A Reddit user has exposed a $2 billion dollar lobbying effort by Meta to support the proliferation of invasive "age verification":
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/reddit-user-uncovers-behind-meta-154717384.html
Reddit User Uncovers Who Is Behind Meta’s $2B Lobbying for Invasive Age Verification Tech
Meta funneled $2B through nonprofit shells to push age verification laws targeting Apple and Google while exempting its own platforms from surveillance...
"You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide." It's a favorite argument by Big Tech and Big Government...but it's a flawed one. So where does it come from and why do people keep using it? Let us explain:
https://www.startmail.com/nothing-to-hide-nothing-to-fear
Stop Giving Out Your Real Email Address! Here's Why...
Learn about the ways that your email address is used to track you and gather your private information by tech companies, advertisers, data brokers, and more
In a safety study of large language models, all but one encouraged "teens" to plan shootings and other "violent attacks":
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/892978/ai-chatbots-investigation-help-teens-plan-violence
Chatbots encouraged ‘teens’ to plan shootings in study
CCDH’s investigation found only one — Claude — of 10 major chatbots tested would reliably shut down would-be attackers.
Pokémon Go players unknowingly helped train delivery robots when they were prompted to scan real-world statues and landmarks with their cameras in exchange for in-game rewards:
https://www.popsci.com/technology/pokemon-go-delivery-robots-crowdsourcing/
‘Pokémon Go’ players have been unknowingly training delivery robots
The massive crowdsourcing effort could use real-world to help robots deliver pizza.
Meta to Shut Down Instagram End-to-End Encrypted Chat Support Starting May 2026
Meta will end Instagram E2EE chats May 8, 2026, reversing a 2021 privacy test and reigniting debate over encrypted messaging oversight.
AI chatbots have shown that they are shockingly adept at unmasking anonymous social media accounts, raising even more concerns about how AI poses a threat to online privacy:
https://itsfoss.com/news/ai-online-deanonymization/
AI Can Now Easily Unmask Your Secret Online Life (Even If You Use a Fake Name)
New study shows smart chatbots can figure out who you really are from just a few posts... and it only costs a couple of dollars.
You shouldn't have to pay EVEN MORE just to access the features that keep your email address hidden, and switching over to a private email should be seamless and easy! Luckily, you get all of these things and more with a single subscription, no excessive gatekeeping or tiers necessary!
Renowned computer scientists from around the globe are calling upon regulators to pause age verification laws for social media "until the scientific consensus settles on the benefits and harms":
https://www.politico.eu/article/age-check-social-media-scientist-warning/
Resist ‘dangerous and socially unacceptable’ age checks for social media, scientists warn
Computer scientists are campaigning against the global march toward age checks online.
TikTok has said that they will not protect users' DM's with E2EE, stating that it would put users at risk:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly2m5e5ke4o
TikTok says it won't encrypt DMs claiming it puts users at risk
TikTok tells the BBC it won't join rival platforms such as WhatsApp and Messenger in using end-to-end encryption.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been using online ads to track people's movements and circumvent the need to obtain warrants:
https://www.404media.co/cbp-tapped-into-the-online-advertising-ecosystem-to-track-peoples-movements/
CBP Tapped Into the Online Advertising Ecosystem To Track Peoples’ Movements
An internal DHS document obtained by 404 Media shows for the first time CBP used location data sourced from the online advertising industry to track phone locations. ICE has bought access to similar tools.
