Serious Privacy, Freedom, and Safety in the modern world!

[The Amazing Avatar]

Today I would like to speak about something that is becoming worse and concerning at the same time...

So, I don't know how to start this off, but I wanna say privacy is very important and shouldn't be undermined no matter what political group you're in that being (Far Left, Left, Natural/Center Left, Natural/Center, Natural/Center Right, Right, or even if your far Right, etc) I want you to listen up clearly!

I know too many this kind of subject can be very hard to sit though, or even engage in a proper conversation about, but I need you to understand this is kind of important especially since the government seems to be keen on slowly taking away everyone's freedom and privacy its death by a thousand cuts, we are kinda of lucky to live in a free country that is if you come from a 1st world and maybe 2nd world country, but 3rd world countries are not so Luckie.

The reason why I wanted to make this thread was because of my growing concern with the US & Canada, but Brazil's recent actions gave me a good reason to make this I want to have serious discussion about things such Censorship, People's Freedom, Privacy, and Safety as Brazil just banned Twitter if your caught going on it with a VPN you can get charged almost $9,000 per day of commenting that offense I'm seriously so sick and tried when the government wants to shut down a site, platform, or anything that they don't like **cough** **cough** looking at you China with your Great Firewall, but I even if you don't live in those countries or this doesn't affect you it doesn't matter we still have to talk about this as it affects others limits what they can do, say, or even think about, look I'm not a person that wants to get into political drama here but I feel if we don't address this now things will continue to get worse I want everyone to have a say and their voices heard, have freedom, and privacy.

I will link a few YouTube Videos here I think they are very interesting, and you should give them a good watch, also please please try to stay safe out there I wanted to also speak about issues such as doxing and swatting as they are quite dangerous, but I cannot fit it all into this tread maybe if anyone brings it up in the comments or replies I will bring them up as I think they are quite interesting to talk about.

Now, I would recommend you watch the first video. The others are good, but I think you should start with the first one and maybe watch the others afterward. The second video is also really good, so I think you should give that a watch as well. However, you can watch any of them. Personally, I like the third video the most.

Everyone deserves Privacy and Freedom no matter what your Race, Gender, Religion, Sexual Orientation (including LGBTQ+), Gender Identity, Ethnicity, Nationality, Disability, Age, Socioeconomic Status, Political Beliefs, Language, Marital Status. Everyone should deserves peace and safety.

 

[boo836]

I think the most comprehensive work on surveillance in the international political economy is still Shoshana Zuboff's Surveillance Capitalism, and I suggest you read it. Governments don't have the same capacities as corporations and more often than not these offer means around legal restrictions on government surveillance. Twitter and other social media act as means to not only collect data on users, but to repurpose that information to create receptive messaging to influence political and economic outcomes.

Also, censoring Twitter is a good thing that should have been adopted around the world as soon as Musk destroyed every single safety measure on content. Twitter basically just acts as an incitement machine and it is entirely feasible that future mass-scale acts of genocide will be incited through the platform. I don't know what being mad about Twitter has to do with surveillance, but de Moraes is unfathomably based and his example should be replicated worldwide. In this case, Twitter's own data collection is being used to fine users, which is by itself an exemplary reason for why the website should be burned to the ground.

 

[The Amazing Avatar]

I think the most comprehensive work on surveillance in the international political economy is still Shoshana Zuboff's Surveillance Capitalism, and I suggest you read it. Governments don't have the same capacities as corporations and more often than not these offer means around legal restrictions on government surveillance. Twitter and other social media act as means to not only collect data on users, but to repurpose that information to create receptive messaging to influence political and economic outcomes.

Also, censoring Twitter is a good thing that should have been adopted around the world as soon as Musk destroyed every single safety measure on content. Twitter basically just acts as an incitement machine and it is entirely feasible that future mass-scale acts of genocide will be incited through the platform. I don't know what being mad about Twitter has to do with surveillance, but de Moraes is unfathomably based and his example should be replicated worldwide. In this case, Twitter's own data collection is being used to fine users, which is by itself an exemplary reason for why the website should be burned to the ground.

Data collection is still data collection, and I still see it as a bad thing. Did you watch any of the videos? I think algorithms should be banned and have laws placed around them, but they don't scrutinize YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, for example. I believe algorithms are not only destructive but can lead to a lot of bad things. I'm a massive hater of social media. I want to own one of the Big Tech companies; I freaking hate Google, Meta, X, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon, etc.

It's not that I like Twitter; I hate that platform. What I'm trying to say is that this surveillance leads to a lack of privacy, which can be used discriminatorily. Did you not watch any of the videos, including the third one, which explains how governments can use this data to prosecute innocent people? If you worked for the government or were a federal agent, you could explain to me how banning things can be a good thing, like the US government trying to buy TikTok. I want that app gone because I really despise and loathe it. However, this bill could be used to stomp out foreign platforms in the future. If something were to become as popular as TikTok, for example, and it's not an American-made app, that would trigger the US government. They don't bat an eye when Facebook (Meta), Twitter (X), or Google does it, but they do it to a foreign app, which is very hypocritical. Why can't Canada just ban all the American social media platforms?

I can agree with you that Twitter/X needs to go, not just in Brazil but everywhere, as well as TikTok and other annoying social media platforms owned by Meta. They all push algorithms that try to brainwash their users and collect their personal information. Before Musk owned Twitter, the platform was not even good; it was toxic and kind of censored people based on politics. However, that's not what I'm here to explain today. They collected a bunch of user data without consent, sold that data to make money, and got hacked and breached on more than one occasion. I think it was once in 2021 or 2022 and before that in 2018; correct me if I'm wrong on those years. The user information was leaked on the Dark Web on some Dark Web forums, like Breach Forums, for example, and hackers sell that information to other hackers.

I don't totally agree with banning a platform, even though I may not like it. It could lead to a future where, if the government doesn't like something that goes against what they want, they can try to ban it, like the US and Brazil. I don't even like TikTok or X, but they use the excuse that it's not safe as a shield. You know, these governments have alternative motives for what they're doing. So, no, it wouldn't be completely fair for the government to ban something or buy it out. Think of it this way: who controls most of the social media platforms? Big Tech, and they're all from the US, of course. That kind of creates a conflict of interest when they're trying to ban a competitor from a different country. I know TikTok is god-awful; it created some of the worst trends ever and is just pure brain rot and a privacy invasion. But you have to ask yourself why the US government wants TikTok gone so badly. Well, it's because they're not an American company, like Google, Facebook (Meta), or Twitter (X). That's some double standards right there, as these companies do the same things as TikTok, but nobody, including the US government, calls them out on it.

Look, I don't like these platforms by any means, but I'm just playing devil's advocate here. You really have to think about why these governments do the things they do. Just look at North Korea and China and their laws and internet rules. China even has the Great Firewall of China, since they don't want you to see certain things.

 

[donphan fan]

I am a big advocate for privacy and personal freedoms. One of the things I tell are my,

 

[donphan fan]

Sorry I hit enter by accident. I meant to say I tell my friends to always enable 2FA and use a password manager such as 1Password.

 

[RainWaiv]

i mean i have a vpn on pretty much 24/7 and i stopped using my isp's dns address. i've been doing that for ~a year now and i think that should be enough for what i use the internet for.
i'm also probably going to set my twitter to private once elon finalizes the block change for one specific guy i don't like

 

[The Amazing Avatar]

i mean i have a vpn on pretty much 24/7 and i stopped using my isp's dns address. i've been doing that for ~a year now and i think that should be enough for what i use the internet for.
i'm also probably going to set my twitter to private once elon finalizes the block change for one specific guy i don't like

RainWaiv​

Ahh, VPNs, I don't trust those YouTubers who shill them a lot just to make money from their sponsors. The worst VPNs are ExpressVPN and NordVPN - they log your data. What's worse is that a lot of VPNs are incestuous. The only good VPNs I could recommend to you are two: they are very good and private. Plus, one of them is only $5/month, and you can pay them in cash to keep your identity a secret from both the VPN company you're paying and your bank/credit card company, leaving no traces of transactions you made to them. So, yes, both Mullvad and Proton VPN are your best bets.

It's no good if you're using a terrible and garbage browser like Google Chrome, because it collects a lot of data, even personal ones like browser history. What's even worse about them is that they killed Adblockers. Switch to a browser like Firefox or Brave if you're not using them already - they are great web browsers. But you should really be careful about what web browsers and VPNs you use, as they can log your data. The two browsers and VPNs I mentioned don't log your data, plus they are open source.

Another thing you now have to worry about is Windows Recall, if you're using Windows 11 24H2 - that's not limited to just the Copilot+ Arm PCs or any x86 (AMD64/Intel) CPU with an NPU, but it affects you regardless. But if you're not on 24H2 or you're not using Windows 11 or Windows at all, then you should be fine. I suggest using Windows 10 LTSC if you get the chance, or Ubuntu as your OS - that's not a necessity, though, unlike the browsers and VPNs that you need to change.

I hope my advice and knowledge helped you. I don't use VPNs, but there's a YouTube channel that I think you should watch - it's called MentalOutlaw, and he gives the best advice for privacy. I think you should give it a good watch. Even some of my friends are happy with these VPNs and browsers (Firefox and Brave).

Mullvad: https://mullvad.net/en
Proton VPN: https://protonvpn.com

Also, I think Twitter and any kind of social media is bullshit. I don't use social media - I see it as pointless and a big waste of time. Plus, think about the lies and bullshit that are spread across social media. They use algorithms to try to hook you and keep your attention as long as possible, since you're their money-making machine. The longer you're on there, the more money they can make off your eyeballs. Social media is fake, and Twitter was always bad, even before Elon, but ever since he bought the thing, it's even worse now and a complete dumpster fire. You now have to log in if you want to view stuff - at least before he owned it, they wouldn't try blocking you from viewing stuff. Who the fuck wants to create an account just to view stuff on Twitter? Besides, that was not the best way for a non-Twitter user (aka someone who doesn't have an account) to use Twitter if they're just viewing stuff. There used to be a really good privacy front-end to Twitter called Nitter - it was really good, but Elon Musk killed that with the fucking API changes. What a fucking idiot.

Edit: If you want to know the VPN that is only $5/month and lets you pay cash, it's Mullvad.