THREAD: Here's what happened in today's "We are exploiting peoples' legitimate fears around kids online safety to advance dangerous censorship and surveillance legislation" hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee... 🧵
Evan Greer
@evangreer.bsky.social
Queer activist, writer, and musician causing problems for the powerful. Director of Fight for the Future. New album "AMAB/ACAB" out 9/19/25 on Get Better Records. $5 ft. Eve 6 out now on your fav surveillance capitalist streaming platform she/her/they/them
“A fundamental shift is needed in how we approach the development and deployment of AI agents,” argues Meredith Whittaker. “Basic lessons in privacy and digital security are being discarded,” she warns
AI agents are coming for your privacy, warns Meredith Whittaker
The Signal Foundation’s president worries they will also blunt competition and undermine cyber-security
econ.st
Over and over the cycle repeats: Bad tech do bad thing Politicians: make bad tech not to bad thing? Companies: no bad thing make money Politicians: ah okay keep doing bad thing just add more spy
Electronic Frontier Foundation@eff.org · 5d agoThe new CHATBOT Act doesn’t just require parental permission for teens to use AI. It requires AI companies to build monitoring systems that store and analyze entire conversations, creating new privacy risks for entire families. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Pritzker has been told directly how this is a bad law that does real damage to kids, increases surveillance and is likely unconstitutional. He chose to sign it anyway because it'll give him headlines about protecting children and taking on big tech for his presidential run. A huge disappointment
Governor JB Pritzker@govpritzker.illinois.gov · 4d agoWhen addictive social media feeds depend on keeping a child's attention at any cost, their well-being takes a back seat. Enough is enough — we’re requiring these companies to make social media safer for the future of Illinois.
over the last decade I’ve observed leftists in the US turn against free expression as a value and mock defenders of the 1st amendment as inherently “libertarian.” I wondered if they preferred something more like the UK model; which just allowed JK Rowling to bully Amnesty into deleting a report
BLUESKY - WE NEED YOUR HELP! We’re trying to get AI facial recognition tech banned at venues. We’ve got hundreds of artists who’ve pledged to boycott venues that use this tech & we’re shifting into high gear to get hundreds more!
It’s important to understand “age verification” and “kick the kids off social media” laws as a gift to Big Tech. These policies allow surveillance capitalism to chug along full steam ahead and let Silicon Valley giants off the hook. Instead of regulating their biz model, we just put up age gates
Sometimes I wonder if “progressive” people who think we should censor the internet remember that it was like before we had it? I’m old enough to have organized protests that were spun and dismissed in the next morning’s paper, and we had no recourse as organizers to get our message out.
So many awesome artists have signed our pledge to boycott venues that use AI surveillance in the last week! Don't see your fave band? Send this to them! Recent signers: AJJ Apes of the State Dame Fai Laci Judy Chicago Jolie Holland Juan Alderete Pedro the Lion SOJI Veronica Swift Xiu Xiu +++
Ban Facial Recognition at Live Events
Artists and venues take the pledge: no facial recognition at shows.
banfacialrecognition.com
It’s important to understand “age verification” and “kick the kids off social media” laws as a gift to Big Tech. These policies allow surveillance capitalism to chug along full steam ahead and let Silicon Valley giants off the hook. Instead of regulating their biz model, we just put up age gates
Over and over the cycle repeats: Bad tech do bad thing Politicians: make bad tech not to bad thing? Companies: no bad thing make money Politicians: ah okay keep doing bad thing just add more spy
Electronic Frontier Foundation@eff.org · 5d agoThe new CHATBOT Act doesn’t just require parental permission for teens to use AI. It requires AI companies to build monitoring systems that store and analyze entire conversations, creating new privacy risks for entire families. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Here’s a little clip of my band playing “Bunker” at NICE, A Fest 🎥 Kayla Avitabile
This was never about Taylor Swift. It’s about the fact that privacy shouldn’t be a luxury. If you’ve been paying attention, you know that AI facial recognition is pervasive & dangerous. We encourage you to read the latest op-ed from our director @evangreer.bsky.social via @msnowreports.bsky.social
Hard to believe this was 10 years ago today. The kick off show for the Rock Against the TPP tour @fightforthefuture.org organized with Tom Morello and a ton of other awesome artists opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Huge learning experience for me, one of the harder things I’ve done
absolutely obsessed with these photos of my band from NICE, A Fest taken by Brittany Rose Queen 😍
imagine getting dunked on by Playboy for being weird about women’s bodies
Playboy@playboy.com · 6d agoWhat are the incel men up to over on X? Focussing on a quirk of women’s bodies most of us have never even thought about before now. Our take? "Making women mad and getting likes from fellow incels is all they have going for them." Read now: www.playboy.com/read/sex/the...
my band are all hotties and we play good music. catch our next gig at Jamaica Plain Porchfest, August 22, outside First Baptist Church at the JP For Palestine stage! oh and go buy some records dammit evangreer.bandcamp.com
i'm normally unimpressed by tech company's "how do you do fellow kids" marketing stunts but tbh this is a baller move
Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 6d agoNew: LinkedIn just introduced a "seems like AI slop" button. That's literally what the button says. The thought leaders are going to have a meltdown www.404media.co/linkedin-int...
These are awesome venues that have signed our pledge to never use AI surveillance like facial recognition. Ask your favorite dive bar / stadium to sign on! Here's the link! banfacialrecognition.com/venues
Funny how the “protect the kids” crowd never seem focused on stuff like this
Gabe Ortíz@tusk81.bsky.social · 6d ago“The administration has refused to pay nonprofit legal services providers for their work, and is set to fully defund the program. Without action, tens of thousands of children could lose their lawyers and face deportation, alone.”
Bookmark this! Happening tomorrow!
404 Media@404media.co · 2w agoBy filing Freedom of Information requests, 404 Media has obtained bodycam footage and documents that uncover stories about tech that powers ICE and how cops abuse Flock. You can FOIA too! On July 30th at 1 pm ET, we will teach you how to file a FOIA request live: www.404media.co/our-new-foia...
The UK already has some of the worst age verification / bad internet laws of any democracy, and they’re going terribly, so it’s great to see he’s reading debunked Jonathan Haidt’s moral panic kick the kids offline book 👍
Ben Eltham@beneltham.bsky.social · 7d agoWe’re in so much trouble
AI surveillance at concerts doesn't seem as scary as, say, use by law enforcement. but here's the thing everyone needs to understand: government surveillance is built on top of corporate surveillance. If we allow facial recognition to creep into private spaces, it can and will be used for fascism
Opinion | Taylor Swift was able to buy her privacy at MSG. What about the rest of us?
Reports that Madison Square Garden temporarily shut off its facial recognition system for Swift’s wedding expose a glaring problem with how the elite wield and control mass surveillance.
ms.now
So many awesome artists have signed our pledge to boycott venues that use AI surveillance in the last week! Don't see your fave band? Send this to them! Recent signers: AJJ Apes of the State Dame Fai Laci Judy Chicago Jolie Holland Juan Alderete Pedro the Lion SOJI Veronica Swift Xiu Xiu +++
Ban Facial Recognition at Live Events
Artists and venues take the pledge: no facial recognition at shows.
banfacialrecognition.com