=pr...

I'll write up the results later this month

Garrett Langley, CEO of Flock Safety, is oblivious. This man cares more about selling a product than actual community safety or anything that might resemble democracy.

Shameless plug but we're starting a session of SASSI School focused on Techno-Fascism in January. Garrett may be discussed.

Border Patrol Bets on Small Drones to Expand US Surveillance Reach Federal records show CBP is moving from testing small drones to making them standard surveillance tools, expanding a network that can follow activity in real time and extend well beyond the border.

NEW: CBP is doubling down on a surveillance strategy built around small, human-portable drones, pushing border enforcement toward a distributed surveillance network that can operate in harsh climes and mixed terrain to rapidly cue agents.

I have been reliably informed that recording a voice note is "creepy." So. If you have a question about surveillance at work, you can now
(1) send us an email
(2) record it directly at TheFairFightPod dot com OR
(3) send us a creepy voice note

Even though we work on KOSA everyday, we didn’t know what bills would be in last weeks’ markup until 48 hours before the hearing.

This is the strategy- ram bills through before the public has had time to know what’s going on.

But you can always count on us to sound the alarm 🚨

Section 230 has no useful purpose??

Section 230 IS THE REASON THE INTERNET EXISTS.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME @judiciarydems.senate.gov @whitehouse.senate.gov ???

Who wrote this bill?? Why are you all supporting this? You should be ashamed of yourselves!!

It was a voice vote on SCREEN Act so we don't know the numbers. I had the sound off so not sure if there was opposition to it, sorry.

If Congress’ goal is truly to protect kids online, the best way to do so is through a federal data-privacy standard that prioritizes their safety today and can adapt to the technologies of tomorrow.

This version of KOSA doesn't come close to meeting the mark.

House E+C hearing takeaways:

- Dems voted against KOSA due to the duty of care + against COPPA 2.0 due to preemption of state laws.

- With KOSA, the House is concerned with FTC overreach to police online free speech. This is a good thing + a sign that your advocacy is working!

And staffers really do track the number and sentiment of calls. So yeah, everybody voted the way they were going to this time (they wouldn't have scheduled the markup if they weren't confident they had the votes), but it helps influences the discussions at the committee level.

On the livestream Fight talked about how the calls make a difference over the course of the multi-stage battle. For one thing when groups like Fight (or EFF, etc) are meeting with staffers, they can use the number of calls to show that constituents really care about the issue ...

Totally agree. Thanks for calling @bammerusi.bsky.social, which rep is it who's against it?

And, thanks for calling!

Very true, I've been listening to the @fightforthefuture.org livestream and they keep emphasizing how much of a difference the huge number of calls this week -- and even today -- have made.