phatt
Meredith WhittakerThis is the real, human cost of mass surveillance of everyone's private digital communications.
If we actually care about keeping people safe, we need more end-to-end encryption not less.
Astrobach 
Also, a reminder for everyone the many ways that Meta and their properties are not to be trusted.
EDIT: Let me add that Mastodon is not encrypted either--including DM's. It is upfront and open about that fact and you should not use social media for any sensitive exchanges.
shukes@rorystarr @Mer__edith Thank you, I'll get off Meta when my website is updated...
mark@rorystarr @Mer__edith yes. Social media is not safe . Texting is not safe either. All companies comply with subpoenas, and the govt doesn't really have limits to asking questions.
This isn't a meta problem, it's a personal agency to your privacy problem, and stupid laws being written for bad purposes problem.
Hudson@rorystarr @Mer__edith This is needs to be repeated often and everywhere.
…”you should not use social media for any sensitive exchanges.” #socialmedia #messenger #dm #email #correoelectronico
…”you should not use social media for any sensitive exchanges.” #socialmedia #messenger #dm #email #correoelectronico
Jon (now at neuromatch.social)@HudsonHutton 💯. I do repeat it often! My post looking at threats to privacy if Meta federates with the #fediverse has a big public service announcement up front:
"Please do not use #Mastodon or other fediverse software for confidential or secret information. Don't use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social network either. Use Signal or some other encrypted messaging system."
And my post on activism says something similar!
Yep. I even use SIgnal for routine conversations with most friends (except for a few laggards who stay on SMS).
Of course, what happened to this mother and daughter is still appalling. It's a horrible law -- and shame on Facebook for not providing end-to-end encryption for "private" messages.
⁂Krafty⁂ #NoKings
Erik MoellerAbsolutely infuriating case, thank you for bringing attention to it and relating it to the #E2EE debate.
Alexander@Mer__edith This is the worst nightmare!
Jared White (ResistanceNet ✊)@Mer__edith Sickening. Not only will she have to endure the trauma of being imprisoned, she'll have a record when she gets out. And of course the privacy angle is truly scary.
S.K.Misra@Mer__edith ONLY money matters for all.These giants earn millions/billions with such traits.🥺🥺
arceuthobium@Mer__edith while your point still stands, there was no surveillance involved, the police were tipped off by a neighbor.
Sharkie@theothersimo @Mer__edith My understanding is that Meta disclosed their messenger conversation to authorities. Proper E2EE doesn't allow for MITM logging/disclosure.
zeemeermin@Mer__edith Home of the free, but not for thee.
Welcome to fascism America. This is what it looks like.
mypalmike@Mer__edith may the Lord open
@Mer__edith You need to discuss this shit in person, where no one will hear or see.
Sebastian Michaelsen@Mer__edith Did Facebook give the messages to the police or did the police get hold of one of the two phones (in which case E2E would not have helped)?
Eric Schultz@smic Facebook provided the messages to police when subpoenaed.
Esther 
🌱🐾🍋 #fcknzs@Mer__edith it’s disgusting and a shame what happens overthere. 😔
Erik Jonker@Mer__edith
The proposed amendment sounds like a bad joke...
The proposed amendment sounds like a bad joke...
Gondoliere@Mer__edith 'i've got nothing to hide'...
there you go.
there you go.
💠 Dave No One 💠@Mer__edith Also a proof for why #E2EE is for the people, but not in the interest of law enforcement, secret services and whoever else wants to spy on people. How could #BirthControl police know that you did something forbidden when they can't read your "private" messages.
Izzy@Mer__edith Also remember that "private Facebook messages" is a contradiction in terms.
So: Yes, that surveillance must be stopped. But we should not support "services" which support surveillance themselves, and even abuse our data for other purposes. Choose wisely what details you provide where is another lesson we can learn from this sad story.
Seth@Mer__edith That is truly awful
Raven Onthill@Mer__edith and a felony record.
Jeroen van Bergen@Mer__edith “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”… This is how young lives are truly destroyed.
Catweazle@Mer__edith, it is outrageous in several aspects, first this anachronistic legislation and the stupidity of posting this precisely on Facebook. Private Facebook message is an oxymoron by definition, everyone with more than 2 neurons should know this. It was probably Facebook itself that informed the authorities.
Coach Pāṇini ®@Catweazle @Mer__edith that’s exactly what happened
Damon Outlaw@paninid @Catweazle @Mer__edith they were subpoenaed. Your response made it as if it was something that they randomly decided to do
@damon @Catweazle @Mer__edith
19 state attorneys generals are starting by “asking nicely”, I guess https://www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/657773029-Mississippi-AG-opposes-reproductive-care-privacy-rule.pdf
19 state attorneys generals are starting by “asking nicely”, I guess https://www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/657773029-Mississippi-AG-opposes-reproductive-care-privacy-rule.pdf
@paninid @damon @Mer__edith, in any case, on the one hand it is outrageous that some old men with outdated morals decide on the lives of women, but on the other hand, in places where abortion is illegal to post about an abortion precisely on Facebook, it deserves a Darwin award.
@Catweazle @damon @Mer__edith
the ethos of “partus sequitur ventrem” runs deep and is largely unacknowedged
the ethos of “partus sequitur ventrem” runs deep and is largely unacknowedged
@paninid @damon @Mer__edith, Ecclesia praeterita obliviscens dixit animam intrantem natum, non antespartum sequitur ventrem (digging into my somewhat rusty Latin)
@Catweazle @damon @Mer__edith
The Christofascists have not forgotten the past.
These wannabe Ubermensches openly pine for a nihilistic Dominionist world with iPhones, ChatGPT, chattel, and every other element of dystopian fiction.
@paninid @damon @Mer__edith, Christofascists work with fear, precisely to encourage a return to the past that they glorify. They do not want a mature and sovereign population, they want submissive and obedient subjects they can command. It's pure lust for power.
@paninid, at 70, my eyes already have trouble deciphering small print on the screen, but my vision has become crystal clear over the years.
Jennifer Kayla | Theogrin 🦊The powers that be, or at least their voices, like to cite the potential abuse of cryptographic tools, in particular how they can be used for crimes without any means for a paper trail to be discovered.
The truth is, however, the greater abuses occur systemically, put into motion by those self-same powers who are upset that they no longer have a monopoly on privacy, and the lapdogs willing to sell any information at all to the highest bidder. And those abuses are happening, they're not some hypothetical or theoretical state of being. Therefore, a solution is required.
This is also why #Signal are making plans to be on their way out of the UK. Recent legislation passing through Parliament brings with it the goal of making all communication accessible to the government -- no matter the human rights issues involved (which the Tories, as always, are salivating over).
Chris Jakobsen
Ed Summers@Mer__edith here's a gift link for anyone who wants to read this important story:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/20/us/celeste-burgess-abortion-pill-nebraska.html?unlocked_article_code=D-58FYQW1KoC35p8lu5F4ONR9omVpjleoW5Z27sBBf68knjaLb-9CovzhJJ9tNzRnb6vX0Tpw_mniAvR7AjiKDBGfRU-Rvuypmd0QUwWxo3HGX6AWejRgenHTw2wu4dbWccaQSJOcJZTWcTBlVOrWW8JQPzsDOLoODueXzHfrq1sgsdt3PdSjxXVRMZuJ2gwHD51ZGXnY9Rwq8WulN9MPinZrfbvVht8VDR5G9awekLsHoOjHifrc-b5BqIlpmhTDdNYNxtirJmSk5_0K-Uji18lXpnZuREYDZDnHRxILTFzvXBciaFYgWdWynewGA-epoqstRTJbItRNsuUlgJE7hOCMNwuK9n5NPdx&smid=nytcore-android-share
It is really worrisome how the supercharged legibility provided by social media is continuing to fuse with law enforcement. They are evolving together in ways that are easy to underestimate until you become a subject of power. While E2EE is 💯 important, I think we also need to begin thinking creatively about ways to remove computation from parts of our lives.
Melissa BearTrix 🏳️⚧️@Mer__edith USA you are broken ... This poor lady ... Hugz for her
Hugz & xXx
Sara Peltola@Mer__edith Horifying. Absolute horifying.
maddie (MOVED!) 
@Mer__edith sure, you may have "nothing to hide", but these people do, and therefore we need less surveillance.
Vefhtagn@Mer__edith this is WHY we don't want META on the fediverse
@Mer__edith The biggest hurdle I see for true E2EE is companies trying to make it as easy and transparent as possible. E2EE in that form will always be insecure. If you can sync the key across devices there is no guarantee that the company won’t be subpoenaed to change their code to make extracting the key easy for LE.
True E2EE is the private key is stored on a device that does not support exporting the key. Unfortunately this still requires a technical background to get 100% correct.
@Mer__edith To add insult to injury the same people who would benefit most from E2EE refuse to use it because they claim “I have nothing to hide” because they conflate encryption with doing illegal shit, not realizing that their decision to not encrypt their communications means they are more likely to be under surveillance because they are the weakest links in the chains.
The next post has a scenario that is likely in these kinds of situations.
@Mer__edith Alice is friends with Bob who is friends with Sam. Sam and Bob both use E2EE to communicate back and forth and Alice does not.
Say Bob was to relay to Alice where Sam was going to be that day. An innocuous request that most people wouldn’t consider out of the ordinary. Alice didn’t use E2EE so let’s pull Facebook in and say they were privy to the message between Bob and Alice. Facebook now reports that Sam is at planned parenthood to LE for possible abortion/transgender care.
@Mer__edith Even though Sam and Bob used E2EE, Bob and Alice failed OPSEC and their communications were more likely to be intercepted for information about Sam.
A lot of people seem to think that the 4th amendment protects you from this kind of surveillance but it’s been seen time and again. As far as LE goes your online accounts are fair game. They just need to get a judge to sign their subpoena and show probable cause. Companies will not protect you. It’s a group effort that keeps us safe.
Kevin Karhan 
@Mer__edith WTF?
Also at this point it should be clear that #NSAbook not only can but will snitch on it's users!
Mark@Mer__edith Today its abortion, tomorrow it will be... anything really.
Imagine how much more "effective" the Nazi's would have been if they had the deep ever-present control and data gathering that we have now?
Hamish The PolarBear@Mer__edith For all the BS about preventing terrorism and organised crime etc. this is the reality of things.
Carza@Mer__edith what a freaking mess
Stefan Ritter@Mer__edith Handcuff her, otherwise she might ingest more pills.
Player2alpha 🧑💻🧌@Mer__edith Do they still call it "Land of the Free"? I guess that only applies if you are wealthy, eh?