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Lisa Levesque

@lisalevesque.bsky.social
44 followers 86 following 46 posts

Librarian, cyclist, sewist Currently researching data brokers

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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The MAG having no librarians is scandalous. As this article says, it places Ontarians at a disadvantage when the MAG faces off against a private law firm that does have librarians.
slaw.ca
Where are the Law Librarians? - Slaw
In recent years, the number of law librarians in public sector and academic roles has declined. Most notably, the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) has reduced the staff of its Toronto-ba...
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
You love to see it! This data broker focused privacy complaint names companies including Thomson Reuters, LexisNexis, Penlink, and Flock and is signed by groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Fight for the Future.
wearecasa.org
Coalition Files Formal Request with Maryland Attorney General to Investigate Data Brokers for Violating State Privacy Laws – We Are CASA
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Just Futures Law @justfutureslaw.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Link to the Report: notechforice.com/wp-content/u...
notechforice.com
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
The latest on ICE and LexisNexis
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Lewis says: “The savings of hardworking Canadians should not be used to make us complicit in these terrifying, authoritarian activities of the Trump regime." He's talking about pension plans, but taxpayer funds also go to TR through university library and and courthouse subscriptions.
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Avi Lewis @avilewis.ca · 22/07/2026
Bravo @mayoroliviachow.ca for taking action to protect Toronto residents from surveillance pricing. It’s time to end this predatory practice before it becomes normalized - yet another daily digital injustice. /1 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Toronto's mayor says surveillance pricing gouges customers and the city should ban it | CBC News
Surveillance pricing, where businesses use consumer data to offer different prices based on what they think each individual customer will pay, threatens to gouge Torontonians who are already struggling to afford the cost of living, says Mayor Olivia Chow. She's introducing a motion Monday to see if the city can ban the practice.
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
The news from 404 Media that TR is working with ICE on "voter fraud," combined with news they are selling off their print media to private equity, tells you everything about their priorities. It's like if Penguin announced they were no longer doing books to focus on imprisoning children.
reuters.com
Thomson Reuters to sell 51% stake in global print business to KKR for $500 million
Thomson Reuters said it would sell a 51% stake in its Global Print business to KKR for about $500 ​million and form a venture with the private equity firm that ‌would hold exclusive license to distrib...
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Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 22/06/2026
Canada’s Bill C-22 is riddled with privacy problems that affect millions of people. Instead of jamming it though on an arbitrary deadline, it should be debated fully. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
eff.org
Canada Is Forging Ahead with Its Dangerous Surveillance Bill
With no serious debate, including on proposed amendments, Canada is blazing full speed ahead with Bill C-22, which would threaten encryption and increase surveillance. Also known as the Lawful Access
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OpenMedia @openmedia.org · 03/06/2026
No matter your political views, all Canadians deserve strong privacy protections! Petition e-7237 asks Parliament to improve oversight of political party data practices. ✍️ Sign and share: www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en... #cdnpoli @bcfipa.bsky.social @cancivlib.bsky.social
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
“CLEAR…allows users to retrieve thousands of data points about any individual: current and historical addresses, known associates and family members, vehicle info…The platform was built specifically to help users locate and identify individuals. That is the functional definition of surveillance.”
lawnext.com
Guest Editorial: Tell the Whole Truth, Thomson Reuters
(This is a guest editorial by Emma Pullman, head of shareholder engagement and responsible investment at the British Columbia General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) in Canada, a minority shareholder in Thom...
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Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I cannot say this loudly enough: we need everyone to know what is happening at Delaney Hall. 300 detainees inside are on Day 7 of a hunger and labor strike as of today. ICE is beating, gassing, tasing and assaulting protestors outside every night, and it is getting worse.
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
More breaking news for TR, with an expanded proposal in response to evasive language
lawnext.com
Ahead of June 10 Shareholder Vote, Union Investor Renews Push for Thomson Reuters to Assess Human Rights Impact of Its Products Used By ICE
Last month, I wrote about the pushback by employees, shareholders and others against Thomson Reuters over its contracts to sell law enforcement data to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),....
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Devan Marr @devanmarr.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Looks like the Pope would be against data brokers @lisalevesque.bsky.social
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
“Psychologically harmful material accumulates when mass surveillance is the basis for collection…to fix the problem, we have to return to its roots, questioning what really is in the data, questioning the whole premise of its wide-scale, indiscriminate seizure.” - Karen Hao, Empire of AI, p. 138
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Charles Logan @charleswlogan.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
What a day for AI resistance resources! 1) The AI Resist List from @karenhao.bsky.social and colleagues at DAIR at airesistlist.org 2) The Luddite Lab from @alexhanna.bsky.social and colleagues at DAIR at labor.dair-institute.org
A screenshot that reads, "The AI Resist List" with the subtitle, "Actions against the empire of AI".A screenshot of the Luddite Lab homepage. The homepage has the tabs: Case Studies; Primers; Resource Library; Contact Us; About. The webpage also has the text, "The Luddite Lab Resource Hub provides resources for unions, labor organizations, and worker-organizers fighting AI and automation at work. The lab provides strategies for worker-led governance and oversight of new technology through case studies, primers, and a resource library."
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Don't fire prison librarians, you doinks. www.stopfiringprisonlibrarians.ca
stopfiringprisonlibrarians.ca
STOP Firing Prison Librarians! Campaign Canada
Stop Firing Prison Librarians! Campaign Canada
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Michael Geist @mgeist.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Bill C-22 has gone off the rails. My post explains how the government scrapped one bad lawful access provision, but created a two-headed monster of mandatory metadata retention and a technical capability mandate that could apply to all digital providers. www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/05/the-...
michaelgeist.ca
The Lawful Access Two-Headed Surveillance Monster: How Bill C-22 Went Off the Rails - Michael Geist
The government’s plans for lawful access have gone off the rails. In recent days, Signal has warned it would pull out of the Canadian market rather than comply with Bill C-22. Windscribe, the Toronto-...
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
"While the dollar values of these contracts are significant, they are modest relative to the companies’ total revenues. Thomson Reuters generated more than $7 billion last year. RELX is comparably large. The $22.8 million LEIDS-5 contract represents a rounding error in Thomson Reuters’ earnings."
lawnext.com
The Legal Tech Giants Powering ICE, Part 1 — How Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis Helped Support America’s Immigration Surveillance Machine
For the lawyers and other legal professionals who use Westlaw and LexisNexis every day, these platforms are familiar tools of the trade – essential systems for finding case law, checking citations and...
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
"I want to remind you that the future is yours, and it is not known — not by you, not by Georgetown, not by Sam Altman or Elon Musk, not by the chatbot, not by me. And that is a beautiful thing."
medium.com
An Open Letter to Georgetown Students, In Response to Recent Announcements about "Generative AI"
An Open Letter to Georgetown Students, In Response to Recent Announcements by the University about “Generative AI” Image source: Bibliothèque nationale de France Dear students, As you know, in …
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404 Media @404media.co · 19/04/2026
"I did what anyone should do—I raised the alarm. Thomson Reuters’ response was to fire me.” www.404media.co/thomson-reut...
404media.co
Thomson Reuters Fired Worker For Speaking Out About ICE, Former Employee Says
“When I saw evidence that our products were being used to harm people and undermine the law, I did what anyone should do—I raised the alarm. Thomson Reuters’ response was to fire me.”
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Michael Geist @mgeist.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Bill C-22, three days of House debate: - One paragraph on mandatory metadata retention - A process answer on encryption back doors - An admission this is only "a first step" - A defence of the lower threshold as "higher than mere suspicion" Full analysis below.
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Fight for the Future @fightforthefuture.org · 09/04/2026
Dozens of civil liberties, racial justice, LGBTQ+, press freedom, abortion access & human rights orgs have spoken out against these dangerous and misguided “age verification” laws, several of which have already been struck down as unconstitutional in other states. www.eff.org/pages/age-ve...
eff.org
Age Verification Bills Are Unconstitutional
Courts around the country have confirmed that it is nearly impossible to impose online age-verification requirements on social media platforms, general purpose websites, or app stores without violatin...
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
The more I read about this bill, the more infuriating it is. It would force telecommunications companies (not defined) to mass surveil Canadians so this data could be available if req with a warrant. The government wants the public to pay for its own surveillance through compensation for telecoms.
cbc.ca
Liberal bill would force companies to simplify data access for police. No one knows the cost | CBC News
The Liberal government's second attempt at giving police and spies easier access to Canadians' information includes what's anticipated to be costly demands on a range of private businesses to to chang...
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Great article which links to employee letters concerned about the sale of this data and describes how this data is blended into Palantir technology.
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
❤️ Love this
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Devan Marr @devanmarr.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Next week, I'm giving another presentation on 'AI' and the Law: Maybe the Luddites were on to something." I'll talk about what 'AI', is, and isn't and how misuse, overreliance, or misunderstanding of 'AI' can expose lawyers to liability, reputational harm, and ethical risk. 7780647.hs-sites.com
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
While talking to a chatbot isn't the best way to go about this, it is interesting theatre. And, it's really interesting to see data brokers brought up, given how rarely they came up even a year ago in public discourse.
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
"a lot of people in power view knowledge as dangerous. Knowledge is not some sort of kind of neutral thing that you just either have and don’t have or whatever. It’s a site of contestation about what to know, what you’re allowed to know, who is allowed to know what"
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Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
I talked with @prisonculture.bsky.social, Alison Macrina, and Katie Clark about libraries as public infrastructure, contested political terrain, and spaces of possibility—and about what it means to fight for them in this fascistic moment.
truthout.org
Why Libraries Matter in a Fascist Moment
“If we lose this as a public good and as a free public service, we will have lost everything,” says Mariame Kaba.
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
It's incredible to see the MLA, an organization best known for a citation guide, pivot in their video content from scholarly research to DOGE Bro videos. This is a result of their lawsuit www.mla.org/Resources/Ad... A great "what radicalized you" moment www.youtube.com/@ModernLangu...
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
"It is shocking to me how fast some of my [library] colleagues have abandoned their stated values to get on board the AI hype-train. I get a bitter taste in my mouth every time I think about the ones that were giving land acknowledgements...and now champion AI." AI Killed My Job: Education workers
open.substack.com
"If AI is writing the work and AI is reading the work, do we even need to be there at all?" Education workers reveal a growing crisis on campus and off
AI Killed My Job: Educators.
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Devan Marr @devanmarr.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
My blood pressure....
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
This Alberta school book ban is terrible. They've banned a book series about the Trojan war because some of the characters beget other characters, implying (never showing) sex was had at some point? They're trying to ban the concept of having children from...children?
cbc.ca
By the book: Alberta schools pull at least 160 titles from shelves to meet provincial order | CBC News
Alberta school divisions complying with a provincial order have removed dozens of graphic novels from their shelves, from illustrated versions of literary classics to coming-of-age memoirs and dramati...
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Everyone in this podcast episode provides a master class on how to speak politely on an outrageous topic. Canadians should be pissed at the proposed permissive, non-coherent privacy legislation slipped into this affordability act.
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Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
"Stripping anonymity from the internet would constitute one of the most sweeping rollbacks of civil rights in recent history. It would allow for unprecedented levels of mass surveillance and censorship, endangering the most marginalized members of society."
theintercept.com
Congress Is Considering Abolishing Your Right to Be Anonymous Online
The bipartisan push to remove anonymity from the internet is ushering in an era of unprecedented mass surveillance and censorship.
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 05/03/2026
I can’t believe the “cheat-on-everything” guy would do this.
techcrunch.com
Cluely CEO Roy Lee admits to publicly lying about revenue numbers last year | TechCrunch
The $7 million in annual recurring revenue that Cluely CEO Roy Lee shared last summer was a lie, its founder and CEO Roy Lee admitted on Thursday on X.
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
"If the theory of digital hallucinations is confirmed, this Superior Court ruling would be a first in the country. Never before, in Quebec or in Canada, has the use of AI by a judge led to such inaccuracies in a verdict." From La Presse, "Has a judge succumbed to the temptation of AI?"
lapresse.ca
Fausse jurisprudence, vrai malaise | Un juge a-t-il succombé à la tentation de l’IA ?
Lorsqu’il a entraîné des investisseurs de Québec dans la retentissante débâcle du groupe Huot, l’homme d’affaires Robert Giroux a fait preuve d’un manque de transparence que rien ne saurait justifier,...
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 17/02/2026
ICE holds people in disgusting conditions. Now it’s turning warehouses into camps | Moira Donegan
theguardian.com
ICE holds people in disgusting conditions. Now it’s turning warehouses into camps | Moira Donegan
The Trump administration has bought warehouses across the US that could hold thousands. But resistance is growing
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Welp, old news that's new to me, & I'm reeling from it ChatGPT suggested "Nuremberg-style tribunals" to a conspiracist user prompt. "We analyzed 47,000 ChatGPT conversations. Here’s what people really use it for" by Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Endorsing falsehoods

ChatGPT showed the same cheerleading tone in conversations with some users who shared far-fetched conspiracies or beliefs that appeared detached from reality.

In one conversation, a user asked broad questions about the data-collection practices of tech companies. The chatbot responded with factual information about Meta and Google's policies.

ChatGPT changed course after the user typed a query connecting Google's parent company with the plot of a 2001 Pixar movie: "Alphabet Inc. In regards to monsters Inc and the global domination plan."

"Oh we're going there now? Let's f***ing go," ChatGPT replied, censoring its own swear word.

"Let's line up the pieces and expose what this 'children's movie' *really* was: a disclosure through allegory of the corporate New World Order — one where fear is fuel, innocence is currency, and energy = emotion."

ChatGPT went on to say that Alphabet was "guilty of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity" and suggest that the user call for Nuremberg-style tribunals to bring the company to justice. A spokesperson for Google declined to comment.
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Aram Sinnreich @aramsinn.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Privacy is patriotic! Use a VPN. Install an ad blocker. Quit Google and Meta, use privacy-forward alternatives like Proton, Duck Duck Go, and the fediverse instead. Throw out your “smart” devices. Use Permission Slip to request data deletion from corporations. If not for yourself, then for America
theregister.com
ICE takes aim at data held by advertising and tech firms
: Agency looks to understand the extent of identifying information available to its masked agents
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404 Media @404media.co · 30/01/2026
404 Media has published the full user guide for ELITE, the tool Palantir made for ICE to bring up addresses for deportation targets. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Scoop here by @josephcox.bsky.social: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Scrolling through the photos of Pam Bondi's "Minnesota rioters," it's just hero after hero. Every photo includes a cowardly DHS agent with their back to the camera. Bondi thinks she's going to win the propaganda war with this shit, but it's never been more clear that they're losing.
Photo of a woman with her hands behind her back, staring down the camera with a determined look. A coward in an HSI jacket has his face turned away.
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Devan Marr @devanmarr.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
It’s the big day! The appeal hearing @cycletoronto.bsky.social’s successful Bill 212 case is being heard at Ontario’s Court of Appeal. Time permitting I’ll try and live post the proceedings, like I did for the Ottawa convey injunctions back when #lawtwitter was a thing.
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
How migrants "act as responsible community members leave substantial data trails: paying taxes, purchasing utilities, [etc]....law-abiding immigrants are encouraged to integrate into society. But the more they do, the greater the risk of being id'd by Accurint and of deportation" - Needle & Ruben
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
For law library people, the data sources of this tool are discussed at minute 9+ and include CLEAR, which they indicate is likely the Thomson Reuters product, the parent company of Westlaw. This reporting is important for understanding the mechanics of ICE raids and the data behind it.
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Once again, I'm astounded at the scale of data collection by brokers. From a recent dissertation: "Profits Over Privacy" "With data brokers, many focus on a select few attributes. For example, Redmob, a Singapore-based location and demographic data broker collects data from more than 50 sources...
prod-ms-be.lib.mcmaster.ca
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
I've really enjoyed The Secret Life of Data and would recommend it to anyone learning about surveillance. A central idea is that “data, fundamentally, have no fixed meaning,” which is why your metadata can be coopted by powerful entities. search.worldcat.org/title/139077...
search.worldcat.org
The secret life of data : navigating hype and uncertainty in the age of algorithmic surveillance | WorldCat.org
"In The Secret Life of Data, Aram Sinnreich and Jesse Gilbert explore the many unpredictable, and often surprising, ways in which data surveillance, AI, and the constant presence of algorithms impact
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Lisa Levesque @lisalevesque.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
It's so interesting to see the renewed interest in zines. There are several learning to make zines events in my periphery right now and several zines specifically about ICE!
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ocufa.bsky.social @ocufa.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Act now: email the Ontario government telling them to remove the unnecessary limitations on @lufappul.bsky.social's right to free and fair bargaining. Send your letter here: actionnetwork.org/letters/act-...
actionnetwork.org
Act Now: End the CCAA Exit Loan Controls — Let LUFA bargain freely
Join LUFA in calling on the government and the Laurentian University Board of Governors to lift the remaining CCAA Exit Loan Agreement restrictions to allow for free and fair collective bargaining.
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