Elon Musk’s Starlink Expands Across White House Complex
Trump administration officials said the company donated the internet service, saying the gift had been vetted by the lawyer overseeing ethics issues in the White House Counsel’s Office.
Important decision today from EDNY on backdoor searches, finding a warrant required to query comms collected (without a warrant) under 702.
https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2025/01/2025.01.21-U.S.-v.-Hasbajrami-Opinion.pdfOn my way to the last ShmooCon. If you’re there, look forward to seeing you, and please come to my talk on the UN Cybercrime treaty on Sunday!
Reminder: today, and everyday, under every administration, you have a right to say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, R'amen, “Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn,” or whatever holiday greeting you like, under the 1st Amendment.
Police/FBI talk of "going dark” in the face of privacy tech, and yet they can catch a guy who wore a mask, paid in cash, ditched his phone, and used bike/public transit, when he's two states away, through the public/private surveillance camera network.
Now China will need to surveil and do influence operations the old fashioned way. Paying data brokers and online influencers.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/6/24297454/tiktok-divest-or-ban-dc-circuit-court-appeals
TikTok on verge of ban after losing in court
The DC Circuit Court of appeals ruled on the constitutionally of a law that could ban TikTok from the US unless its Chinese parent company were to divest it.
Today 5th Circ. held "Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts (the lines of privacy-enabling software code) are not the 'property' of a foreign national or entity, meaning (1) they cannot be blocked under IEEPA, and (2) OFAC overstepped its congressionally defined authority."
Over a foot of water coming in. Stay safe out there Bay Area fam.
Bruce Sterling @bruces
