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Your pal Al 🪴📝

@alsmth.bsky.social
153 followers 384 following 46 posts

Director of Fundraising @torproject.org • In-progress ceramicist & occasional fiber crafter • Oxford comma enjoyer • Fan of the internet • Anti-fascist transgender menace • Seattle, WA 🌈🔗⚡ 🐘 Mastodon social.coop/@al

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Reposted by Your pal Al 🪴📝
Alex Hanna @alexhanna.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Literal internet of shit
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FlokiNET ehf @flokinet.bluesky.flokinet.social · 28/01/2025
🔒 Data Privacy Week: Stay anonymous with @torproject.bsky.social! Protecting your privacy online is more important than ever. 📖 Read our guide now: blog.flokinet.is/2025/01/28/w...
blog.flokinet.is
What is the Tor Network? A detailed guide to online anonymity
Learn how the Tor network enhances your privacy and anonymity. Discover secure browsing, bypass censorship.
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Wikipedia is rolling out anonymity features piloted in countries with authoritarian governments in the US & is making a change to not show editor IP addresses in response to a global "increase in threats" from Elon Musk, Heritage Foundation, and governments www.404media.co/wikipedia-pr...
404media.co
Wikipedia Prepares for 'Increase in Threats' to US Editors From Musk and His Allies
The Wikimedia Foundation says it will likely roll out features previously used to protect editors in authoritarian countries more widely.
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Tor Project @torproject.org · 06/02/2025
Attending #RightsCon? So are we! Join our full-day event dedicated to online privacy, censorship circumvention, and censorship monitoring, on Feb 23 or any of our other sessions and talks: 🗓️ Sign up here: ooni-research.ocf.tw/docs/en/blog...
ooni-research.ocf.tw
Internet Freedom Workshop: Tor、Tails、OONI - OONI-Research
Join us on February 23rd, 2025, in Taipei, Taiwan, for a full-day event focused on online privacy, censorship circumvention, and monitoring. Hosted in partnership with the Open Culture Foundation, OON...
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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
I've seen people dismiss the Pornhub bans, sometimes couching their dismissal in an anti-porn stance. What I don't think they realize is that the people pushing this stuff conflate porn with LGBTQ people and sex education and are part of Project 2025 mashable.com/article/free...
mashable.com
What the Supreme Court hearing about age verification could mean for you
The court's decision could set a new precedent for free speech online.
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DVD Menus @dvdmenus.bsky.social · 12/09/2024
The Matrix (Film / DVD: 1999)
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Mike Riverso @mikeriverso.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
The millennial experience is growing up with the internet, and watching it go from a free, open, democratic, and eclectic ecosystem to a wasteland of five websites controlled by billionaires, and now seeing it quickly fill up with AI-generated slop. I want our World Wide Web back.
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Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 15/01/2025
FOR JOURNALISTS: SecureDrop provides strong security through its use of offline encryption and the Tor network, but sources still need your help to protect themselves, especially in monitored environments. Find out more:
freedom.press
Leaking on the clock: What your sources need to know
Last week, Eric Trump tweeted a screenshot of an email that circulated through the Trump Organization by Washington Post reporter David Fahrentholt. Although the tweet sensationalized Fahrentholt’s em...
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Jess Miers 🦝 @jmiers230.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
[There are huge differences between flashing an ID at a brick and mortar location versus an online company storing and processing personally identifiable information associated with your viewing of adult content]
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paris. @parisinbmore.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
sometimes banning things works when it comes to moderation and other related things but history shows us that the #tiktok response is playing out exactly how banning things usually plays out: defiance, hacks, and work arounds.
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 13/01/2025
WE’RE HIRING! The Knight Institute seeks a Policy Fellow, Research & Policy Program Coordinator, and Administrative Coordinator. Think you’d be a fit? Read this 🧵 and our website for more info & application instructions. knightcolumbia.org/page/work-wi...
knightcolumbia.org
| Knight First Amendment Institute
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Martin Shelton @mshelton.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
"Reporters and editors at national newspapers are increasing their reliance on encrypted communications to help shield themselves and their sources from potential federal leak investigations and subpoenas." www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/b...
nytimes.com
News Outlets Batten Down the Hatches for Trump’s Return
Media organizations are taking unusual steps to prepare for what they fear will be a legal and political onslaught from the new administration.
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Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 13/01/2025
People may have tried to scare you away from the anonymity-preserving Tor Browser. … Use it anyway!
freedom.press
Advice column: Will I face increased scrutiny for using Tor?
People may have tried to scare you away from the anonymity-preserving Tor Browser. … Use it anyway!
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Christopher Goyette @christophergoyette.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Seattle in the winter. Photos taken on a Sony RX100 #seattle #pikeplace #sonyrx100 #photography
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
oh boy, some good stuff in here
img from Mac User 1987 showing a hand doing Graphic DesignTM on a Macintosh Plus screen with... an xacto knife?img from Amiga World 1992 of a desktop with speed lines behind it, indicating its FAST
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Reposted by Your pal Al 🪴📝
Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
However you feel about TikTok in particular, it seems ominous that SCOTUS is poised to announce First Amendment strict scrutiny can be overcome by a daydream and a sneeze.
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Privacy and agency over our data matters—is one of the forefront issues for online life—because every single corporate owned social platform will make decisions that harm people in the name of money and power.
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
New: How advertising on thousands of popular apps is used to fuel location data brokers. Done by @josephcox.bsky.social in conjunction with @wired.com www.404media.co/candy-crush-...
404media.co
Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: See the Thousands of Apps Hijacked to Spy on Your Location
A hack of location data company Gravy Analytics has revealed which apps are—knowingly or not—being used to collect your information behind the scenes.
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
oh boy, some good stuff in here
img from Mac User 1987 showing a hand doing Graphic DesignTM on a Macintosh Plus screen with... an xacto knife?img from Amiga World 1992 of a desktop with speed lines behind it, indicating its FAST
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Please, science, I *need* to know what my dog is dreaming about.
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Media Defence @mediadefence.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
#Venezuela: The whereabouts of Carlos Correa, ED of Espacio Público, remain unknown. On 7 Jan, he was allegedly intercepted & forced into an unmarked van by hooded officials. We stand with Espacio Público and strongly urge the State to guarantee his safety and disclose his location. bit.ly/3C0c4gK
bit.ly
Whereabouts of Espacio Público's Executive Director, Carlos Correa, remain unknown. - Media Defence
The whereabouts of Carlos Correa, remain unknown. According to witnesses, Correa, was allegedly intercepted by hooded officials on Jan 7, 25.
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Wikipedia BADLY needs to revise its position to allow signed-in users to connect from VPNs, proxies, and Tor. Editors are going to be targeted, and being pseudonymous is not enough to protect people who write about some of the most controversial topics.
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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
sadly cruel censorship did not allow me to use the best quote I got on background for this, "we're existentially fucked" foreignpolicy.com/2025/01/07/c...
foreignpolicy.com
Salt Typhoon Stirs Panic in Washington
The full extent of the hack is not yet public, but it has hardened anti-China consensus.
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onekade @onekade.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
So what if we have collected a record of every person's movements and then stored that record online in a database that someone can hack? What's the worst that can happen? www.404media.co/hackers-clai...
404media.co
Hackers Claim Massive Breach of Location Data Giant, Threaten to Leak Data
Gravy Analytics has been one of the most important companies in the location data industry for years, collating smartphone location data from around the world selling some to the U.S. government. Hack...
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Internet freedom advocates need to fiercely scrutinize laws that ban/limit access to porn. What we see in practice is that these laws are used to ban everyday LGBTQ content under the guise that being queer or trans is inherently explicit or pornographic. www.usermag.co/p/instagram-...
usermag.co
Instagram blocked teens from searching LGBTQ-related content for months
Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags were hidden under Meta's “sensitive content” policy which restricts "sexually suggestive content"
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
🏳️‍🌈
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Reposted by Your pal Al 🪴📝
Etienne - Tek @tek.randhome.io · 06/01/2025
So Bluesky people, I need your help! If you have #Telegram, please contact the Telegram transparency bot t.me/transparency and get data for your country. Please share a screenshot here or as an issue there github.com/Te-k/telegra... Please share!
t.me
Transparency Reports
Get Telegram transparency reports.
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Internet freedom advocates need to fiercely scrutinize laws that ban/limit access to porn. What we see in practice is that these laws are used to ban everyday LGBTQ content under the guise that being queer or trans is inherently explicit or pornographic. www.usermag.co/p/instagram-...
usermag.co
Instagram blocked teens from searching LGBTQ-related content for months
Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags were hidden under Meta's “sensitive content” policy which restricts "sexually suggestive content"
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Reminder: Telegram is an app with encryption capabilities—only if you go through the hoops of turning it on manually for each chat. Otherwise, your conversations live on Telegram's server, and Telegram will hand those conversations over to the cops under pressure.
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Color of Seattle @colorofseattle.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
The color of the sky in Seattle is dim gray #656760
2025-01-06 05:55:00 #656760 dim gray2025-01-06 05:55:00 #656760 dim gray | [#656760 - 37%] [#8e908a - 30%] [#929492 - 19%] [#666865 - 10%] [#808379 - 3%]
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Reposted by Your pal Al 🪴📝
The Markup @themarkup.org · 06/01/2025
If you are a K-12 student, or have one at home, help extend our internet censorship investigation by connecting to your school’s Wi-Fi and testing whether you can access these popular websites: buff.ly/4a4n751
A gradient from yellow to white background with a pixelated red lock illustration in the center. Text reads: 'Can you access Wikipedia through your school’s internet? How about YouTube, LinkedIn, or The Trevor Project?'
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Reposted by Your pal Al 🪴📝
Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Every story like this should be 9/10 about the privacy implications of handing our personal, ordinarily HIPAA-protected medical information over to some fucking app company. www.theverge.com/2025/1/5/243...
theverge.com
This stick tests your hormones using your phone and saliva
In case you want to test cortisol and progesterone levels at home.
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 20/12/2024
Honestly, the Let's Encrypt folks don't get nearly enough credit for basically protecting the entire fucking internet, by making it absolute bog standard to encrypt everything. It happened so fast and so many people were skeptical.
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Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
this has always been the nightmare body worn cameras + facial recognition = a recipe for totalitarian control www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12...
telegraph.co.uk
Police to wear facial recognition cameras on beat to find criminals and missing people
AI will be used to match images to a database of wanted individuals
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More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
BREAKING: The biggest strike against Amazon in U.S. history is happening right now. The Teamsters are picketing facilities across the country. The union has organized workers at 10 Amazon locations AND they're putting up picket lines at hundreds of other Amazon sites nationwide.
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
Tor is very close to reaching our annual fundraising goal! Can you share to help us get there?
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Joey Shea @joeyshea.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
This week Saudi Arabia hosts the IGF while dozens of people remain imprisoned for peaceful online speech. Many are charged under the country’s abusive counterterrorism law, and the authorities conduct invasive surveillance of civil society members. www.hrw.org/news/2024/12...
hrw.org
Saudi Arabia: Hosting UN Internet Conference Amid Crackdown
Saudi Arabia is hosting a major United Nations conference on internet governance while dozens of people remain imprisoned for peaceful online speech.
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 18/12/2024
Breaking, supreme court grants cert to tiktok for oral arguments on the ban on January 10th. Ban goes into effect January 19th. They did not stay the law and this is lightning fast by SCOTUS standards. I think this is a bad sign for tiktok.
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
I wonder how far the U.S.'s Freedom on the Net score is going to drop in the 2025 report. (Right now it's 76 out of 100, ranked "free".)
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Censorship that the U.S. government proclaims to fight in other countries is happening right here, in our own house.
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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
At 4 p.m. today, the House will be holding a floor vote on a Defense budget that would withhold health care from military families with transgender youth. If passed, it would be the first new anti-LGBTQ restriction to pass through Congress since the 1990s. Please tell your rep to vote against it.
act.aclu.org
Stop Attacks on Care for Transgender Servicemembers
Extremists in Congress are trying to ban life-saving health care for trans servicemembers and their families. We can’t let that happen!
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
When the police, law enforcement, policy makers tell you they need more tech, more billions — remember.
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Color of Seattle @colorofseattle.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
The color of the sky in Seattle is cerulean frost #7097c4
2024-12-09 09:55:00 #7097c4 cerulean frost2024-12-09 09:55:00 #7097c4 cerulean frost | [#7097c4 - 81%] [#5f81a8 - 6%] [#bed1dc - 5%] [#f7f7e3 - 4%] [#dbe5e2 - 2%] [#5b7b9d - 1%] [#fefafe - 1%]
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Harley Laroux @harleylaroux.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Did you know that Seattle Public Library (my local library!) offers FREE Books Unbanned cards? 👀 That means that teens and adults ages 13 to 26 living ANYWHERE in the U.S. can access their entire collection of e-books and audiobooks, FOR FREE! www.spl.org/programs-and...
spl.org
Books Unbanned
Teens and young adults ages 13 to 26 living anywhere in the U.S. can access our entire collection of e-books and audiobooks.
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
The next Tor relay operators meeting will feature @susansegfault.bsky.social, author of a new book about the history and use of Tor over time! Cool stuff, here's the link to his book:
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Your pal Al 🪴📝 @alsmth.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
trans people rock
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Maris Zivarts @emveezee.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Got to walk some places today.
Photo of downtown library, reflections in glass.photo of brick apartment buildingphoto of crowne plazaphoto of seattle downtown library
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 03/12/2024
Democrats in WA cannot claim they are resisting Trump while also imposing austerity policies. Austerity has been proven to fuel right-wing populism around the world. Incoming governor Bob Ferguson and Democratic legislators need to reject Inslee's austerity proposals and tax the rich instead.
seattletimes.com
Gov. Inslee imposes WA spending freeze amid budget shortfall
Gov. Jay Inslee declared a spending freeze for Washington state government agencies in response to "a significant operating deficit."
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Tor Project @torproject.org · 03/12/2024
We're a bit more than $158,000 away from our fundraising goal. If everyone in our community gave $2.00, we'd hit our goal in a few hours. If you believe that everyone, everywhere has the right to browse, search & speak with freedom & privacy, please consider making a donation today. #GivingTuesday
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