The Nexus of 2024

Author: jon

  • Don’t tell people “it’s easy”, and six more things Kbin, Lemmy, and the fediverse can learn from Mastodon (REVISED DRAFT)

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    Originally published June 9, revised June 10. DRAFT!  Feedback welcome – Most of the suggestions below are targeted at developers, admins, moderators … but I decided to lead with one that everybody can help with.   For many people, very much including me, the Fediverse isn’t easy.  I’ve been on Mastodon since 2017 and I…

  • Taking a break …

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    With the Washington state legislative session wrapping up, it’s a good time for me to take a break for a couple of months. While there’s still a lot more to do, My Health My Data passing is the culmination of the successful multi-year battle by grassroots activists to keep big tech from passing the Bad…

  • My Health My Data goes to the Governor’s desk: Washington state privacy update, April 20

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    BREAKING: The WA House of Reps concurred and have sent the WA #MyHealthMyDataAct ESHB 1155 to @GovInslee for signature ✍🏻!@SlatterVandana & @MankaDhingra make WA State HERSTORY 💪🏽✊🏽on privacy. 🎉💖 and secure urgent protections for abortion & gender-affirming care seekers! https://t.co/EI62sBBt6y — WA People's Privacy (@wapeopleprivacy) April 17, 2023 Washington state lawmakers finalized passage of a…

  • My Health My Data in the home stretch: Washington privacy legislation update, April 17

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    UPDATE: about two hours after I posted this, the House voted to concur with the Senate version of My Health My Data! “This session ends on Sunday April 23, and privacy legislation has gone down to the wire the last four years.  It ain’t over ’til it’s over!” – A much more favorable environment, but…

  • My Health My Data heads to the Senate floor: Washington privacy legislation update, April 4

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    Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Senator Manka Dhingra and Representative Vandana Slatter have a media event at 12:30 today, streamed live on TVW, to discuss polling results regarding the privacy of reproductive health data. With only three weeks left in the legislative session, the stakes are high for the upcoming Washington State Senate floor vote on…

  • Privacy News Roundup: February 22

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    As always, a lot going on! Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You Jon Keegan on The Markup (themarkup.org) When you use supermarket discount cards, you are sharing much more than what is in your cart—and grocery chains like Kroger are reaping huge profits selling this data to…

  • Another try at regulating Automated Decision Systems in Washington state (UPDATED)

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    Originally published February 16, with a slightly different ending. “Governments are increasingly turning to automated systems to make decisions for criminal sentencing, medicare eligibility, and school placement. Public officials and companies tout gains in speed and efficiency, and the hope that automated decisions can bring more fairness into bureaucratic processes. But the drawbacks are coming…

  • Privacy News Roundup: February 13 mega-post

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    It’s been almost two weeks since I did the last privacy news roundup … and a lot’s been happening! Data Brokers and the Sale of Americans’ Mental Health Data Joanne Kim on Tech Policy @ Sanford (techpolicy.sanford.duke.edu) The Technology Policy Lab at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy looks at data brokers and data…

  • A watered-down substitute advances: Washington privacy legislation update, February 6

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    Last updated April 20.  See the update log at the bottom. Washington’s short legislative session continues in high gear.  Bills have to make it through multiple committees in either the House or Senate and get a floor vote by March 8, then they’ve got a month to get through the other chamber.  But the first…

  • Privacy News Roundup: February 1

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    Privacy after Roe, an FTC enforcement action, a federal privacy legislation update … and more! Privacy after Roe How US police use digital data to prosecute abortions Runa Sandvik on TechCrunch (techcrunch.com) Sandvik looks at court records of cases between 2011 and 2022 to examine how police in the U.S. use text messages, emails, search…

  • The session’s in high gear: Washington privacy legislation update, January 31

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    With only 105 days in Washington’s legislative session, things are (as always) moving quickly.  Last week: My Health My Data (HB 1155), which protects consumer health data – especially urgent as more and more states criminalize abortion and gender-affirming care – had a very encouraging hearing in the House Civil Rights & Judiciary (CR&J) Committee…

  • #Privacy activism on Mastodon and in the fediverse

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    “Decentralized social networks could be a good match for (decentralized) grassroots organization” – me, in Grassroots activism is hard. Can open source help? at Open Source Bridge 2017 Mastodon’s grown rapidly over the last several months, and there are now probably a couple of million active accounts in the fediverse (the broader compatible ecosystem of…

  • #Privacy activism in “the other Washington”: #waleg #MyHealthMyData #PeoplesPrivacyAct and more

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    Last updated February 1, with an example link to a “call your legislators” action. “Washington state privacy and tech justice advocates have continued to build our power over the last two years. The environment in 2023 is much more favorable than it’s ever been for strong privacy legislation – nationally, and in Olympia – so…

  • Privacy News: January 26

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    State and federal privacy regulation, facial recognition, what’s on tap for 2023, a failed experiment with Mastodon … and more! This Year’s Must-Read Privacy Papers to be Honored at Capitol Hill Event Future of Privacy Forum (fpf.org) Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) does an annual list of Privacy Papers for Policymakers (PPPM) Awards.  Here’s this…

  • A very encouraging first step: My Health My Data’s first hearing

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    “The environment in 2023 is much more favorable than it’s ever been for strong privacy legislation – nationally, and in Olympia – so there’s good reason for optimism. One of the reasons the legislative environment is much more favorable in 2023 is that privacy threats have become a lot more real to many people in…

  • Privacy News: January 20

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    Websites selling abortion pills sharing data with Google, the My Health My Data Act, the “no fly” list accidentally exposed, a state privacy legislation bonanza … and more! Privacy After Roe Websites Selling Abortion Pills Are Sharing Sensitive Data With Google Jennifer Gollan on ProPublica (propublica.org) That’s bad.  Using the Markup’s Blacklight tool, a nonprofit…

  • Privacy News: January 17

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    Algorithms of oppression (re)producing racism, pushing back on AI hype, a new approach to try to make GDPR’s protections real, state privacy legislation … and more! When Black Death Goes Viral: How Algorithms of Oppression (Re)Produce Racism and Racial Trauma Dr. Tiera Chantè Tanksley on SAGE Perspectives Blog (perspectivesblog.sagepub.com) “Concerned about how seeing images of…

  • Social threat modeling and quote boosts on Mastodon

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    Last updated January 16 – see the update log. Got feedback or comments?   Image description: At the top, a box saying “dogpile target”. Below, boxes with words: “1. Find a post to target” with a red X over it and a circle below saying “Limit who can post”; “2. get wide visibility” with a…

  • Privacy News: January 12

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    President Biden weighs in, facial recognition in Iran, ISO adopts Privacy by Design, details on the big EU decisions against Facebook and Instagram, Medium on Mastodon … and more! Opinion | Republicans and Democrats, Unite Against Big Tech Abuses Joe Biden on The Wall Street Journal (wsj.com) President Biden calls on Congress to “find common…

  • A much more favorable environment, but a lot of complexity: Washington state privacy legislation 2023 (UPDATED)

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    Last updated February 4.  See the update log below. Washington is justifiably looked to as a tech-savvy state, and legislation that gets passed here will influence other states and the national debate. – me in The stakes are high: Washington state privacy, facial recognition, and automated decision systems legislation 2021 The 2023 Washington state legislative…