Lauren WeinsteinDec 11, 2022

Someone just mentioned the differences between #Twitter and #Google regarding user data. Yes, indeed.

I've worked inside #Google twice. Their explicit rules, approvals, logging and "need to know" requirements for access to user data are most impressive. Anyone even attempting to access user data inappropriately is fired and marched out the door by security. This is part of why I have a great deal of trust in Google, and consider Elon's #Twitter to be utterly untrustworthy and totally beneath contempt.

Show threadTom StonehamDec 11, 2022

@lauren I am told by a Facebook insider that same was/is true there.

But the problem is: why do you have something in the first place if it needs such protection?

Surely true #DataPrivacy means don't collect rather than don't misuse.

Once it has been collected, the user has lost their privacy even if *you* don't misuse it. It's all about power.

Show threadLauren Weinstein
@tomstoneham People want to be able to message each other. All else being equal, I prefer end to end cryptography, but that is not always practical in all contexts, and brings complicated political issues into the equation that can really muddy things up.
Dec 11, 2022 at 6:59pmWeb
Show threadTom StonehamDec 11, 2022

@lauren Can't think of a context where it isn't practical except SMS and email.

And the political is *exactly* why everyone must fight for it! 😝

We wouldn't tolerate 1984-style telescreens, so why tolerate similar intrusions on our digital spaces?

Show threadLauren WeinsteinDec 11, 2022
@tomstoneham The problem of course is that some governments are explicitly banning it in various contexts. On the other hand, Apple just announced that they were ending their CSAM scanning on devices project.
Show threadTom StonehamDec 11, 2022

@lauren Ever used WeChat? Client side scanning for political content there (try using an image if Winnie the Pooh in Moments). Doesn't have to be at OS level.

Best way to fight governments who want to ban something is normalise it. Make it everyday for people who didn't know they cared about it.