MESSAGE
| DATE | 2023-08-16 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [Hangout - NYLXS] Parents, domestic violence victims,
|
Domestic violence is a piss pour reason to want to protect your privacy.
Maybe someone is commiting a crime. Or maybe not. Presuption of
INNOCENSE in the lynchpin to freedom, and lets face it, so many laws suck
https://ips-dc.org/three-felonies-day/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704471504574438900830760842
In a survalience state NOBODY is safe.
On 8/16/23 17:47, Miriam Bastian, FSF wrote:
> *Please consider adding to your address book, which
> will ensure that our messages reach you and not your spam box.*
>
> *Read and share online: *
>
>
> Dear Ruben Safir,
>
> In the [previous installment][1] of our [privacy series][2], we heard
> from people who have to fight for their rights and who protect their
> privacy by using free software. Maybe you live in a democratic country
> where citizens enjoy legal certainty and therefore deem government
> oppression far away. Maybe you trust your government to never fail
> (and I sincerely hope you will never be disappointed). Why should you
> care about privacy and use free software to protect it? The following
> people can tell you from their own experiences.
>
> [1]: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/from-pro-democracy-activist-to-minorities-why-people-use-tor-and-encrypted-chats
> [2]: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/we-have-nothing-to-hide-only-everything-to-protect
>
> ## Meet people who use free software to protect privacy
>
> Ina Johnson is a domestic violence victim who lives in the United
> States. Her husband tracks her online activity in real time,
> selectively blocks her access to websites, attempts to steal her
> account credentials, deletes data from her devices, and violates her
> right to privacy in a multitude of ways. In a survey conducted by the
> [Tor Project][3], Johnson says, "I started using Tor to protect my
> privacy […] If not for Tor, I would not have another option for online
> privacy."
>
> [3]: https://torproject.org
>
> Tor is a [browser][4] and [online anonymity network][5] that improves
> privacy on the Internet. It [uses encryption][6] and IP address
> obfuscation to make web traffic untraceable and private. Tor, as well
> as all the projects and software we present in this article, is free
> software, which is [the only type of software that can guarantee true
> privacy][7]. While free software doesn't guarantee privacy, only free
> software *allows us* to guarantee true privacy.
>
> [4]: https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Tor_Browser
> [5]: https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Tor
> [6]: https://support.torproject.org/glossary/encryption/
> [7]: https://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2020/spring/privacy-encryption
>
> Going back to the topic of why privacy in general is important, let's
> do a thought experiment. Let's assume you trust your spouse, all the
> people around you, and your government. Take a moment to think about
> whether you also trust *big tech giants* like Google and Meta to the
> same degree. Consider whether you trust them, for example, to
> responsibly handle sensitive information of your children's health and
> other data. George Sanchez would answer that question with a decided
> *no*. His reasons are simple, he wants to protect his children in
> today's technological environment. In the Tor survey, he says, "I am a
> father of two teenagers. […] I try to be up to date with research,
> information, and details if anything arises. I use Tor to do the
> research to basically avoid telling Google (and others) that my
> children have […] issues." Similarly, James Taylor explains, "I use
> Tor as my everyday browser. Especially, when I research doctors and
> other very personal stuff, it feels better, 'cause hopefully there
> won't be data for sale, telling the world about my assumed medical
> condition."
>
> [Micky Metts][8], LibrePlanet [keynote speaker][9] and worker/owner of
> [Agaric Technology Collective][10] uses free software because it
> grants her the right to study how the software that holds her data is
> working and lets her control who has access to her information. She
> states:
>
>> Personal information has been used to deny people healthcare and to
>> deny employment based on medical conditions or political
>> beliefs. […] Some corporations buy data in bulk to learn more about
>> their employees. A good example would be that your employer finds
>> out you may be pregnant because you bought a pregnancy test at a
>> pharmacy that sells their data […] and then terminates you
>> immediately.
>
> [8]: https://www.fsf.org/working-together/profiles/micky-metts
> [9]: https://media.libreplanet.org/u/libreplanet/m/how-can-we-prevent-the-orwellian-1984-digital-world/
> [10]: https://agaric.coop/
>
> Next, let's meet doctor Steven White. Sanchez, Taylor, Metts, and all
> the rest of us can only hope that our doctor is as thoughtful with our
> medical information as Dr. White, who goes out of his way to protect
> his patients' privacy, and does so with free software. Dr. White has
> politicians as patients whose legislation made them big enemies in the
> telecom, social media, and search engine industries. When he does
> research on diseases and treatment, he has to ensure that his search
> histories can't be correlated to patient visits nor leak information
> about their health, families, and personal lives.
>
> Unfortunately, we see more and more people use proprietary software,
> such as what runs on devices like the Apple Watch, to monitor their
> health. In our [fall *FSF Bulletin* article on privacy][11], you can
> read how proprietary period tracking apps send the health data about
> its users to surveillance capitalism tech giants like Meta.
>
> [11]: https://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2022/fall/protect-your-freedom-by-managing-your-privacy
>
> Healthcare is one example of an area with especially sensitive
> information. There are other areas with similar concerns, like
> education or law. If you ever need a lawyer, you should check that
> they will handle what you tell them as carefully as [Alper
> Atmaca][12], a lawyer in Turkey, or Neil Brown from
> [decoded.legal][13], a virtual English law firm. Both exclusively use
> free software to communicate with their clients. When Atmaca offers a
> videoconference on [Jitsi Meet][14], he is often confronted with
> resistance in the beginning. Many clients want to stick to a program
> by the tech giants that they know. However, after some explanation,
> his clients soon come to understand that the delicate topics they are
> talking about with their attorney will only stay confidential if they
> communicate via software that respects their privacy. "In the end,
> most of them are amazed what a self-hosted Jitsi has to offer," says
> Atmaca.
>
> [12]: https://www.fsf.org/working-together/profiles/alper-atmaca
> [13]: https://decoded.legal/blog/2022/10/running-a-law-firm-on-linux-a-year-or-so-in
> [14]: https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Jitsi-Meet
>
> [Jitsi Meet offers end-to-end encryption][15] for conversations
> between two people and encryption at the network level for
> videoconferencing between more people, which is why the FSF provides a
> [fully free Jitsi Meet server][16] to all associate members as a
> member benefit. The service notably does not use any third party
> servers for network initialization. Hosting own instances of services
> is the fastest way to controlling software privacy. To help others, we
> published the [source code of the FSF's customizations][17] of Jitsi
> Meet.
>
> [15]: https://jitsi.org/blog/e2ee/
> [16]: https://www.fsf.org/associate/about-the-fsf-jitsi-meet-server
> [17]: https://vcs.fsf.org/?p=jitsi-ansible.git
>
> Finally, let's hear from Neil Brown, who also thinks that
> communicating securely is important. He, too, uses Jitsi for
> videoconferences and, if a client requests it, encrypts his emails.
> "Whether you are communicating with your lawyer or your lover, it's
> important that what you say stays with you and the person you are
> communicating with only and that no one else can alter it!" The same
> is true for client-identifiable information. Brown therefore encrypts
> files with [Cryptomator][18] before syncing them to a free,
> decentralized file storage platform called [Nextcloud][19]. If someone
> accesses the system remotely they will only see encrypted files. In
> addition, Brown encrypts his disks in case his computer gets lost or
> stolen. Brown is keen to point out that valuing freedom does not mean
> compromising on quality. He says, "there's a wealth of amazing free
> software, offering both quality and freedom -- you don't need to
> settle for just one or the other."
>
> [18]: https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Cryptomator
> [19]: https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Nextcloud
>
> ## Protecting our privacy is not a crime, it's a fundamental right
>
> There are countless reasons why we should protect our privacy using
> end-to-end encryption. Nevertheless, some still draw a foregone
> conclusion that the *mere use* of encryption is *in itself* sufficient
> evidence of criminal actions. Unfortunately, this is also the case in
> the investigations of the so-called ["8 December" case][20], in which
> seven people were accused of being part of a terrorist conspiracy. The
> defendants adamantly deny the charge of terrorism. Their trial is set
> to be held in October 2023.
>
> [La Quadrature du Net revealed][21] that the investigation cites the
> use of encrypted communication and privacy tools such as VPN or Tor as
> proof of so-called "clandestine behavior," which is considered to
> reinforce the charge of terrorism. The following quote of the
> conclusion by the *Parquet National Antiterroriste* (National
> Antiterrorist Prosecution Office) on the 8 December case shows this
> paradigmatically:
>
>> The protagonists of the case were all characterized by their cult of
>> secrecy and obsession with discretion, both in their exchanges *and*
>> in their Internet browsing habits. The encrypted application Signal
>> was used by all of the accused, some of whom communicated
>> _exclusively_ [highlighted in the original text] through it.
>
> [20]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_December_2020_incident
> [21]: https://www.laquadrature.net/en/2023/06/05/criminalization-of-encryption-the-8-december-case/
>
> It's a popular misconception that someone who encrypts their
> communication or protects their browsing from prying eyes is hiding a
> crime. Misconceptions like this make it even more important that
> people who use encryption tell their story and let the world know how
> free software encryption helps protect our privacy, and why that is
> *so* important. Because we have everything to protect from snoops.
> What we write, where we browse, and who we are belongs to us and only
> to us. No one else should be allowed to see it without our
> permission. Privacy is not a crime; it's our fundamental right.
>
> ## Tell your own story
>
> Let us and the world know why you use free software to protect your
> privacy. Tell your story on [social media][22] starting your statement
> with "I use #freesoftware to protect my #privacy because […]"
>
> [22]: https://www.fsf.org/share
>
> ## Read more on privacy and free software
>
> Visit the website of the [FSF's anti-surveillance campaign][23] to
> learn more about privacy and free software.
>
> Discover why [privacy and security depend on free software][24].
>
> Check out the FSF's [Email Self-Defense Guide][25] which is available
> in eight different languages.
>
> Take action! [Protect free software that respects our privacy][26]
> against legislative attempts to install a backdoor.
>
> [23]: https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/surveillance
> [24]: https://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2020/spring/privacy-encryption
> [25]: https://emailselfdefense.fsf.org/en/
> [26]: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/take-action-protect-end-to-end-encryption
>
> In freedom,
>
> Miriam Bastian
> Program Manager
>
> *Editorial note: Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the
> people whose stories are told in this article.*
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Hangout mailing list
> Hangout-at-nylxs.com
> http://lists.mrbrklyn.com/mailman/listinfo/hangout
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive
http://www.coinhangout.com - coins!
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
_______________________________________________
Hangout mailing list
Hangout-at-nylxs.com
http://lists.mrbrklyn.com/mailman/listinfo/hangout
|
|
