The FIFA World Cup might be over for the time being, but the implemented increased surveillance practices won't. Read in-depth investigation from Ranking Digital Rights: "No Fair Play: Mapping the 2026 World Cup Surveillance Stack" rankingdigitalrights.org/2026/07/14/n... #worldcup #surveillance

No Fair Play: Mapping the 2026 World Cup Surveillance Stack - Ranking Digital Rights

A new report by Ranking Digital Rights shines a light on the role of technology companies in building the surveillance stack of the 2026 World Cup.

rankingdigitalrights.org

I found out about the Flock CEO's personal emails to law enforcement agencies across the country from police departments I had consulted about cybersecurity, as they reached out to warn me about his dangerous language regarding my videos.

Our two investigations into Madison Square Garden are now unpaywalled and free for anyone to read.

WIRED@wired.com · 3w ago

Yesterday, WIRED learned that Madison Square Garden was suing us for our accurate reporting. We stand by our work. That’s why we’re removing the paywall from two of the MSG stories they don’t want you to read, making them free for everyone.

are young people today aware that there was an active effort 20-25 years ago to stop depicting smoking as cool and glamorous because people got tired of watching their loved ones die of cancer and heart disease from something preventable? seems like classic history repeating itself stuff

Olivia Hill@machineiv.bsky.social · 3w ago

I genuinely hate the push to make smoking a thing again. I have watched so many drawn out, ugly, painful deaths from smoking. It makes everything disgusting. It enslaves us to the worst kinds of corporations. There’s ZERO positive here.

"democratic resilience" and "rule of law" don't mean what you think it means, Marco Rubio...

Anne Applebaum@anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 3w ago

The State Department has just put out a tender, offering funding of up to $3 million to European organizations who want to fight against "Supra-national institutions" - presumably the EU - and governments who seek to regulate the internet and end Western Civilization. www.state.gov/drl-nofo-dev...

The EU wants to triple its data centres but who will actually build and run them? @somoamsterdam.bsky.social's research shows it will likely be Big Tech + a few data centre operators that rent them space. Most of these firms are US based or owned by the likes of Blackrock. Is this sovereignty? 👇

SOMO - Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations @somoamsterdam.bsky.social · 3w ago

The EU wants to fast-track data centre "acceleration zones" across all Member States. ⚠️ But our analysis shows that those data centres will remain largely owned by and serving US companies, while draining European resources and escaping public scrutiny. Read more: www.somo.nl/eus-data-cen...

For football fans, this week is quite thrilling as we follow the World Cup semifinals, but there's a longer lasting effect of these type of mega events: the surveillance infrastructure built in host cities. Our new report sheds light the companies behind it: rankingdigitalrights.org/2026/07/14/n...

No Fair Play: Mapping the 2026 World Cup Surveillance Stack - Ranking Digital Rights

A new report by Ranking Digital Rights shines a light on the role of technology companies in building the surveillance stack of the 2026 World Cup.

rankingdigitalrights.org

Tune in today at 1pm CEST for "Not AI for Good", we will be tackling the hard questions you won't hear at any major AI-themed summit (see topics in the thread) www.accessnow.org/event/not-ai... We would need a whole @rightscon.org rather than 1 hour, but we will make it work! 😅 @accessnow.org

Not AI for Good - Access Now

Join the Zoom event Session description:  This civil society-led counter-event to the AI for Good Global Summit takes a critical look at the

accessnow.org

As the world gets ready to watch the World Cup semifinals, we should not loose sight of the surveillance infrastructure legacy that mega events leave in the host cities. Our new report maps the companies involved in building this surveillance stack rankingdigitalrights.org/2026/07/14/a...

A new report blowing the whistle on World Cup surveillance - Ranking Digital Rights

A new report by Ranking Digital Rights shines a light on the role of technology companies in building the surveillance stack of the 2026 World Cup.

rankingdigitalrights.org

An excellent piece from Vogue about Meta's continuing attempt to make their "smart glasses" fashionable and cool that makes all of the right points about the ways in which normalizing ubiquitous surveillance creates a world we don't want to live in. www.vogue.com/article/do-s...

Do Smart Glasses Have a Surveillance Problem?

Big Tech is investing in fashion’s cultural legitimacy to make AI smart glasses socially acceptable, but consumers view them as synonymous with surveillance. Is removing the camera the key to adoption...

vogue.com

Unfortunate that "glasshole" only works in English (afaik). We need to normalize calling out behavior that threatens or directly undermines the social contract. And actively reject what insidious companies sell as their version of "the future".

onekade@onekade.bsky.social · 4w ago

Tyler the Creator: yes www.complex.com/music/a/back...

Is the Fourth Amendment Third Party Doctrine Dead? Thoughts on Chatrie v. United States danielsolove.substack.com/p/is-the-fou...

Is the Fourth Amendment Third Party Doctrine Dead?

Thoughts on Chatrie v. United States

danielsolove.substack.com

The World Cup brings countries together and some of them share more than a spot. In 2025, some nations competed in another race: shutting down the internet. Find out more about internet shutdowns in our report: www.accessnow.org/internet-shu...

Earlier this week, we published the 2026 RDR Index: Telco Giants Edition, an assessment of the human rights policies and commitments of the 12 most prominent telcos around the world. rankingdigitalrights.org/tge26

The 2026 Ranking Digital Rights Telco Giants Edition

Assessing the transparency of 12 of the world’s most powerful telecommunications companies on their policies and practices affecting people’s rights to freedom of expression and privacy.

rankingdigitalrights.org

these are getting weird

last year the UN "ai for good" flagship conference mistreated me and censored my talk because i made the link between the ai industry (their sponsors) and genocide explicit. this year, ITU issues "content guideline" that, on a close read, sounds like a licence to silence criticism of ai/the industry

The IAHR has been one of our closest allies leveraging the data from the RDR Index to guide investors in their engagements with Big Tech and telecom giants. Do share this opportunity in your networks! We’re keen on working with passionate people who value these collaborations :)

Shauna Curphey@shaunamc.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Investor Alliance for Human Rights program is hiring an expert on technology and human rights to engage with companies, policy makers and standards-setting bodies re: the corporate responsibility to respect human rights - app.beapplied.com/apply/bheu1a...

New CDT research by Ruchika Joshi, Adinawa Adjagodjou, & Michal Luria, maps “dark patterns” in AI chatbots, showing how design choices like playacting, sycophancy, and emotional framing can blur the line between helpful interaction and manipulation. cdt.org/insights/dar...

Fighting internet censorship requires more than noticing when it happens. It requires documenting it, sharing evidence, and building the collective power to respond. OONI makes that possible. Learn how we defend the public's right to know: blog.torproject.org/Defending-th... #FundInternetFreedom

Worrying reporting from @mathieupollet.bsky.social who found that The European Commission dropped their “open source strategy” from the Tech Sovereignty Package ec.europa.eu/transparency... Reminder of what the EC itself said: open source = close to €100b in economic value for every €1bn invested.

"I have a finite time on this earth that I mostly want to spend interacting with other human beings. I don’t want to be the person arguing with a robot, or wasting my time reading something that a real person couldn’t be bothered to write."

Jason Koebler@jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I wrote about being inundated with AI writing at every turn, unwittingly turning my brain into the AI police, and how shitty AI writing is randomly showing up in my real life outside of the internet www.404media.co/your-ai-use-...

"In truth, anti-datacenter organizing is the real fight, one centered on an industry choke point... Where else can people push back on job-eating algorithms, distorting deep fakes, and autonomous drone strikes?"

Astra Taylor@astra.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The anti-data center movement isn’t just about limiting local development—it represents a new front in the fight against tech-enabled authoritarianism. Where else can people push back on job-eating algorithms, distorting deep fakes, and autonomous drone strikes? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Today, I was scheduled to be a presenter on a panel at Rightscon titled "Is Freedom of Expression Dead? Rethinking free speech in times of authoritarianism." Really sucks that it was cancelled by pressure from an authoritarian government.

A German newspaper reports that @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu has personally intervened to postpone the fine against Google for violating the Digital Markets Act. We call on the EU Commission president to enforce the DMA and fine Google without further delay. 🚨 static1.squarespace.com/static/5e449...

If there's one thing you can dedicate time to read today, make it @nathaliemarechal.net's latest article, a deep dive on where we are in tech policy space and how we must confront our priorities to challenge the root causes behind the concentration of power www.techpolicy.press/tech-policy-...

Tech Policy Is on the Front Line of Fascism vs. Democracy. Pick a Side.

Regardless of where you sit in industry, government or civil society, the time to choose is now, writes Nathalie Maréchal.

techpolicy.press

RightsCon's cancellation marks a major escalation in transnational repression and is a testament to China’s influence on global digital rights far beyond its borders, writes Article19's Michael Caster. He calls for a true reckoning with China’s influence and meaningful cross-movement coordination.

China's Disruption of RightsCon is a Wake-Up Call To Counter Its Authoritarian Influence

RightsCon’s cancellation should inspire a reckoning with China’s influence, writes Michael Caster, head of the Global China Program at ARTICLE 19.

techpolicy.press

Following our April 29 announcement, we believe it's important to be transparent about the context that led to the decision. We want to explain, where we can, why this was made on such short notice, only days before we were set to host RightsCon. Read: www.rightscon.org/rc26-stateme...

A statement to our community about why RightsCon 2026 will not take place in Zambia

Our official statement to the digital rights community about why RightsCon 2026 will not take place in Zambia

rightscon.org

BREAKING: The Chinese government pressured Zambia to screen + exclude Taiwanese speakers attending @rightscon.org, leading to the largest international convention on digital rights being canceled a week before it takes place, the host org @accessnow.org tells WIRED. By @telliotter.bsky.social + me

The Chinese Government Just Got the World’s Largest Digital Rights Conference Canceled

Access Now, the group that organizes RightsCon, says Zambian officials asked it to exclude Taiwanese participants if it wanted the event to proceed as planned.

wired.com

LinkedIn suggested a post, talking about a paper that did interest me, but I made the mistake of going through the comments. Like I fell deep in r/LinkedInLunatics