That's a myth, perpetuated by the intransigent corporations addicted to #SurveillanceCapitalism and who petulantly spent a lot of pointless effort to annoy every website user.

The #GDPR does not require those banners. Every site could just *abstain from tracking* for anything except essential website functions; no questions required for that.

> Strictly necessary cookies […] it is not required to obtain consent for these cookies […]
> To comply with the regulations governing cookies under the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive you must:
> Receive users’ consent before you use any cookies except strictly necessary cookies. […]
https://gdpr.eu/cookies/

Every site that thrusts a cookie consent banner at you, has *chosen to do it*. Nothing, certainly not the EU, requires it.

The site is declaring “We would rather make a big change to piss off every visitor, than ever stop tracking people around the web.”

@Daojoan

That's a myth, perpetuated by the intransigent corporations addicted to #SurveillanceCapitalism and who petulantly spent a lot of pointless effort to annoy every website user.

The #GDPR does not require those banners. Every site could just *abstain from tracking* for anything except essential website functions; no questions required for that.

> Strictly necessary cookies […] it is not required to obtain consent for these cookies […]
> To comply with the regulations governing cookies under the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive you must:
> Receive users’ consent before you use any cookies except strictly necessary cookies. […]
https://gdpr.eu/cookies/

Every site that thrusts a cookie consent banner at you, has *chosen to do it*. Nothing, certainly not the EU, requires it.

The site is declaring “We would rather make a big change to piss off every visitor, than ever stop tracking people around the web.”

@Daojoan

Now at くら寿司 (at least the one in Asakusa) they have a tablet with a cat animation that looks at you mad until you smile to it. Then it smiles back to you.
In the meanwhile your face picture was already analyzed by some machine learning model in who knows whose server and for which intent.

https://www.kurasushi.co.jp/author/006763.html

#Privacy #SurveillanceCapitalism #プライバシー #監視資本主義

Now at くら寿司 (at least the one in Asakusa) they have a tablet with a cat animation that looks at you mad until you smile to it. Then it smiles back to you.
In the meanwhile your face picture was already analyzed by some machine learning model in who knows whose server and for which intent.

https://www.kurasushi.co.jp/author/006763.html

#Privacy #SurveillanceCapitalism #プライバシー #監視資本主義

Good article from the New Scientist detailing the problems with #DigitalID

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835650-100-digital-id-cards-could-be-a-disaster-in-the-uk-and-beyond/

"First, ID cards are always prone to usage creep. And second, they are incredibly easy to hack."

"These cards are proffered as fixes for problems that aren’t problems (it’s not hard to carry my health insurance card) or require a lot more than an ID to solve (immigration is a huge, multifaceted issue)."

Also mentioned is Byron Tau's excellent book Means of Control.

#surveillancecapitalism

Good article from the New Scientist detailing the problems with #DigitalID

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835650-100-digital-id-cards-could-be-a-disaster-in-the-uk-and-beyond/

"First, ID cards are always prone to usage creep. And second, they are incredibly easy to hack."

"These cards are proffered as fixes for problems that aren’t problems (it’s not hard to carry my health insurance card) or require a lot more than an ID to solve (immigration is a huge, multifaceted issue)."

Also mentioned is Byron Tau's excellent book Means of Control.

#surveillancecapitalism

@datarama @ajroach42 that's not good. Otherwise Denmark seems like a pretty cool country, in terms of fairness and democracy...

If you're stuck with #Android or #Apple devices then make sure you're doing all the #privacy basics from the #BigTechWalkout2025 challenge:

https://blog.rebeltechalliance.org/the-big-tech-walkout-2025

Some are easy and obvious but maybe your friends and family have forgotten a few steps?

#bigtech #surveillancecapitalism

@datarama @ajroach42 that's not good. Otherwise Denmark seems like a pretty cool country, in terms of fairness and democracy...

If you're stuck with #Android or #Apple devices then make sure you're doing all the #privacy basics from the #BigTechWalkout2025 challenge:

https://blog.rebeltechalliance.org/the-big-tech-walkout-2025

Some are easy and obvious but maybe your friends and family have forgotten a few steps?

#bigtech #surveillancecapitalism

The EU is pushing to scan ALL private messages, even encrypted ones, endangering privacy, security, and fundamental freedoms across 450 million people.

This is mass surveillance disguised as child protection, and it breaks encryption, risks false accusations, and threatens democracy worldwide.

Learn more & act NOW: https://fightchatcontrol.eu

#ChatControl #MassSurveillance #Privacy #DigitalRights #CivilRights #EU #Signal #Element #Matrix #WhatsApp #StopChatControl #DataProtection #Freedom #SurveillanceCapitalism #Capitalism #Surveillance #DigitalFreedom #HumanRights #FreeSoftware #Linux #Debian #Ubuntu #LinuxMint #Mint #ArchLinux #Arch #Fedora

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Our non-profit the Rebel Tech Alliance now has a #Ghost blog: The Rebel Blog

Find it here https://blog.rebeltechalliance.org

(or by clicking the BLOG menu button on our main site https://www.rebeltechalliance.org/ )

And because it's a Ghost blog you can follow it from the fediverse at the handle @index 💥

We'll be blogging about all things #privacy and ethical tech - and anything that shows how bad #bigtech is, and how we can undermine #surveillancecapitalism

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Our non-profit the Rebel Tech Alliance now has a #Ghost blog: The Rebel Blog

Find it here https://blog.rebeltechalliance.org

(or by clicking the BLOG menu button on our main site https://www.rebeltechalliance.org/ )

And because it's a Ghost blog you can follow it from the fediverse at the handle @index 💥

We'll be blogging about all things #privacy and ethical tech - and anything that shows how bad #bigtech is, and how we can undermine #surveillancecapitalism

The EU is pushing to scan ALL private messages, even encrypted ones, endangering privacy, security, and fundamental freedoms across 450 million people.

This is mass surveillance disguised as child protection, and it breaks encryption, risks false accusations, and threatens democracy worldwide.

Learn more & act NOW: https://fightchatcontrol.eu

#ChatControl #MassSurveillance #Privacy #DigitalRights #CivilRights #EU #Signal #Element #Matrix #WhatsApp #StopChatControl #DataProtection #Freedom #SurveillanceCapitalism #Capitalism #Surveillance #DigitalFreedom #HumanRights #FreeSoftware #Linux #Debian #Ubuntu #LinuxMint #Mint #ArchLinux #Arch #Fedora

The 'small tech' map - it's great to see that so many good alternatives to #bigtech unethical #datarape products exist.

Which will you switch to?

(This map appears on this page of our website: https://www.rebeltechalliance.org/stopusingbigtech.html , and all these products are linked to in the Alternatives sub-menus)

#privacy #surveillancecapitalism

The 'small tech' map - it's great to see that so many good alternatives to #bigtech unethical #datarape products exist.

Which will you switch to?

(This map appears on this page of our website: https://www.rebeltechalliance.org/stopusingbigtech.html , and all these products are linked to in the Alternatives sub-menus)

#privacy #surveillancecapitalism

Why painting their greed with a "fair" (out)look if IT's everything but fair #software, #opensource or #FOSS?

You
@EUCommission could lead by example and recommend @jitsimeetinstances , but promoting their #surveillancecapitalism solutions might be a boomerang. Don't you think?

Btw. Mugshot of #BillGates the 3rd on a bluescreen with #IBM PC5150 standing on shoulders of #DigitalResearch is a #vector #illustration made with #Inkscape, not #Adobe#Illustrator

Excellent points by John Pane of @EFA in conversation with Raf Epstein this morning on ABC Melbourne concerning the #biometric #data that is captured during age assurance - and the #privacy dangers it presents.

Are you comfortable with social media companies or third parties they outsource to retaining biometric data such as images of your face?

John also covers the concept of #SurveillanceCapitalism (per Shoshana Zuboff) that underpins social media business models, and calls for greater duty of care to be placed upon those platforms.

We need privacy reform now.

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/melbourne-mornings/is-social-media-stealing-your-face/105728920

Schlechte Nachrichten zu #Google Nr. 1: Die #EU zieht wegen #Trump den Schwanz ein und suspendiert das laufende Kartellverfahren gegen Google:
https://digitalrechte.de/news/trump-schutzschirm-wirkt-eu-kommission-suspendiert-kartellverfahren-gegen-google-und-schadet-damit-dem-fairen-wettbewerb-in-europa

Schlechte Nachrichten zu Google Nr. 2: Google wird nicht gezwungen werden, #Chrome oder #Android zu verkaufen: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/02/tech/google-antitrust-ruling-chrome-android

Ich geh dann mal demnächst wieder #BladeRunner schauen... 🤖☠️

#USA#BigTech#SurveillanceCapitalism

My thoughts on EU Chat Control

I just don't think we are ready for what's coming, most people will be caught off guard when the real consequences of losing our privacy come: democracy and other rights will be affected in the near future, and when people realize this it will be too late (the "I've got nothing to hide" crowd is what I am referring to).

Insane timeline that we live in, I don't see a future where we get to maintain end-to-end encrypted communications unless we develop some sort of peer to peer mesh network that no single entity has control over (that is very complicated to make).

Centralized messaging apps (Signal included) while they can be privacy respecting, they are not immune to censorship or government bans.

And privacy is important, it is a fundamental right that we all should have, and guess what, you know who's not allowing their messages to be read and unencrypted? The people making this law!, politicians and other government officials are excluded from the message scanning... They get privacy!!

To add insult to injury, because the network effect is too strong (as in people don't like changing apps) we will be stuck with unsafe unencrypted messaging, even if an alternative emerges that is decentralized and encrypted somehow.

For now I see no solution for the general population, of course actual end-to-end encrypted chats will not go away, but they will be probably be made illegal somehow, criminals will definitely not care about any of this, so the law is pointless, it just is an excuse for the increasing government overreach on the EU.

#surveillancecapitalism #surveillance #privacy#EU #chatcontrol

~ Cosipa

My thoughts on EU Chat Control

I just don't think we are ready for what's coming, most people will be caught off guard when the real consequences of losing our privacy come: democracy and other rights will be affected in the near future, and when people realize this it will be too late (the "I've got nothing to hide" crowd is what I am referring to).

Insane timeline that we live in, I don't see a future where we get to maintain end-to-end encrypted communications unless we develop some sort of peer to peer mesh network that no single entity has control over (that is very complicated to make).

Centralized messaging apps (Signal included) while they can be privacy respecting, they are not immune to censorship or government bans.

And privacy is important, it is a fundamental right that we all should have, and guess what, you know who's not allowing their messages to be read and unencrypted? The people making this law!, politicians and other government officials are excluded from the message scanning... They get privacy!!

To add insult to injury, because the network effect is too strong (as in people don't like changing apps) we will be stuck with unsafe unencrypted messaging, even if an alternative emerges that is decentralized and encrypted somehow.

For now I see no solution for the general population, of course actual end-to-end encrypted chats will not go away, but they will be probably be made illegal somehow, criminals will definitely not care about any of this, so the law is pointless, it just is an excuse for the increasing government overreach on the EU.

#surveillancecapitalism #surveillance #privacy#EU #chatcontrol

~ Cosipa