thenexusofprivacy

joined 2 years ago
[–] thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange 2 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

@Kirk It is. As their announcement says,

"This decision applies only to the Bluesky app, which is one service built on the AT Protocol. Other apps and services may choose to respond differently."

Of course, today 99.9%+ of the people using AT Protocol-based services are using Bluesky's app. But that was already in the process of changing, and stuff like this -- and the Online Services Act, and the (very justifiable) desire by Canadians and Europeans and everybody else not to be depending on US company's infrastructure are just giving it more momentum. So, it'll be interesting to see how it works out.

[–] thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange 3 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

@naught101 yeah, I just tagged the lemmy community ... and yes it is super cool! although, as the NSFW highlights, somewhat clunky around the edges ... if I don't include a CW here then it figures out the title on its own, and it's not always what I want.

[–] thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange 12 points 13 hours ago (5 children)

@naught101 it shouldn't, but anything posted on Mastodon with a CW is marked as NSFW on Lemmy. Similarly when the post bridged to Bluesky it got marked as "graphic media" lol. Not sure there's anything I can do about it in either case.

 

As you've probably seen or heard Dropsitenews has published a list (from a Meta whistleblower) of "the roughly 100,000 top websites and content delivery network addresses scraped to train Meta's proprietary AI models" -- including quite a few fedi sites. Meta denies everything of course, but they routinely lie through their teeth so who knows. In any case, whether the specific details in the report are accurate, it's certainly a threat worth thinking about.

So I'm wondering what defenses fedi admins are using today to try to defeat scrapers: robots.txt, user-agent blocking, firewall-level blocking of ip ranges, Cloudflare or Fastly AI scraper blocking, Anubis, stuff you don't want to disclose ... @deadsuperhero has some good discussion on We Distribute, and it would b e very interesting to hear what various instances are doing.

And a couple of more open-ended questions:

  • Do you feel like your defenses against scraping are generally holding up pretty well?

  • Are there other approaches that you think might be promising that you just haven't had the time or resources to try?

  • Do you have any language in your terms of servive that attempts to prohibit training for AI?

Here's @FediPact's post with a link to the Dropsitenews report and (in the replies) a list of fedi instances and CDNs that show up on the list.

https://cyberpunk.lol/@FediPact/114999480874284493

@fediverse @fediversenews

#MastoAdmin #Meta #FediPact

Congrats ... and timely too!

And yes, good article @Sarahp

@julian

@MrJameGumb yeah I thought @Diplomjodler3 nailed it with "monetize my ass". Then again people have been trying to commercialize the fediverse even before the term got invented -- StatusNet got initial venture funding back in 2009 or so back when it was still the identifverse. So it's a long-standing tension in fedi as a whole.

Mostly though I'm just entertained that people think that it's self-promotion on my part 😂

 

If you'e been wondering how to monetize your fediverse posting ... https://sub.club has good news for you!

"If you post quality content and you've developed a loyal audience, you should be able to ask your most passionate followers to support you with a premium subscription.

That's a promise not available on the Fediverse ...until now."

@dimillian has a short threa announcing availabiilty in @IceCubesApp and sub.club advisor @quillmatiq has more info here.

sub.club's a project of The BLVD, Inc, the makers of @mammoth. I know there was a lot of skepticism when Marc Benioff, Mozilla, Long Ventures et al, funded Mammoth ... with so many good apps out there, how are they expecting to get VC-level returns on their investment? But if sub.club can tap into the creator economy, there's clearly money to be made!

#fediverse @fediverse

 

Microsoft endorses anti-LGBTQ online "child safety" bill KOSA night before Big Tech hearing (US Politics)

Worth noting: Microsoft owns LinkedIn, which wouldn't be particularly affected by KOSA.

There's a hearing on Wednesday, and potentially a Senate vote soon, so if you're in the US now's a good time to contact your Senators. https://stopkosa.com/ and EFF's page make it easy!

https://gazette.com/news/wex/microsoft-president-endorses-online-child-safety-bill-night-before-big-tech-hearing/article/_cd2e8eb5-ba98-5e95-9333-5646dd6a249f.html

#kosa #microsoft

@bad_internet_bills

[–] thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Instances in the free fediverses should consider "transitive defederation" from instances that federate with Meta

https://privacy.thenexus.today/consider-transitively-defederatiion/

Part 7 of Strategies for the free fediverses

Transitive defederation -- defederating from instances that federate with Threads as well as defederating from Threads -- isn't likely to be an all-or-nothing thing in the free fediverses. Tradeoffs are different for different people and instances. This is one of the strengths of the fediverse, so however much transitive defederation there winds up being, I see it as overall as a positive thing -- although also messy and complicated.

So the recommendation here is for instances to *consider* #TransitiveDefederation: discuss, and decide what to do. I've also got some thoughts on how to have the discussion -- and the strategic aspects.

https://privacy.thenexus.today/consider-transitively-defederatiion/

@fediversenews @fediverse #fediverse #fedipact #threads

[–] thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange 0 points 2 years ago (3 children)

The free fediverses should work together with people and instances in Meta's fediverses and on Bluesky whose goals and values align with the free fediverse

https://privacy.thenexus.today/work-together-with-metas-fediverses-and-bluesky/

Part 6 of Strategies for the free fediverses

Many of the Meta advocates I've talked to share the free fediverses' long-term goal of building a sustainable alternative to surveillance capitalism -- and the same is true for people on Bluesky. So there are likely to be situations where some of the people and instances in Meta's fediverses and Bluesky wind up as situational allies to the free fediverses.

A few areas where collaboration could be very useful:

- A key principle of organizing is meeting people where they are.

- Moderation on decentralized networks is a shared challenge.

- Bringing concepts similar to Bluesky's custom feeds to the fediverses, and more generally focusing on human-focused and liberatory (as opposed to oppressive) uses of algorithms in decentralized social networks designed from the margins.

- Meta's fediverses, Bluesky, and the free fediverses are all vulnerable to disinformation.

https://privacy.thenexus.today/work-together-with-metas-fediverses-and-bluesky/

#fediverse #threads #bluesky #organizing @fediversenews

[–] thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange 0 points 2 years ago (4 children)

The free fediverses should make it easier to move between (and create) instances

Part 5 of Strategies for the Free Fediverse

https://privacy.thenexus.today/make-it-easier-to-move-to-instances-in-the-free-fediverses/

There's likely to be a lot of moving between instances as people and instances sort themselves out into the free fediverses and Meta's fediverses -- and today, moving accounts on the fediverse today. There are lots of straightforward ways to improve it, many of which don't even require improvements to the software. And there are also opportunities to make creating, customizing, and connecting instances easier.

#fediverse #fedipact #threads @fediversenews

 

What fediverse apps and software, support quote posts today?

Here's a great thread by @polotek about quoted posts.

https://social.polotek.net/@polotek/111699960916060256

What fediverse software platforms or apps supports quoted posts today (sometimes implemented as a link, a screenshot, or a reply)?

@thenexusofprivacy@lemmy.blahaj.zone #fediverse #mastodon #quoteboost

[–] thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange 1 points 2 years ago (5 children)

The free fediverses should support concentric federations of instances

Part 4 of Strategies for the Free Fediverses

https://privacy.thenexus.today/the-free-fediverses-should-support-concentric-federations-of-instances/

Here's how @zkat describes caracoles: "you essentially ask to join concentric federations of instances ... with smaller caracoles able to vote to federate with entire other caracoles."

And @ophiocephalic's "fedifams" are a similar idea: "Communities could align into fedifams based on whatever conditions of identity, philosophy or interest are relevant to them. Instances allied into fedifams could share resources and mutually support each other in many way"

The idea's a natural match for community-focused, anti-surveillance capitalism free fediverses, fits in well with the Networked Communities model discussed in part 3, and helps address scalability of consent-based federation discussed in Part 2.

https://privacy.thenexus.today/the-free-fediverses-should-support-concentric-federations-of-instances/

#fediverse #fedipact #threads @fediversenews @fediverse

[–] thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange 0 points 2 years ago (6 children)

The free fediverses should emphasize networked communities

https://privacy.thenexus.today/the-free-fediverses-should-emphasize-networked-communities/

Here's how @lrhodes describes the Networked Communities view:

"instances are valuable for the relations and interactions they facilitate locally AND for their ability to connect you to other parts of the network."

By contrast, @evanprodromou notes that "Big Fedi" advocates typically see instances as typically see the instance as "mostly a dumb pipe." But The Networked Communities view aligns much better with the free fediverses' values – as does the "Social Archipelago" view @noracodes sketches in The Fediverse is Already Dead. Not only that, it's good strategy!

@fediversenews #fediverse #threads #fedipact

[–] thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange -1 points 2 years ago (7 children)

The free fediverses should focus on consent (including consent-based federation), privacy, and safety

https://privacy.thenexus.today/free-fediverses-and-consent/

(Part 2 of "Strategies for the free fediverses")

#fediverse #mastodon #fedipact @fediversenews

 

Strategies for the free fediverses

https://privacy.thenexus.today/strategies-for-the-free-fediverses/

The fediverse is evolving into different regions

- "Meta's fediverses", federating with Meta to allow communications, potentially using services from Meta such as automated moderation or ad targeting, and potentially harvesting data on Meta's behalf.

- "free fediverses" that reject Meta – and surveillance capitalism more generally

The free fediverses have a lot of advantages over Meta and Meta's fediverses, some of which will be very hard to counter, and clearly have enough critical mass that they'll be just fine.

Here's a set of strategies for the free fediverses to provide a viable alternative to surveillance capitalism. They build on the strengths of today's fediverse at its best – including natural advantages the free fediverses have that Threads and Meta's fediverses will having a very hard time countering – but also are hopefully candid about weaknesses that need to be addressed. It's a long list, so I'll be spreading out over multiple posts; this post currently goes into detail on the first two.

- Opposition to Meta and surveillance capitalism is an appealing position. Highlight it!

- Focus on consent (including consent-based federation), privacy, and safety

- Emphasize "networked communities"

- Support concentric federations of instances and communities

- Consider "transitively defederating" Meta's fediverses (as well as defederating Threads)

- Consider working with people and instances in Meta's fediverses (and Bluesky, Dreamwidth, and other social networks) whose goals and values align with the free fediverses'

- Build a sustainable ecosystem

- Prepare for Meta's (and their allies') attempts to paint the free fediverses in a bad light

- Reduce the dependency on Mastodon

- Prioritize accessibility, which is a huge opportunity

- Commit to anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-colonial, and pro-LGBTQIA2S+ principles, policies, practices, and norms for the free fediverses

- Organize!

#fediverse #freefediverse #threads @fediverse @fediversenews

 

FISA Section 702 Reauthorization: House GOP leadership pulls dueling FISA bills amid backlash!

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/11/politics/house-gop-leadership-pulls-dueling-fisa-bills/index.html

Instead, a four-month extension is attached to the NDAA -- unless it gets removed. Dozens of civil rights and racial justice groups oppose extending FISA in the NDAA.

If you agree, call your Senators TODAY and with a simple ask: "DO NOT put 702 in the NDAA."

#FISA #Section702 @privacy

 

House Judiciary Committee advances FISA Section 702 bill with warrant requirements, 35-2

Sen. Ron Wyden says "This is great news for anyone who cares about protecting their privacy from government overreach."

So far the only coverage is @tonya_riley's paywalled Bloomberg News article

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/house-panel-oks-bill-to-renew-rein-in-electronic-surveillance

The bill is H.R. 6570, the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act, sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ). It has a lot of similarities to the bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act (where Wyden and Sen. Mike Lee are the Senate sponsors). But there are other bills potentially moving forward as well.... (1/3)

#fisa #surveillance @privacy

 

College Board shares SAT Scores with Facebook, TikTok, and others

https://gizmodo.com/sat-college-board-tells-facebook-tiktok-your-scores-gpa-1850768077

"Gizmodo observed the College Board’s website sharing data with Facebook and TikTok when a user fills in information about their GPA and SAT scores. When this reporter used the College Board’s search filtering tools to find colleges that might accept a student with a C+ grade-point average and a SAT score of 420 out of 1600, the site let the social media companies know. Whether a student is acing their tests or struggling, Facebook and TikTok get the details.

The College Board shares this data via “pixels,” invisible tracking technology used to facilitate targeted advertising on platforms such as Facebook and TikTok. The data is shared along with unique user IDs to identify the students, along with other information about how you use the College Board’s site. Tok, and a variety of companies."

#privacy @privacy

 

How to choose the right Mastodon instance

https://privacy.thenexus.today/choosing-a-mastodon-instance/

An excerpt:

...

One of the challenges for newcomers to Mastodon is that you're faced with a major decision you face when signing up: what server (aka "instance") to choose? Different instances have different focuses: are geographically focused (sfba.social), identity-based (tech.lgbt), interest-based (mastodon.art), professional (infosec.exchange), a group of friends (friend.camp), or even lipogrammatic (oulipo.social, which doesn't allow the letter 'e' in posts). Others are "general purpose", without a specific focus – like mastodon.social, mastodon.ai, and hachyderm.io. The choice isn't irrevocable – you can migrate your account to another instance and keep the list of who you're following and who's following you – but it's still daunting.

Newcomers are often told that it doesn't matter what instance you're on, or encouraged to join mastodon.social (the "flagship" instance, which is the default for mobile apps and spreadmastodon.com). This is really horrible advice, because what instance you're on has a big effect on your experience – and for most people, mastodon.social is not a good place to start.

...

[This is an an updated version of the post I originally did last November. I've tried to double-check that the links all still work, please let me know if I missed any!]

@fediverse@lemmy.ml @fediverse@kbin.social #TwitterMigration #Mastodon

 

Should the Fediverse welcome its new surveillance-capitalism overlords? Opinions differ!

https://privacy.thenexus.today/should-the-fediverse-welcome-surveillance-capitalism/

Contents:

- Two views of the fediverse
- The case for "Trust but verify"
- Wait a second. Why should anybody trust Facebook, Instagram, or Meta?
- Why the Anti-Meta FediPact is good strategy
- We're here, we're queer, fuck Facebook
- A few words about digital colonialism
- Now's a good time for instance admins to discuss with their communities
- In chaos there is opportunity!

@fediverse@lemmy.ml @fediverse@kbin.social #fediverse #Meta #FediPact

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