TheBetterWeb
Posts
Issue #10 | pro tips for activists, mass surveillance & Patagonia

Issue #10 | pro tips for activists, mass surveillance & Patagonia

Five Better Web things I read, watched, explored during the last 7 days.

Daniel Krueger
March 31, 2023

Welcome back to The Better Web newsletter!

This is the round-up of my Better Web week. Five links show you what, in my opinion, has been important for a Better Web during the last few days.

I write about a decentralized web with a priority on privacy and safety. If you are an activist or NGO worker I provide links and information for you regularly.

Feel free to forward the newsletter, share it, or recommend it to friends and colleagues.

I'm also grateful for any feedback. To do so, just hit reply in the email program, or text me via Linkedin or Twitter.

And here we go.

1. Mass surveillance and clueless politicians

The EU

Ylva Johansson is the EU Commissioner responsible for the Chat Control Act. With this, the EU wants to monitor all private communication in the EU in the future. Now the responsible EU commissioner has claimed in a podcast interview that the scanning of communications by governments is the same as if you scan for viruses on your computer. She further points out that the Signal messenger has already been scanning all its users’ communication. All of that is pretty much bullshit.

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IS WRITTEN IN ITS OWN CHAT CONTROL BILL - Blog | Mullvad VPN

Ylva Johansson is the EU Commissioner in charge of the Chat Control Bill. In recent days she has taken part in several interviews in Swedish media and also spoken in front of EU parliament members.

mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/3/28/the-european-commission-does-not-understand-what-is-written-in-its-own-chat-control-bill

2. Pro tip for activists

High-end VPN test

Recently I came across Tom Spark Reviews. His mayor topic is privacy. For example, he offers a giant VPN test including a VPN quiz. Also, check out Tom's YouTube channel.

Tom Spark Reviews

The VPN Tier List made by Tom Spark Reviews, rating all VPNs objectively.

vpntierlist.com

3. Pro tip for activists, Pt. 2

How to set up privacy in Firefox

This is a guide to optimize the Firefox browser for better online privacy. Here you find the "normal" and "extended" settings. This guide applies to all platforms: Mac, Windows, and Linux.

avoidthehack.com/firefox-privacy-config

4. Mass surveillance

The USA

The FBI is buying internet data massively. Just like the US Army. And why are they buying the data? Because they are not allowed to implement mass surveillance. Private companies are allowed to do this.

And I am sure that many more authorities worldwide are doing it. But read for yourself.

Here is the FBI’s Contract to Buy Mass Internet Data

The FBI previously purchased access to "netflow" data, which a company called Team Cymru obtains from ISPs. Team Cymru then sells it to the government.

www.vice.com/en/article/dy3z9a/fbi-bought-netflow-data-team-cymru-contract

5. AI is great and scary

An Open Letter

An open letter was published this week warning of the dangers of AI. This open letter calls on all AI labs to immediately pause the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 for at least 6 months. Among the first signatories are well-known scientists, but also Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and Yuval Noah Harari. Remarkable!

Here is the letter.

Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter - Future of Life Institute

We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.

futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments

Just nice!

Happy Birthday, Patagonia!

Patagonia has been around for 50 years. 50 years of sustainability with profit and now converted to a foundation. With so much success you can treat yourself with something. A really good birthday spot, for example.

Thanks for reading this.

Please give me feedback on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Nostr.

See you next week!