Battalion 👊🗡️⛓️💥<p><strong>Destroying Autocracy – July 3, 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>Next week I will be on holiday so there won’t be an issue. I will probably <a href="https://friendica.me/profile/friendofsymfony" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">boost some things on the Fediverse</a> though.</strong></p> <p><strong>Featured Item</strong></p> <p>DevCollaborative writes:</p><p>The Trump administration and its supporters are attacking dissenting views on a terrifying scale. With so much of online communications compromised and censored, independent websites are a critical piece of social movement infrastructure that we need to promote and defend.</p><p>If your nonprofit has a website, you are part of this essential communications work.</p><p>There are looming threats of financially independent nonprofits being censored under the guise of fighting “terrorism” or “sedition.”</p><p><a href="https://devcollaborative.com/blog/protecting-nonprofit-websites-hostile-government" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Protecting Nonprofit Websites from a Hostile Government</a></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, Techno Feudalism, and other douchebaggery</strong></p> <p>Time has a profile:</p><p><a href="https://time.com/collections/time100-companies-2025/7289620/signal/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">How Signal President Meredith Whittaker Took on Signal-Gate</a></p><p>The Register reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/01/proton_lawsuit_apple/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Proton bashes Apple and joins antitrust suit that seeks to throw the App Store wide open</a></p><p>The Register reports:</p><p><a href="https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2025/07/02/huawei_iran_appeal/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Huawei can’t wriggle out of Iran sanctions trial, judge rules</a></p><p>Tara Tarakiyee explores:</p><p><a href="https://tarakiyee.com/digital-sovereignty-in-practice-web-browsers-as-a-reality-check/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Digital Sovereignty in Practice: Web Browsers as a Reality Check</a></p><p>TechPolicy reports:</p><p><a href="https://techpolicy.press/eu-disinformation-code-takes-effect-amid-censorship-claims-and-trade-tensions" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">EU Disinformation Code Takes Effect Amid Censorship Claims and Trade Tensions</a></p><p>Politico reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/meet-first-academic-refugees-fleeing-us-france-science-program/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The first American ‘scientific refugees’ arrive in France</a></p><p>BleepingComputer reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hikvision-canada-ordered-to-cease-operations-over-security-risks/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Hikvision Canada ordered to cease operations over security risks</a></p><p><a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/germany-asks-google-apple-remove-deepseek-ai-from-app-stores/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Germany asks Google, Apple to remove DeepSeek AI from app stores</a></p><p>Raconteur has:</p><p><a href="https://www.raconteur.net/technology/nextcloud-ceo-interview" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">‘You need to be a little bit crazy’: Nextcloud CEO on confronting the hyperscalers</a></p><p>Nextclound reports on:</p><p><a href="https://nextcloud.com/blog/why-organizations-migrate-from-microsoft-365-in-2025/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Why organizations migrate from Microsoft 365 in 2025</a></p><p>TechCrunch reports:</p><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/01/iceblock-an-app-for-anonymously-reporting-ice-sightings-goes-viral-overnight-after-bondi-criticism/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">ICEBlock, an app for anonymously reporting ICE sightings, goes viral overnight after Bondi criticism</a></p><p>Ars Technica reports:</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/06/meta-tiktok-cant-toss-wrongful-death-suit-from-mom-of-subway-surfing-teen/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Meta, TikTok can’t toss wrongful death suit from mom of “subway surfing” teen</a></p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/ted-cruz-gives-up-on-ai-law-moratorium-joins-99-1-vote-against-his-own-plan/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Ted Cruz plan to punish states that regulate AI shot down in 99-1 vote</a></p><p>The Markup has more:</p><p><a href="https://themarkup.org/artificial-intelligence/2025/07/01/state-ai-regulations-safe-after-senate-strips-moratorium-from-big-beautiful-bill" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">State AI regulations safe after Senate strips moratorium from ‘big, beautiful bill’</a></p><p>MIT Technology Review reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/01/1119498/cloudflare-will-now-by-default-block-ai-bots-from-crawling-its-clients-websites/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Cloudflare will now, by default, block AI bots from crawling its clients’ websites</a></p><p>Cloudfare has the details:</p><p><a href="https://blog.cloudflare.com/control-content-use-for-ai-training/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Control content use for AI training with Cloudflare’s managed robots.txt and blocking for monetized content</a></p><p><a href="https://blog.cloudflare.com/ai-search-crawl-refer-ratio-on-radar/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The crawl before the fall… of referrals: understanding AI’s impact on content providers</a></p> <p><strong>Neutral</strong></p> <p>CNBC reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/26/ai-reasoning-models-problem.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The AI-boom’s multi-billion dollar blind spot: Reasoning models hitting a wall</a></p><p>Dries Buyaert (of Drupal fame) writes:</p><p><a href="https://dri.es/the-webs-broken-deal-with-ai-companies" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The web’s broken deal with AI companies</a></p><p><strong>Dries, you say you may be naive. You are if you think anything other than politics (regulation or huge boycotts) are going to fix the problem.</strong></p> <p><strong>The Evil Empire (AKA Autocracy) Strikes Back</strong></p> <p>The Guardian opines:</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/30/peter-thiel-palantir-threat-to-americans" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Peter Thiel’s Palantir poses a grave threat to Americans</a></p><p>TechDirt reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2025/06/30/supreme-court-cripples-fcc-further-making-robocall-enforcement-likely-impossible/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Supreme Court Cripples FCC Further, Making Robocall Enforcement Likely Impossible</a></p><p><strong>The Supreme C^nts strike again.</strong></p><p>The Guardian reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/30/trump-citizenship-database" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Trump officials create searchable national citizenship database</a></p><p>TechPolicy reports:</p><p><a href="https://techpolicy.press/countering-the-politics-of-deservingness-in-the-fight-for-digital-equity" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Countering the Politics of Deservingness in the Fight for Digital Equity</a></p><p><a href="https://techpolicy.press/how-us-firms-are-weakening-the-eu-ai-code-of-practice" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">How US Firms Are Weakening the EU AI Code of Practice</a></p> <p><strong>Pariah States</strong></p><p>TechCrunch reports:</p><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/30/us-government-takes-down-major-north-korean-remote-it-workers-operation/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">US government takes down major North Korean ‘remote IT workers’ operation</a></p><p>DarkReading reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/scope-scale-spurious-north-korean-it-workers" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Scope, Scale of Spurious North Korean IT Workers Emerges</a></p><p><a href="https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/silver-fox-suspected-taiwanese-campaign-deepseek" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Silver Fox Suspected in Taiwanese Campaign Using DeepSeek Lure</a></p><p><a href="https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/russian-apt-gamaredon-ukraine-phishing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Russian APT ‘Gamaredon’ Hits Ukraine With Fierce Phishing</a></p><p>The Kyiv Independent reports:</p><p><a href="https://kyivindependent.com/us-sanctions-russian-it-company-aeza-group-over-hosting-infostealers-ransomware-operations/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">US sanctions Russian IT company Aeza Group over ransomware operations</a></p> <p><strong>Big Media</strong></p><p>The PressGazette reports:</p><p><a href="https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/regional-newspapers/how-sfgate-is-making-local-news-pay-and-filling-californias-news-gaps/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">How SFGATE is making local news pay and filling California’s news gaps</a></p><p>Ars Technica reports:</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/nyt-to-start-searching-deleted-chatgpt-logs-after-beating-openai-in-court/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">NYT to start searching deleted ChatGPT logs after beating OpenAI in court</a></p> <p><strong>Big Tech</strong></p><p>TechPolicy reports:</p><p><a href="https://techpolicy.press/tech-oligarchs-and-the-rise-of-silicon-valley-pronatalism" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Tech Oligarchs and the Rise of Silicon Valley Pronatalism</a></p><p>The Guardian reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/02/fears-ai-factcheckers-on-x-could-increase-promotion-of-conspiracy-theories" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Fears AI factcheckers on X could increase promotion of conspiracy theories</a></p><p>Ars Technica reports:</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/everything-that-could-go-wrong-with-xs-new-ai-written-community-notes/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Everything that could go wrong with X’s new AI-written community notes</a></p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/07/racist-ai-videos-created-with-google-veo-3-are-proliferating-on-tiktok/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">TikTok is being flooded with racist AI videos generated by Google’s Veo 3</a></p><p>Android Authority reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.androidauthority.com/gemini-apps-activity-email-july-7-3570651/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">You’re not alone: This email from Google’s Gemini team was concerning (Updated: Google statement)</a></p><p>Tuta asks:</p><p><a href="https://tuta.com/blog/sovereign-washing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">“Sovereign cloud” or “sovereign washing”? A Trojan Horse at Europe’s digital gates.</a></p><p>The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/06/flock-safetys-feature-updates-cannot-make-automated-license-plate-readers-safe" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Flock Safety’s Feature Updates Cannot Make Automated License Plate Readers Safe</a></p><p>The Register reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/29/ai_agents_fail_a_lot/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">AI agents get office tasks wrong around 70% of the time, and a lot of them aren’t AI at all</a></p><p>The Verge reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/meta/694685/meta-ai-camera-roll" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Facebook is starting to feed its AI with private, unpublished photos</a></p><p>TechCrunch reports:</p><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/02/meta-users-say-paying-for-verified-support-has-been-useless-in-the-face-of-mass-bans/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Meta users say paying for Verified support has been useless in the face of mass bans</a></p><p>PC Gamer reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ai-is-no-longer-optional-microsoft-is-allegedly-pressuring-employees-to-use-ai-tools-through-manager-evaluations/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">‘AI is no longer optional’: Microsoft is allegedly pressuring employees to use AI tools through manager evaluations</a></p> <p><strong>Cybersecurity/Privacy</strong></p> <p>The Verge asks:</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/cyber-security/693588/cybersecurity-cyberattack-critical-infrastructure-war-expert-iran" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">How vulnerable is critical infrastructure to cyberattack in the US?</a></p><p>Bleeping Computer reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fbi-warns-cybercriminals-steal-health-data-posing-as-fraud-investigators/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">FBI: Cybercriminals steal health data posing as fraud investigators</a></p><p>BleepingComputer reports:</p><p><a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/spain-arrests-hackers-who-targeted-politicians-and-journalists/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Spain arrests hackers who targeted politicians and journalists</a></p> <p><strong>Fediverse</strong></p> <p>Connected Places has:</p><p><a href="https://connectedplaces.online/reports/fediverse-report-123/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Fediverse Report – #123</a></p><p>Mastodon has:</p><p><a href="https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/07/mastodon-4-4-for-devs/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Mastodon 4.4 for Developers</a></p><p>Dead Superher looks at:</p><p><a href="https://deadsuperhero.com/mitigating-the-7-deadly-fediverse-ux-sins/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Mitigating the “7 Deadly Fediverse UX Sins”</a></p><p>Jaz-Michael King shares:</p><p><a href="https://jaz.co.uk/2025/07/01/digital-equity/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Digital Belonging: Why Language and Locality Matter</a></p><p>Viger has:</p><p><a href="https://www.viget.com/work/flipboard/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Flipboard Surf</a></p><p>TechCrunch reports:</p><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/01/automattic-puts-tumblr-migration-to-wordpress-on-hold/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Automattic puts Tumblr migration to WordPress on hold</a></p><p>Ghost has:</p><p><a href="https://activitypub.ghost.org/the-longformers/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The Longformers: Ghost, WordPress, Flipboard, Fediverse</a></p><p>NodeBB asks:</p><p><a href="https://community.nodebb.org/topic/18884/what-drew-you-to-activitypub" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">What drew you to ActivityPub?</a></p><p><strong>Longform content has the best chance to grow the Fediverse, IMHO.</strong></p><p>IT Notes shares:</p><p><a href="https://it-notes.dragas.net/2025/02/26/fedimeteo-how-a-tiny-freebsd-vps-became-a-global-weather-service-for-thousands/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">FediMeteo: How a Tiny €4 FreeBSD VPS Became a Global Weather Service for Thousands</a></p><p>Forgejo has its:</p><p><a href="https://forgejo.org/2025-06-monthly-report/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Forgejo monthly report – June 2025</a></p> <p><strong>RSS</strong></p><p>Preslav Rachev shares:</p><p><a href="https://preslav.me/2025/07/02/inbound-outbound-rss-feedle-syndication/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">From Outbound to Inbound and Back Again: The Hidden Power of RSS Feeds</a></p><p><strong>Great stuff. RSS is still my main curation source. So, get an RSS feed on your blog, handle, etc.</strong> 🙂</p> <p><strong>Slightly Federated Social Media</strong></p><p>TBD</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" 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" target="_blank">RSS</a>.</li></ul> <p>Keep fighting!</p> <p class=""><strong><em>Ringleader, Battalion</em></strong><br>Reuben Walker<br> <a href="https://friendica.me/profile/friendofsymfony/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Follow me on the Fediverse</a></p> <p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/123/" target="_blank">#123</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/activitypub/" target="_blank">#ActivityPub</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/ai/" target="_blank">#AI</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/autocracy/" target="_blank">#Autocracy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/big-journalism/" target="_blank">#BigJournalism</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/big-tech/" target="_blank">#BigTech</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/democracy/" target="_blank">#Democracy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/fascism/" target="_blank">#Fascism</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/fediverse/" target="_blank">#Fediverse</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/forgejo/" target="_blank">#Forgejo</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/ghost/" target="_blank">#Ghost</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/mastodon/" target="_blank">#Mastodon</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/nodebb/" target="_blank">#NodeBB</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/rss/" target="_blank">#RSS</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/stop-china/" target="_blank">#StopChina</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/stop-iran/" target="_blank">#StopIran</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/stop-israel/" target="_blank">#StopIsrael</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/stop-red-america/" target="_blank">#StopRedAmerica</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/stop-russia/" target="_blank">#StopRussia</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/support-ukraine/" target="_blank">#SupportUkraine</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/technoanarchism/" target="_blank">#TechnoAnarchism</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://battalion.mobileatom.net/tag/technofeudalism/" target="_blank">#TechnoFeudalism</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" 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=2072" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">battalion.mobileatom.net/?p=20</span><span class="invisible">72</span></a></p>