Battalion<p><strong>Destroying Autocracy – May 15, 2025</strong></p><p><strong>Welcome to this week’s “Destroying Autocracy”.</strong></p><p>It’s your source for curated news affecting democracy in the cyber arena with a focus on protecting it. That necessitates an opinionated Butlerian jihad against big tech as well as evangelizing for open-source and the Fediverse. Since big media’s journalism wing is flailing and failing in its core duty to democracy, this is also a collection of alternative reporting on the eternal battle between autocracy and democracy. We also cover the cybersecurity world. You can’t be free without safety and privacy.</p><p>DA comes out on Thursday and is updated through the end of day on Friday. Then we start over. So take your time in perusing it and check back in over the weekend.</p><p><strong>FYI, my opinions will be in bold. And will often involve cursing. Because humans. Especially tech bros. And fascists. Fuck ’em.</strong></p> <p><strong>Featured Item(s)</strong></p> <p>Cory Doctorow has:</p><p><a href="https://doctorow.medium.com/https-pluralistic-net-2025-05-13-ctrl-ctrl-ctrl-free-dmitry-4e845fabf110" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Who Broke the Internet? Part II</a></p><p><strong>It’s not who you think.</strong></p> <p><strong>We start and end with good news to make the middle bearable.</strong></p> <p><strong>The response to Russia’s War Crimes, TechnoFeudalism, and other douchebaggery</strong></p> <p>The Verge reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/664719/pope-leo-xiv-artificial-intelligence-concerns" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pope Leo XIV names AI one of the reasons for his papal name</a></p><p>Tech Policy has:</p><p><a href="https://techpolicy.press/europes-digital-sovereignty-is-a-democratic-imperative" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Europe’s Digital Sovereignty is a Democratic Imperative</a></p><p><a href="https://techpolicy.press/building-the-eurostack-can-opensource-save-europes-tech-future" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Building the Eurostack: Can Open-Source Save Europe’s Tech Future?</a></p><p>The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has:</p><p><a href="https://www.iccl.ie/digital-data/eu-ruling-tracking-based-advertising-by-google-microsoft-amazon-x-across-europe-has-no-legal-basis/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EU ruling: tracking-based advertising by Google, Microsoft, Amazon, X, across Europe has no legal basis</a></p><p><a href="https://www.iccl.ie/news/call-on-european-parliament-to-push-for-data-enforcement-to-defend-democracy/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Call on European Parliament to push for data enforcement to defend democracy</a></p><p>EuroNews reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/05/15/dutch-competition-agency-launches-two-probes-under-eu-digital-market-act" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dutch competition agency launches two probes under EU Digital Markets Act</a></p><p>The Register reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/14/openwebsearch_eu/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Europe plots escape hatch from the enshittification of search</a></p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/15/end_of_10_campaign/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The ‘End of 10’ is nigh, but don’t bury your PC just yet</a></p><p>Wired reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/north-korean-it-worker-scams-exposed/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">North Korean IT Workers Are Being Exposed on a Massive Scale</a></p> <p><strong>Neutral</strong></p> <p>The Free Software Foundation Europe shares:</p><p><a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20250515-01.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Legal Corner: The threshold of originality for copyrightable source code</a></p><p>Government Techology asks:</p><p><a href="https://www.govtech.com/policy/does-the-federal-government-have-a-right-to-states-data" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Does the Federal Government Have a Right to States’ Data?</a></p> <p><strong>The Evil Empire Strikes Back</strong></p> <p>The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/fcc-must-reject-broadcast-drm" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The FCC Must Reject Efforts to Lock Up Public Airwaves</a></p><p><a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/04/irs-ice-immigrant-data-sharing-agreement-betrays-data-privacy-and-taxpayers-trust" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IRS-ICE Immigrant Data Sharing Agreement Betrays Data Privacy and Taxpayers’ Trust</a></p><p>404 Media reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/license-plate-reader-company-flock-is-building-a-massive-people-lookup-tool-leak-shows/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">License Plate Reader Company Flock Is Building a Massive People Lookup Tool, Leak Shows</a></p><p>TechCrunch reports:</p><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/10/ftc-delays-enforcement-of-click-to-cancel-rule/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FTC delays enforcement of click-to-cancel rule</a></p><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/14/white-house-scraps-plan-to-block-data-brokers-from-selling-americans-sensitive-data/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">White House scraps plan to block data brokers from selling Americans’ sensitive data</a></p><p>The Verge reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/politics/666179/maga-elon-musk-sacks-copyright-office-perlmutter" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elon Musk’s apparent power play at the Copyright Office completely backfired</a></p><p>Propublica reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-musk-starlink-state-department-gambia-africa-pressure" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Trump Administration Leaned on African Countries. The Goal: Get Business for Elon Musk.</a></p><p><strong>It’s not just Africa either.</strong></p> <p><strong>Pariah States</strong></p> <p>TechCrunch reports:</p><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/10/five-things-we-learned-from-whatsapp-vs-nso-group-spyware-lawsuit/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Five things we learned from WhatsApp vs. NSO Group spyware lawsuit</a></p><p>The Kyiv Independent reports:</p><p><a href="https://kyivindependent.com/poland-detects-foreign-funded-election-ads-amid-fears-of-russian-interference/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Poland detects foreign-funded election ads amid fears of Russian interference</a></p><p>BleepingComputer reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/moldova-arrests-suspect-linked-to-doppelpaymer-ransomware-attacks/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Moldova arrests suspect linked to DoppelPaymer ransomware attacks</a></p><p>DarkReading reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/north-koreas-ta406-targets-ukraine" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">North Korea’s TA406 Targets Ukraine for Intel</a></p><p><a href="https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/turkish-apt-exploits-chat-app-zero-day-spy-iraqi-kurds" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Turkish APT Exploits Chat App Zero-Day to Spy on Iraqi Kurds</a></p> <p><strong>Big Media</strong></p> <p>So-called newspaper, The New York Times reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/opinion/ag-sulzberger-free-press.html?unlocked_article_code=1.G08.p46U.9_2oERVYRQuV&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Free People Need a Free Press</a></p><p><strong>No shit, fuckers. Why have you been laying down on the job the last few years?</strong></p><p>EuroNews reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/05/15/uk-to-allow-foreign-states-to-own-15-stake-in-british-newspapers" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">UK to allow foreign states to own 15% stake in British newspapers</a></p> <p><strong>Big Tech</strong></p> <p>Privacy Guides shares:</p><p><a href="https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/05/10/sam-altman-wants-your-eyeball/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sam Altman Wants Your Eyeball</a></p><p>The Register reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/13/nextcloud_play_store_complaint/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nextcloud cries foul over Google Play Store app rejection</a></p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/14/metas_still_violating_gdpr_rules/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meta’s still violating GDPR rules with latest plan to train AI on EU user data, says noyb</a></p><p>ArsTechnica reports:</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/05/meta-is-making-users-who-opted-out-of-ai-training-opt-out-again-watchdog-says/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meta is making users who opted out of AI training opt out again, watchdog says</a></p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/05/report-terrorist-groups-seem-to-be-paying-x-to-raise-funds-collect-tips/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Report: Terrorists seem to be paying X to generate propaganda with Grok</a></p><p><strong>Jesus.</strong></p><p>404 Media has:</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/why-did-grok-start-talking-about-white-genocide/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Why Did Grok Start Talking About ‘White Genocide’?</a></p><p><strong>Fuck me.</strong></p><p>ArsTechnica reports:</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/05/report-terrorist-groups-seem-to-be-paying-x-to-raise-funds-collect-tips/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Report: Terrorists seem to be paying X to generate propaganda with Grok</a></p><p><strong>Jesus.</strong></p><p>404 Media has:</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/why-did-grok-start-talking-about-white-genocide/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Why Did Grok Start Talking About ‘White Genocide’?</a></p><p><strong>Fuck me.</strong></p><p>Tech Policy reports:</p><p><a href="https://techpolicy.press/racialized-grooming-gangs-how-musk-and-x-amplified-islamophobia-and-racism-in-the-uk" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Racialized Grooming Gangs: How Musk and X Amplified Islamophobia and Racism in the UK</a></p> <p><strong>Cybersecurity/Privacy</strong></p> <p>MIT Technology Review reports on:</p><p><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/12/1116295/how-a-new-type-of-ai-is-helping-police-skirt-facial-recognition-bans/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How a new type of AI is helping police skirt facial recognition bans</a></p><p>The Register reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/10/router_botnet_crashed/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Feds disrupt proxy-for-hire botnet, indict four alleged net miscreants</a></p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/11/cpu_ransomware_rapid7/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">You think ransomware is bad now? Wait until it infects CPUs</a></p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/13/eu_security_bug_database/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">As US vuln-tracking falters, EU enters with its own security bug database</a></p><p>Martin Fowler.com has:</p><p><a href="https://martinfowler.com/articles/exploring-gen-ai/software-supply-chain-attack-surface.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Coding Assistants Threaten the Software Supply Chain</a></p><p><strong>AI is still 95% horseshit.</strong></p><p>W3C announces:</p><p><a href="https://www.w3.org/news/2025/privacy-principles-is-a-w3c-statement/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Privacy Principles is a W3C Statement</a></p> <p><strong>Fediverse</strong></p> <p>The Fediverse Report has:</p><p><a href="https://fediversereport.com/fediverse-report-116/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fediverse Report – #116</a></p><p>Hamish Campbell opines:</p><p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/we-do-need-tools-to-share-to-help-people-the-path-back-onto-the-openweb/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We do need tools to share to help people on the path back onto the #openweb</a></p><p>The Library of Alexandra says:</p><p><a href="https://library.xandra.cc/moderation/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Moderating Communities is Not a Burden</a></p><p><strong>It just seems to be for tech bros.</strong></p><p>Dead Superheron shares:</p><p><a href="https://deadsuperhero.com/my-dream-fediverse-platform/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">My Dream Fediverse Platform</a></p><p>We Distribute reports:</p><p><a href="https://wedistribute.org/2025/05/mastodon-journalism/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mastodon: Giving Journalists Options Away From Big Tech</a></p><p>ActivityPub for WordPress has:</p><p><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/05/14/5-9-0-easier-onboarding-for-your-fediverse-experience/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">5.9.0 – Easier Onboarding for Your Fediverse Experience</a></p><p>Ghost has:</p><p><a href="https://activitypub.ghost.org/blocking-domains/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Blocking domains</a></p><p>Sciety announces:</p><p><a href="https://blog.sciety.org/sciety-secures-funding-from-nlnet-foundation-to-help-build-discourse-around-preprints/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sciety secures funding from NLNet Foundation to help build discourse around preprints</a></p><p>Lemmy has:</p><p><a href="https://lemmy.ml/post/29859271" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lemmy Development Update April 2025</a></p><p>TechCrunch reports:</p><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/15/threads-now-lets-creators-add-up-to-5-links-to-profiles-track-clicks/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Threads now lets creators add up to 5 links to profiles, track clicks</a></p><p><strong>More enshittification from the c^nts at Meta.</strong></p> <p><strong>Other Slightly Federated Social Media</strong></p> <p>The Fediverse Report has:</p><p><a href="https://fediversereport.com/taking-control-of-your-timeline-in-different-ways/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Taking Control of Your Timeline – in Different Ways</a></p><p><a href="https://fediversereport.com/atmosphere-report-116/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ATmosphere Report – #116</a></p><p>Free Our Feeds shares:</p><p><a href="https://free-our-feeds.ghost.io/free-our-feeds-update-2-may-2025/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Free Our Feeds – Update #2, May 2025</a></p><p>Bluesky gives an update on:</p><p><a href="https://docs.bsky.app/blog/account-management" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Network Account Management</a></p><p>The Dabbler has:</p><p><a href="https://thedabbler.patatas.ca/pages/pds-update-failure-fix.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I updated my Bluesky PDS and it stopped working. Here’s how I fixed it.</a></p> <p><strong>CTAs (aka show us some free love)</strong></p> <ul><li>That’s it for this week. Please share this edition of Destroying Autocracy.</li><li><a href="https://friendica.me/profile/friendofsymfony/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Follow me on the Fediverse</a>. Or this site via the button in the footer. Or via <a href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/feed/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RSS</a>.</li></ul> <p>Keep fighting!</p> <p><strong><em>Ringleader, Battalion</em></strong><br>Reuben Walker<br> <a href="https://friendica.me/profile/friendofsymfony/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Follow me on the Fediverse</a></p> <p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/116/" target="_blank">#116</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/2/" target="_blank">#2</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/activitypub/" target="_blank">#ActivityPub</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/ai/" target="_blank">#AI</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/at-protocol/" target="_blank">#ATProtocol</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/autocracy/" target="_blank">#Autocracy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/big-journalism/" target="_blank">#BigJournalism</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/big-tech/" target="_blank">#BigTech</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/bluesky/" target="_blank">#Bluesky</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/bonfire/" target="_blank">#Bonfire</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/democracy/" target="_blank">#Democracy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/fascism/" target="_blank">#Fascism</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/fediverse/" target="_blank">#Fediverse</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/ghost/" target="_blank">#Ghost</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/lemmy/" target="_blank">#Lemmy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/mastodon/" target="_blank">#Mastodon</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/openweb/" target="_blank">#openweb</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/stop-china/" target="_blank">#StopChina</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/stop-red-america/" target="_blank">#StopRedAmerica</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/stop-russia/" target="_blank">#StopRussia</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/support-ukraine/" target="_blank">#SupportUkraine</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/wordpress/" target="_blank">#WordPress</a></p><p><a href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/?p=1822" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">battalion.mobileatom.net/?p=18</span><span class="invisible">22</span></a></p>