# The Nexus Of Privacy > Technology. Policy. Strategy. Justice. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. Use `/llms-full.txt` for consolidated page and post context. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages - [About The Nexus of Privacy](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/about-2.md) - The Nexus Of Privacy is a website and newsletter focused on news and opinions about privacy with an activist perspective. - [About me](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/about-me.md) - I’m a software engineer / entrepreneur / strategist and activist who focuses on justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality. As well as running The Nexus of Privacy newsletter, I also consult for and advise tech companies on strategy and software engineering, and was a member of th… - [About this site](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/about.md) - The Nexus of Privacy is an independent publication launched in September 2026 by Jon. If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows The Nexus of Privacy to cont… - [ATmoshperic discussions of KOSA and Bad Internet Bills](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/atmoshperic-discussions-of-kosa-and-bad-internet-bills.md) - Here's a work-in-progress feed (built with graze.social) of discussions of KOSA, Bad Internet Bills, Section 230, and age verification laws on Blacsky, Bluesky, and other social networks in the ATmosphere. Sorry, but your browser's security settings don't allow displaying this embedded feed. Please… - [HB 1834 (Age verification / Addictive feeds) followup email and updated written testimony for Appropriations](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/hb-1834-approps.md) - HB 1834 / SB 5708 is an "AG Request" bill, regulating "addictive feeds"; Attorney General Nick Brown has been making some great Instagram Reels about the need for these bills. Last year, SB 5708 passed the Senate, but didn't get a hearing in the House; HB 1834 made it through Rules, but didn't get… - [HB 1834 (age verification / "child safety"): mail for the House floor vote](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/hb-1834-house-floor.md) - The Appropriations committee advanced HB 1834 without addressing any of the issues I had brought up – or the issues that ACLU of Washington, WA People's Privacy, and other groups had brought up. Oh well. It quickly moved through Rules, placing it on the House Floor Calendar, meaning it could come t… - [HB 2112 (Age Verification for adult content) written testimony and followup](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/hb-2112-cbp.md) - From the January 16 Consumer Protection & Business hearing - [HB 2157 (High-risk AI systems) testimony, follow-up mail, and thoughts on amendments](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/hb-2157-tedv.md) - Testimony I'm Jon Pincus of Bellevue. I'm a technologist and strategist, run the Nexus of Privacy newsletter, served on the state Automated Decision Systems Workgroup in 2022, and I am PRO on HB 2157. High-risk AI systems today are often deployed without serious consideration of algorithmic discrim… - [HB 2225 (AI Companion Chatbots) testimony, followup email, and thoughts on amendments](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/hb-2225-tdev.md) - Testimony (1/14) Chair Ryu, Ranking Member Barnard, and members of the Committee, I'm Jon Pincus of Bellevue. I run the Nexus of Privacy newsletter, and served on the state Automated Decision Systems Workgroup in 2022, I am testifying OTHER on HB 2225. The harms are very real, and as you've already… - [HB 2481 Appropriations testimony](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/hb-2481-approps.md) - Appropriations is a fiscal committee, and I had heard that a lot of the battle around whether to advance HB 2481 related to its budget, so that's what I focused on in my live testimony. There were various proposals floating around to reduce costs, but rather than talking about any one in particular… - [HB 2481 (Surveillance Pricing) policy committee testimony](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/hb-2481-tdev.md) - A dozen people had signed up to speak so the chair apologized and said we'd have only 90 seconds. There were some good questions for other speakers (especially for John Marshall of UFCW 3000, who was very knowledgeable), so right before my testimony the chari apologized again and said we'd have to… - [HB 2503 (AI Training data)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/hb-2503-tdev.md) - Chair Ryu, Ranking Member Barnard, and members of the Committee, I'm Jon Pincus of Bellevue. I run the Nexus of Privacy newsletter, and served on the state Automated Decision Systems Workgroup in 2022. My position on HB 2503 is PRO. In 2023, Stanford researchers discovered child abuse material in a… - [HB 2599 (AI in therapy) oral and written testimony](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/hb-2599-hw.md) - Oral testimony Chair Bronoske, Ranking Member Schmick, members of the committee, I'm Jon Pincus of Bellevue. I run the Nexus of Privacy newsletter, served on the state Automated Decision Systems Workgroup in 2022, and I am PRO on HB 2599. The need for regulation is clear. Developers ChatGPT and oth… - [Improving privacy and safety in fediverse software](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/ipsfs-nlnet.md) - A resource page for a work on threat modeling and other approaches to improve the fediverse. - [Privacy on the fediverse](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-and-the-fediverse.md) - The online version of a proposal for an February 2024 NLNet NGI Zero Core submission. - [SB 5956 (AI student discipline and surveillance in schools) testimony and follow-on mail](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/sb-5956-education.md) - Testimony I'm Jon Pincus of Bellevue, a technologist and strategist. I run the Nexus of Privacy newsletter, served on the state Automated Decision Systems Workgroup in 2022. I am also here to support the very timely SB 5956. Automated decision systems, including AI-based systems, are often discrimi… - [SB 6002 / HB 2332 (Driver Privacy Act, regulating Flock and other ALPRs) testimony](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/sb-6002-jan19-hearings.md) - I got shut out of speaking at both hearings, bummer. I live-skeeted both from the @wa-privacy.net Blacksky account. I submitted basically the same written testimony to both hearings. Here's the version I submitted for SB 6002. Chair Dhingra, Ranking Member Holy, and members of the committee, I'm Jo… - [SB 6312 (Surveillance Pricing) testimony](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/sb-6312-bte.md) - SB 6312 is a "companion bill" to HB 2841. Sen. Saldaña introduced it Monday, January 26, and the next thing I knew there was a hearing scheduled for Wednesday at 8 am. There had been a lot of pushback on the in the House hearing on the moratorium on electronic shelf labelers, so it seemed like this… - [SB 5984 (AI Companion Chatbots) testimony](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/sb5984-eet.md) - This is my written testimony. My live testimony was a much shorter subset of this. Chair Shewmake, Ranking Member Boehnke, members of the Committee, I'm Jon Pincus of Bellevue. I run the Nexus of Privacy newsletter, and served on the state Automated Decision Systems Workgroup in 2022, I am testifyi… - [2026 Washington state legislature: testimony and followon mail](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/waleg-2026.md) - Life comes at you fast ... and the leg session comes at you even faster, especially in even-numbered years when it's a 60-day short session. So I didn't get the overview post up until halfway through the session, and didn't have time to do the two followon posts I planned. Oh well. But I did testif… ## Posts - [Early results are encouraging: experiences organizing against the surveillance-industrial complex in the ATmosphere and the fediverses](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/early-results-are-encouraging.md) - Part 3 of The time is right - [The National Week of Action against ALPRs -- in Washington and across the country](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-national-week-of-action-against-alprs-in-washington-and-across-the-country.md) - Just as with the fight against data centers, the energy is really coming from the grassroots. - [Seattle looks to ban surveillance pricing with the "Fair and Transparent Pricing Ordinance" - and the disinfo has already started](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/seattle-surveillance-pricing.md) - As my Mom said when I described surveillance pricing to her, “How can they get away with doing that? That shouldn’t be legal!” Indeed. - [Activism makes a difference: the SCREEN Act unexpectedly fails in committee! But KOSA advances, so keep up the pressure](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/activism-makes-a-difference.md) - The best way to build on this victory is to keep the pressure on with KOSA and other bad internet bills. - ["The S is for surveillance": fighting KOSA and bad internet bills in the ATmosphere and the fediverses (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-s-in-kosa-is-for-surveillance.md) - Part 2 of The Time Is Right: shifting from theory to practice. - [The time is right: Organizing against the surveillance-industrial complex in the ATmosphere and the fediverses](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-time-is-right.md) - If we organize, we can have a big impact in the fight against the surveillance-industrial complex. - [A bad week for Flock (but a good week for privacy and local organizing) in Washington state!](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/a-bad-week-for-flock.md) - Good news from Issaquah, Redmond, Issaquah, and Auburn! - [Flock is on the agenda this week at the Renton, Issaquah, Auburn, and Redmond city councils!](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/flock-is-on-the-agenda-this-week-at-the-renton-issaquah-and-redmond-city-councils.md) - "This past year has exposed just how dangerous automated license plate readers are as Flock Safety’s products have reportedly been used in immigration enforcement, abortion monitoring, repeated incidents of stalking, and experienced major cybersecurity breaches. But Flock is not alone. Motorola Sol… - [Get FISA Right turns 18](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/get-fisa-right-turns-18.md) - Thanks to everybody who's been involved over the years! - [KOSA, the KIDS Act, AI, Bad Internet Bills, and a potential giveaway to big tech (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/kosa-kids-act-june-update.md) - Just say no to bills that age restrict, censor, and surveil the internet! - [Solidarity over Surveillance](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/solidarity-over-surveillance.md) - The time is now to rein in the surveillance state - [FediForum "Growing the Open Social Web" Un-Workshop position statement](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/fediforum-growing-the-open-social-web-un-workshop-position-statement-2.md) - Note: feel free to skip the narrative, and go straight to the position statement! ""Open Social Web" is a term surveillance capitalism companies and their friends have been using since at least 2008. The framing puts focus on the "openness," so erases the trans/queer/non-binary-driven oppositional… - [#waleg 2026 at the midpoint: surveillance, privacy, AI, and age verification legislation overview](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/waleg-2026-overview.md) - Things are moving fast in a short session. - [What are you looking for in social media in 2026?](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/what-are-you-looking-for-on-social-media.md) - Enquiring minds want to know! - [Reasons for optimism at the turn of the year: reflections on the fediverses, the ATmosphere, and whatever comes next](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/reasons-for-optimism-at-the-turn-of-the-year.md) - There really is a lot of exciting stuff happening! - [#GivingTuesday 2025](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/givingtuesday-2025.md) - Don't limit your #GivingTuesday gifts to the non-profit industrial complex! - [N recommendations to improve accessibility in the fediverse and ATmosphere (DRAFT)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/accessibility-recommendations.md) - DRAFT! Work in progress! Feedback welcome! Here are some work-in-progress recommendations based on initial feedback to Improving accessibility in the fediverse and the ATmosphere. these! For everybody * Learn to avoid common accessibility mistakes * Take the time to compose good alt text for your i… - [Media Liberation Day: how can we help newcomers get started and have a good experience on fedi?](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/how-to-help-newcomers-for-media-liberation-day.md) - Media Revolution's Media Liberation Day on November 5 is encouraging people to liberate themselves from malignant corporate media to explore decentralized social networks. It's a great opportunity to bring people to fedi ... but as we all know, it's not always easy for people to get started, find w… - [This is what solidarity looks like](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/what-solidarity-looks-like.md) - Part 2 of "Decentralization" and Erasure: Blacksky, Bluesky, and the ATmosphere - [Improving accessibility in the fediverse and the ATmosphere](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/improving-accessibility.md) - One wonderful feature of many of the communities in the fediverse is that so many many people take the time to put alt-text on their images – so low-vision and blind people can participate much more fully than on other social networks. Just as importantly, some fedi software works quite well for pe… - [Can we please stop arguing about whether Bluesky is decentralized?](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/can-we-please-stop-arguing-about-whether-bluesky-is-decentralized.md) - Nobody's changing their minds at this point, so let's stop wasting our time. - [Mississippi, Bluesky, Blacksky, the ATmosphere, Mastodon, and the Fediverse](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/mississippi-bluesky-blacksky-the-atmosphere-mastodon-and-the-fediverse.md) - Now's a good time to start thinking seriously about some hard questions - [Notes on genocide prevention and other kinds of organizing, mutual aid, and activism on social networks](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/notes-on-genocide-prevention-and-other-kinds-of-organizing-mutual-aid-and-activism-on-social-networks-d.md) - Part 4 of If not now, when? Do you have thoughts on the general topic or specific feedback on this post? Please join the discussions on Mastodon, Bluesky, or Lemmy – or use the CryptPad form here if you prefer (don't be surprised if it takes a few seconds to come up). "Mutual aid. Organizing. Shari… - [On FediForum (and not just FediForum)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/not-just-fediforum.md) - There really are a lot of opportunities here! - [More notes on Organizing, Mutual Aid, and Activism on decentralized social networks](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/more-notes-on-organizing.md) - Part 3 of a series. See If not now, when? Mutual aid and organizing in the fediverses, the ATmosphere, and whatever comes next and Notes (and thoughts) on organizing in the fediverses and the ATmosphere for previous installments and a reading list. "Mutual aid. Organizing. Sharing, contextualizing,… - [Notes (and thoughts) on organizing in the fediverses and the ATmosphere](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/notes-on-organizing-in-the-fediverses.md) - Some potential paths forward -- but the landscape is complicated. - [If not now, when? Mutual aid and organizing in the fediverses, the ATmosphere, and whatever comes next](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/if-not-now-when.md) - Part 1 of a series - [SB 5708/HB 1834 (Age Verification) testimony](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/sb-5708-age-verification-testimony.md) - Testimony to the Washington state Senate Ways & Means committee - [Organizing on decentralized social networks: a survey!](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/organizing-on-decentralized-social-networks.md) - With Xitter's CEO making Nazi salutes and Meta's techbro CEO kissing the fascist boot, now's a good time to look at alternatives - [The People's Privacy Act (HB 1671): testimony and followon mail](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-peoples-privacy-act-hb-1671-testimony-and-followon-mail.md) - At the hearing, privacy advocates supported the bill. Big tech lobbyists opposed it. Who could have predicted? - [Resources for choosing the right fediverse instance](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/resources-for-choosing-instances.md) - A daunting choice -- but not irrevocable! - [Bluesky and The Battle of Wormtongue](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/bluesky-and-the-battle-of-wormtongue.md) - How will Jay Graber and her team respond? - [#GivingTuesday in the fediverse: instance admins, mutual aid, 501(c)(3)s, and more](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/giving-tuesday-in-the-fediverse.md) - The fediverse is powered by people ... so please keep the people here in mind a part of your giving - ["Decentralization" and erasure: Blacksky, Bluesky, and the ATmosphere](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/decentralization-and-erasure-blacksky-bluesky-and-the-atmosphere-2.md) - Part 3 of Bluesky, the ATmosphere, and the fediverses - [Accessibility resources for Mastodon and compatible software (DRAFT)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/mastodon-accessibility-resources.md) - Suggestions and feedback welcome - [UPDATED: Rumors, conspiracy theories, and disinformation about "millions of missing votes" and voting machine fraud](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/disinfo-about-missing-votes.md) - Please don't amplify conspiracy theories! - [Post-election disinfo: weaponized unreliable exit polls targeting marginalized communities](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/disinfo-weaponized-exit-polls.md) - Think before you engage or share! - [A faux "Eternal September" turns into flatness](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/flatness.md) - Part 3 of Mastodon, two years later - [A tale of two prototypes](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/a-tale-of-two-prototypes-2.md) - Part 2 of Mastodon, two years later - [5 ways to fight election disinformation on Bluesky and the Fediverse](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/fiighting-election-disinfo-2024.md) - Grassroots election protection activism made the difference in 2020. It's time to do it again. Fighting disinfo is one good way to help – on the Fediverse, on Bluesky, and on other social networks. - [Mastodon, two years later](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/mastodon-two-years-later.md) - A continuation of Mastodon: a partial history - [A lot of good stuff is happening in the fediverses!](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/good-stuff-in-the-fediverses.md) - There really is a lot going on! - [9 things the Social Web Foundation could do to prioritize safety (if they decide they want to)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/swf-safety.md) - Will they? Time will tell! - [More questions than answers: another post about the Social Web Foundation and the fediverses](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/swf-questions.md) - Questions for others in the fediverses as well as SWF - [The Social Web Foundation and the elephant in the federated room](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/swf-and-the-meta-elephant.md) - And I don't mean Mastodon! - [Is Bluesky part of today's Fediverse?](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/is-bluesky-part-of-todays-fediverse.md) - I think so! But it depends on how you define "the Fediverse" - [I for one welcome Bluesky, the ATmosphere, BTS ARMY, millions of Brazilians, Black Twitter, and sex worker Twitter to the fediverses! (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/bluesky-atmosphere-fediverse.md) - Now also welcoming Black Twitter and sex worker Twitter! - [5 things white people can do to start making the fediverse less toxic for Black people](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/start-making-the-fediverse-less-toxic.md) - Anti-Blackness is a long-term problem in the fediverse. Now's a good time to start changing that. - [Ah, Lemmy: Racism and Denial in the Threadiverse (DRAFT)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/racism-and-denial-in-the-threadiverse.md) - Fediverse discussions about racism in the fediverse frequently provide examples of racism in the fediverse - [Fork it! It's time for a Mastodon hard fork (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/mastodon-hard-fork.md) - An opportunity to improve safety, the Mastodon ecosystem, and fediverse software development - [Eight tips about consent for fediverse developers](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/consent-for-fediverse-developers.md) - An opportunity? A minefield? Both! - [Federal privacy legislation update: the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/federal-privacy-legislation-update-the-american-privacy-rights-act-apra.md) - Expect a fierce legislative battle! - [How to block Threads on Mastodon - and a reminder that blocking on the fediverse only provides limited protections (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/how-to-block-threads-on-mastodon.md) - With screenshots! - [Steps towards a safer fediverse](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/steps-towards-a-safer-fediverse.md) - Part 5 of "Golden opportunities for the fediverse -- and whatever comes next." - [Business is business: Snap, Microsoft, and X endorse the anti-LGBTQ+, pro-censorship KOSA bill](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/kosa-snap-x-microsoft.md) - What's important is *looking like* they're trying to protect children -- even though KOSA would actually harm kids - [Testimony opposing Washington HB 1951, weak algorithmic discrimination legislation](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/opposing-hb1951.md) - Despite good intentions, the bill looks like it was written by tech lobbyists. - [Instances in the free fediverses should consider "transitive defederation" from instances that federate with Meta](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/consider-transitively-defederatiion.md) - Part 7 of Strategies for the free fediverses. As the first post in the series discusses, the "free fediverses" are regions of the fediverse that reject Meta and surveillance capitalism, and these strategies position the free fediverses as an alternative to Threads and "Meta's fediverses". Join the… - [The free fediverses should work together with people and instances in Meta's fediverses and on Bluesky whose goals and values align](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/work-together-with-metas-fediverses-and-bluesky.md) - Part 6 of "Strategies for a free fediverse" - [The free fediverses should make it easier to move between (and create) instances](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/make-it-easier-to-move-to-instances-in-the-free-fediverses.md) - Part 5 of Strategies for the free fediverses - [The free fediverses should support concentric federations of instances](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-free-fediverses-should-support-concentric-federations-of-instances.md) - Part 4 of Strategies for the free fediverses - [The free fediverses should emphasize networked communities](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-free-fediverses-should-emphasize-networked-communities.md) - Part 3 of Strategies for the free fediverses - [The free fediverses should focus on consent (including consent-based federation), privacy, and safety](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/free-fediverses-and-consent.md) - Part 2 of Strategies for the free fediverses - [Strategies for the free fediverses (2024 DRAFT)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/strategies-for-the-free-fediverses.md) - How to leverage the free fediverses' many advantages? - [Happy 2024! A few updates, a few questions](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/happy-2024-a-few-updates-a-few-questions.md) - 2024 should be a very interesting year - [The (annotated) case for "Big Fedi"](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-annotated-case-for-a-big-fedi.md) - As Johnny Rotten once said, "Two sides to every story" - [Embrace, Extend, and Exploit: Meta's plan for ActivityPub, Mastodon and the Fediverse](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/embrace-extend-and-exploit.md) - What's Meta up to? - [Compare and contrast: Fediseer, FIRES, and The Bad Space](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/fediseer-fires-and-the-bad-space.md) - Part 4 of "Golden opportunities for the fediverse – and whatever comes next" - [It's possible to talk about The Bad Space without being racist or anti-trans – but it's not as easy as it sounds](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-bad-space.md) - Part 3 of "Golden opportunities for the fediverse – and whatever comes next" - [Blocklists in the ActivityPub fediverse](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/blocklists-in-the-fediverse.md) - Part 2 of "Golden opportunities for the fediverse – and whatever comes next" - [Mastodon and today's ActivityPub Fediverse are unsafe by design and unsafe by default](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/unsafe-by-design-and-unsafe-by-default.md) - Part 1 of "Golden opportunities for the fediverse – and whatever comes next" - [Can the Fediverse help stop Bad Internet Bills?](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/fediverse-bad-internet-bills-activism.md) - The July 20-28 Week of Action is a good time to experiment! - [The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act has a House Judiciary Committee markup tomorrow!](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/fansfa-hjc-markup.md) - If all goes well, the committee will advance a (potentially-amended) version of the bill ... a huge step forward! - [A clear victory for the free fediverse: Meta now says integrating with ActivityPub is "a long way out"](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/clear-victory-for-the-free-fediverse.md) - The results so far are certainly encouraging! - [Why just blocking Meta's Threads won't be enough to protect your privacy once they join the fediverse](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/just-blocking-threads-isnt-enough.md) - At least, not with today's software. - ["A clear victory for our cause"? Opinions continue to differ about Meta and Threads in the fediverse!](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/opinions-continue-to-differ-about-meta-and-threads.md) - Including a polling update! - [Threat modeling Meta, the Fediverse, and privacy (DRAFT)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/fediverse-threat-modeling-privacy-and-meta.md) - DRAFT! Work in progress! Feedback welcome - [Six posts, a presentation, and a preview on privacy and prototyping: Fediverse update, July 3](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/five-posts-on-the-fediverse-and-mastodon.md) - There's a lot to write about, and I've been doing a lot of writing about it. - [How to use filtering and muting to hear less discussion of odious people on Mastodon](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/how-to-filter-out-mentions-of-unpalatable-people-on-twitter-and-mastodon.md) - It's not a perfect solution, but it's helpful. - [How to choose the right Mastodon instance?](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/choosing-a-mastodon-instance.md) - A daunting choice -- but not irrevocable! - [We're here, we're queer, and we're federated: How queer, trans, and non-binary people helped create Mastodon and are shaping today's fediverse (REVISED DRAFT)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/here-queer-and-federated-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse.md) - Happy Pride! - [Should the Fediverse welcome its new surveillance-capitalism overlords? Opinions differ! (2026 UPDATE)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/should-the-fediverse-welcome-surveillance-capitalism.md) - Block Meta or "trust but verify"? - [Eight days later: Kbin, Lemmy, the landed gentry, and the rise of the "threadiverse" (DRAFT)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/8-days-later-draft-kbin-lemmy-landed-gentry.md) - Draft! Work in Progress! Feedback welcome! - [Don't tell people "it's easy", and seven more things Kbin, Lemmy, and the fediverse can learn from Mastodon (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/kbin-lemmy-fediverse-learnings-from-mastodon.md) - The fediverse has always grown in waves, and it looks like the next one's in progress. - [Don't tell people "it's easy", and six more things Kbin, Lemmy, and the fediverse can learn from Mastodon (REVISED DRAFT)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/dont-tell-people-its-easy-draft.md) - DRAFT! Feedback welcome! Updated on June 10 - [Taking a break ...](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/taking-a-break.md) - 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… - [My Health My Data goes to the Governor's desk: Washington state privacy update, April 20](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/my-health-my-data-goes-to-the-governors-desk-washington-state-privacy-update-april-20.md) - Gov. Inslee is expected to sign the bill, probably next week. - [My Health My Data in the home stretch: Washington privacy legislation update, April 17](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/my-health-my-data-in-the-home-stretch.md) - Update: My Health My Data has passed the legislature! - [My Health My Data heads to the Senate floor: Washington privacy legislation update, April 4](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/my-health-my-data-senate-floor.md) - The Senate's likely to vote on the consumer helath data privacy bill as soon as tomorrow. - [Privacy News Roundup: February 22](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-february-22.md) - As usual, there's a lot going on! - [Another try at regulating Automated Decision Systems in Washington state (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/automated-decision-systems-regulation.md) - You can probably guess what happened - [Privacy News Roundup: February 13 mega-post](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-february-13.md) - Data brokers selling Americans mental health data, legal theory, state and federal privacy legislation, and more! - [A watered-down substitute advances: Washington privacy legislation update, February 6](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/a-watered-down-substitute-advances.md) - The new version of My Health My Data incorporates many of the "improvements" (haha) industry lobbyists suggested - [Privacy News Roundup: February 1](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-february-1.md) - Privacy after Roe, an FTC enforcement action, a federal privacy legislation update ... and more! - [The session's in high gear: Washington privacy legislation update, January 31](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/a-lot-going-on-washington-privacy-legislation-update.md) - With only 105 days in Washington's legislative session, things are moving quickly - [#Privacy activism on Mastodon and in the fediverse](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-activism-mastodon-fediverse.md) - It's worth a try! - [#Privacy activism in "the other Washington": #waleg #MyHealthMyData #PeoplesPrivacyAct and more](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/waleg-privacy-activism.md) - It might or might not work, but we'll learn a lot, so it's worth a try. - [Privacy News: January 26](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-january-26.md) - State and federal privacy regulation, facial recognition, what's on tap for 2023 ... and more! - [A very encouraging first step: My Health My Data's first hearing](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/my-health-my-data-encouraging-first-step.md) - Part two of Washington state privacy legislation 2023 - [Privacy News: January 20](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-january-20.md) - 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 News: January 17](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-january-17.md) - 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! - [Social threat modeling and quote boosts on Mastodon](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/social-threat-modeling-and-quote-boosts.md) - How can Mastodon improve tools for preventing, and defending against, harassment and abuse? - [Privacy News: January 12](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-january-12.md) - President Biden weighs in, facial recognition in Iran, medium on Mastodon ... and more! - [A much more favorable environment, but a lot of complexity: Washington state privacy legislation 2023 (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/wa-privacy-more-favorable-environment.md) - There's good reason for optimism! - [Privacy News: January 9](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-january-9.md) - Lots of surveillance stories, fines for Facebook, Google, and Apple, and much much more! - [Privacy News: January 3](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-january-3.md) - Looking back at 2022, a good book list, another Black man mistakenly arrested because of facial recognition tecnnology ... and more! - [The Nexus of Privacy at the turn of the year](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-nexus-of-privacy-at-the-turn-of-the-year.md) - With some teasers about stories in the works ... - [Privacy News: December 26](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-december-26.md) - Police using health data for surveillance, TikTok spying on journalists, state privacy legislation, and more! - [Black Twitter, quoting, and white views of toxicity on Mastodon](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/black-twitter-quoting-and-white-toxicity-on-mastodon.md) - Does quoting really cause toxicity? - [That's a wrap (for now): federal privacy legislation update, December 23](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/thats-a-wrap-for-now-federal-privacy-legislation-update-december-23.md) - It's official: at the end of the day, nothing passed - [The omnibus drops - with no ADPPA or KOSA! Federal privacy legislation update, December 20](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/intersectional-perspectives-and-the-omnibus-drops-federal-privacy-legislation-update-december-20.md) - The $1.7 trillion, 4155-page "omnibus" appropriations bill was released at 1:30 am this morning – without any privacy legislation attached. With Congress rushing to leave DC before a huge snowstorm closes in, it looks like that's it for 2022. Privacy legislation is hard. Still, by the time we got t… - [Privacy News: December 19](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-december-19.md) - A big FTC settlement, student privacy, state and federal privacy legislation, security and privacy issues on Mastodon ... and more! - [ADPPA and Twitter: eight questions and an elephant](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/adppa-and-twitter-eight-questions-and-an-elephant.md) - Does the proposed consumer privacy bill prevent Twitter's data abuses? - [Privacy News: December 15](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-december-15.md) - Privacy after Roe, surveillance, FTC comments, state and federal privacy legislation, and more! - [ADPPA and a "coordinated effort" not to mention the elephant: Federal privacy legislation update, December 12](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/a-coordinated-effort-not-to-mention-the-elephant.md) - Will Big Tech get what they want? We shall see. - [Privacy News: December 11](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-december-11.md) - Large language models, iCloud encryption, Twitter privacy issues, state privacy legislation, and much much more! - [Flocking to Mastodon? Here's what you need to know!](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/flocking-to-mastodon-heres-what-you-need-to-know.md) - Tuesday, December 13, at 9 am Pacific / noon Eastern - [Privacy News: December 7](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-december-7.md) - SF says no to killer robots (for now), the EU says no to Meta's business model, questions about state privacy legislation ... and more! San Francisco: In a surprise turnaround, robot lethal force is banned — for now Will Jarrett on Mission Local (missionlocal.org) In an unexpected about-face, the B… - [Privacy News: December 5](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-december-5.md) - Killer robots, a new deadline for Real ID, effective privacy organizing, security cameras with a data leak, Mastodon, and more! - [Mastodon privacy: you can't really opt out of search engine indexing](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/mastodon-privacy-remember-that-public-and-unlisted-posts-can-be-indexed-by-search-engines.md) - There are a lot of reasons people might not want their posts on a social network to be indexed by search engines. Too bad Mastodon's "opt out" doesn't actually opt you out. - [Privacy News: December 2](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-december-2.md) - Travel privacy, Spotify Wrapped, a lawsuit against a spyware maker ... and more! - [Privacy News: November 29](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-november-29.md) - Killer robots, privacy after Roe, state and federal privacy legislation, and more! - [Will anything pass this session? Federal privacy legislation update, November 28](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/its-time-for-the-lame-duck-session-federal-privacy-legislation-update-november-28.md) - Over 90 organizations have signed on to a letter led by the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and Fight for the Future opposing the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Signers include local and national LGBTQ and human rights organizations including the ACLU,… - [Mastodon: a partial history (DRAFT)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/mastodon-a-partial-history.md) - I'm flashing! - [Privacy News: November 22](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-november-22.md) - Privacy after Roe, ADPPA and KOSA in Congress, FTC comments, a big new lawsuit by Foxglove against Meta ... and that's only the tip of the iceberg. - [Consent, Automated Systems, and Discrimination (FTC Comments)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/consent-automated-systems-and-discrimination.md) - My response to the FTC’s ANPR on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security - [Privacy News: November 17](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-november-17.md) - Federal privacy legislation, Mastodon, an intriguing upcoming event, and more! - [Privacy News: November 15](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-november-15.md) - Privacy after Roe, Algorithmic bias, privacy legislation, Twitter, and more - [The elephant and the lame duck: ADPPA after the midterms (a federal privacy legislation update)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-elephant-and-the-lame-duck.md) - Reading the political tea leaves ... - [Privacy News: November 10 - and a bit about disinfo too](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-november-10.md) - Data brokers, FTC commens, state privacy legislation, Apple, Mastodon, and more - [How to fight election disinfo on Mastodon (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/fight-election-disinfo-on-mastodon.md) - Mastodon's small, but a lot of people there have good networks on other sites and in the real world. - [Privacy News: November 4](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-november-4.md) - Twitter privacy issues, NYPD joins Amazon's surveillance network,state privacy legislation updates, and much more. - [#StopShotSpotter: Seattle Update](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/stopshotspotter-in-seattle-update-november-3.md) - Gun violence is a huge problem. Will ShotSpotter help? What are the costs? - [Privacy News: November 1](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-november-1.md) - Karen memes and surveillance, privacy nutrition labels, upcoming events, an FTC action, and more! - [Privacy News: October 28](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-october-28.md) - Twitter, privacy after Roe, automated decision systems, and a lot more - [A new Chief Twit - and a big Twitter privacy issue](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/a-new-chief-twit-and-a-big-twitter-privacy-issue.md) - A lot of people want to delete their Twitter data. Unfortunately, you can't. - [Privacy News: October 26](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-october-26.md) - A bumper crop of links, from across the country and around the world! - [Privacy News: October 21, Global Encryption Day](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-october-21.md) - Encryption, student privacy, algorithmic justice, and more! - [Privacy News: October 19](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-october-19.md) - Luxury surveillance, Duck Duck Go's Mac browser, privacy after Roe, ADPPA and disabled people ... and more! - [Privacy News: October 17](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-october-17.md) - Getting the week off to a good start with a bumper crop of links! - [How and why to submit FTC comments on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/how-and-why-to-submit-ftc-comments-on-commercial-surveillance-and-security.md) - The deadline is now Friday, November 21. ftccomments.com is the easiest way, or you can use regulations.gov to submit more detailed comments - [Privacy News: October 13](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-october-13.md) - A roundup from around the web. - [#StopShotSpotter: my comments at the Seattle Budget Committee hearing](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/public-comments-on-shotspotter-at-seattle-budget-committee-hearings.md) - Surveillance isn't safety. - [Privacy News: October 10](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-october-10.md) - A US/EU data transfer agreement, student privacy, privacy after Roe, Colorado privacy regulations ... and more! - [Federal Privacy Legislation: What's likely to happen the "lame duck" session?](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/adppa-roundup.md) - Your thoughts welcome! - [Privacy News: October 6](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-october-6.md) - A new book from Danielle Citron, a new paper from Ari Waldman, Post-Roe privacy, and more! - [White House Releases a "Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights"](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/blueprint-for-an-ai-bill-of-rights.md) - An encouraging step! - [#StopShotSpotter: Detroit, Cleveland, Portland, Seattle, Dayton and a short reference list (UPDATED)](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/shotspotter-in-the-news.md) - All across the country, local organizers are fighting back - [Privacy News: October 4 mega-update](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-october-4.md) - Federal privacy legislation, post-Roe privacy, automated decision systems, news from "across the pond" ... and much much more - ["White Man's Gambit": yet another 'pundit' suggests a real names policy](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/white-mans-gambit-and-real-names-policy.md) - Whose interests are served by this framing? - [Comments For Impact: Using FTC Rulemaking to Challenge Commercial Surveillance and Consumer Data Abuses](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/comments-for-impact.md) - The next Disinfo Defense League training is on Tuesday, October 4, at 9:00 am Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern). The session is open to the public and will help organizations consider how to get involved in this exciting process. RSVP at bit.ly/CommentsForImpact From the description: Big news: the… - [Federal privacy legislation: a quick ADPPA roundup](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/federal-privacy-legislation-adppa-roundup.md) - One of Big Tech's favorite tactics in their incessant attempts to pass weak privacy here in Washington state has been to try to push a "compromise" bill through at the very end of the session.... So it wouldn't surprise me if there are still some shenanigans in store for ADPPA. – Who could have pre… - [Surveillance cameras in New York subway cars: Whose voices are heard?](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/surveillance-cameras-in-new-york-subway-cars.md) - “You think Big Brother’s watching you on the subways? You're absolutely right.” - [Privacy News: September 26](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-september-26.md) - Surveillance solutionism in New York City subways, media analysis, and more. - [Privacy News: September 23](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-september-23.md) - Surveillance cameras in SF, post-Roe privacy, and more. - ["An alphabet soup of federal privacy legislation"](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/an-alphabet-soup-of-federal-privacy-legislation.md) - A webinar -- and actions! - [Privacy News: September 20](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-september-20.md) - Monitoring student protests, Privacy after Roe, and more! - [Privacy News: September 17 mega-update](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-september-17.md) - With even more links than normal! - [Who could have predicted? A potential "new compromise" for ADPPA!](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/adppa-new-compromise.md) - Can we talk about something besides preempting California for a second? - [Automated Systems and Discrimination: Comments at FTC Public Forum for Commercial Surveillance and Data Security](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/comments-for-ftc-public-forum-for-commercial-surveillance.md) - An extended remix of my two-minute public comments - [Stress-testing privacy legislation with a queer lens](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/adppa-with-a-queer-lens.md) - It turned out to be a very interesting process! - [Privacy News: September 6](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-september-6.md) - Signal's new President, Pelosi on ADPPA, and more! - [Privacy News: September 1](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-september-1.md) - Today's experiment: more top-level topics, less analysis. - [ADPPA's data minimization and duty of loyalty: a deep dive](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/adppa-data-minimization.md) - Work in progress! - [Let's talk about the elephant: how well does ADPPA protect against post-Roe threats?](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/adppa-post-roe-threats.md) - Let's talk about the elephant in the room. - [Privacy News: August 29](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-august-29.md) - Getting the week off to a good start! Sephora to pay $1.2m to settle California privacy law claims Jessica Lyons Hardcastle, The Register (theregister.com) Sephora failed to disclose to consumers that it was selling their personal information, and failed to process user requests to opt out of sale… - [ADPPA's algorithmic impact assessments are too weak to protect civil rights -- but it's not too late to strengthen them](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/adppa-impact-assessments-and-civil-rights.md) - There's still time to improve the federal consumer privacy bill. - [Privacy News: August 22](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-august-22.md) - A range of stories to start the week off ... Birthing Predictions of Premature Death J. Khadijah Abdurahman on Logic Magazine (logicmag.io) Logic Magazine's incoming editor takes a powerful in-depth look at how family policing (aka "child welfare") became data-driven – and the horrific implications… - [Privacy News: August 19](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-august-19.md) - Introducing a new section on student privacy! - [Queer experience, privacy legislation, and other privacy News: August 18](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-august-18.md) - How queer experiences should inform privacy laws, ADPPA may have a $200 million giveaway to telecoms, and more - [Privacy News: August 15](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-august-15.md) - Loyalty programs sharing pregnancy information, student privacy abuse here in Washington state, and much much more - [FTC Rulemaking and more: Privacy News, August 12](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-august-12.md) - As usual, dozens of links! - [One out of six ain't good: Five ways the American Data Privacy and Protection Act falls short](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/one-out-of-six-aint-good.md) - How does ADPPA respond to critiques of California's privacy law? - [Privacy News August 9: StopShotspotter Week of Action and more](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-august-9.md) - Stop Shotspotter's week of action, Amazon buys Roomba (what could possibly go wrong? ), and dozens of links. - [The opportunity and the elephant: Federal Privacy Legislation Update, August 8](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/the-opportunity-and-the-elephant.md) - Even before June's Supreme Court decision ending Roe, Congress was under a lot of pressure to act on privacy – a recent poll says 80% of Americans want them to act, thanks to a steady stream of reporting on data abuse by government agencies, ed tech companies exploiting kids personal data, sleazy s… - [Privacy News: August 3](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-august-3.md) - ICE buying data from LexisNexis, expanding surveillance in London, a Stop Shotspotter teach in ... and more! - [Privacy News: August 1](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-august-1.md) - Selling data about pregnant people, federal privacy legislation, Shotspotter in contempt of court, and more! - [Is there an elephant in the Zoom room? CPPA says no to ADPPA preempting California law](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/is-there-an-elephant-in-the-zoom-room.md) - California's Privacy Protection Agency speaks out. - [Comments at the CPPA Special Board Meeting on federal privacy legislation, including ADPPA](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/comments-at-the-cppa-special-board-meeting-on-federal-privacy-legislation-including-adppa.md) - The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) had a public special board meeting today to discuss the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA), a federal consumer privacy bill that would override California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Pass the popcorn! Here were my comments, more or less –… - [ADPPA Advances. But what about the elephant? Federal Privacy Legislation Update, July 26](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/what-about-the-elephant.md) - Will ADPPA protect pregnant people? - [Privacy News: July 22](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-july-22.md) - Probing how tech companies data handling could put people looking for information about abortions at risk, Federal privacy legislation advances, and more - [Privacy News: July 20](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-july-20.md) - DHS buying location data, a hearing on Digital Dragnets, the European Commission violates the EU's data rules ... and more! - [Privacy News: July 18](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-july-18.md) - New UK legislation, privacy after Roe, Consumer Reports on US legislation ... and more! - [A "fresh wrench", two hearings, and a busy week: Federal Privacy Legislation Update, July 17](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/a-fresh-wrench-and-two-hearings.md) - With less than a month before Congress leave town again, this will be a busy week on the federal privacy legislation front. - [Privacy News: July 16](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-july-16.md) - Rescind Amazon Ring, ADPPA drama, and more. - [Privacy News: July 13](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-july-13-2.md) - Surveillance power grab in SF, Amazon's Ring sharing data with law enforcement, and more - [Privacy News: July 11](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/privacy-news-july-11.md) - As always, there's a lot going on! - [Talking about the elephant: Federal Privacy Legislation Update, July 8](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/talking-about-the-elephant.md) - How will the end of Roe impact proposed federal privacy legislation? ## Optional - [RSS Feed](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/rss/) - [Sitemap](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/sitemap.xml) - [Full content of pages and posts](https://thenexusofprivacy.net/llms-full.txt)