Donna Wentworth

A big part of the authoritarian playbook is war. War takes over the news. War blots out criticism. War divides a nation’s people, subjecting those against it to being called unpatriotic. War grants leaders all sorts of emergency powers. War consumes everything else.

We mustn’t let this war do so.

Who should control our digital world? A few tech corporations control most of the world's data. Some countries have been fighting to change that.

Who should control our digital world?

Alejandro Mayoral Baños, Access Now’s Co-Executive Director, speaks to @AJStream on digital sovereignty.

www.aljazeera.com/video/the-st...

Artificial Insecurity: access and availability in the age of AI - Access Now In the third part of our blog series, we look at how the availability of systems is impacted by the proliferation of large language models.

Have you ever asked a question ChatGPT refuses to answer? Or used an AI agent that deleted your data?

Check out part 3 of our blog series on AI and Digital Security, where we explore how AI tools impact access to and availability of systems we rely on:

The AI-Cyber Nexus: a strategic dialogue on global security, trust, and governance. February 20, 2026 at 3:30 PM, Chanakya Auditorium, Sushma Swaraj Bhawan. Speakers: Raman Jit Singh Chima, Access Now, Global Cybersecurity Lead; Anne Marie Engtoft Meldgaard, Tech Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark; Maria Paz Canales, Head of Policy and Advocacy at Global Partners Digital; Udbhav Tiwari, Vice President, Strategy and Global Affairs at Signal; Nikolas Schmidt, Policy Analyst, Division of AI and Emerging Tech at OECD. Moderator: Nirmal John, Senior Editor at Economic Times

We’re back with a reminder: don’t forget to register for “The AI Cyber Nexus: a strategic dialogue on global security, trust, and governance,” where we’ll explore how AI governance and cybersecurity intersect and what it means for people’s rights.

www.accessnow.org/event/access...

In this special edition of the NMT Media Foundation’s Free Speak podcast that took place during the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa - FIFAfrica 2025 Conference in Windhoek, from the 24th to the… Africa Unplugged: The Fight Against Internet Shutdowns.

What do internet shutdowns mean for people’s freedom of expression, access to information, and democracy across Africa + how can we push back?

Felicia Anthonio, our #KeepItOn Global Campaign Manager, breaks it down on NMT Media Foundation’s Free Speak podcast. 🔽

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3iS...

“I’ve never protested before - but I just watched 4th & 5th grade kids run away from our own government.” 😕🇺🇸💔

(From @crindivisible.bsky.social )

DHS: Our officer was ambushed and beaten with snow shovels and broom handles. This was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement.

ICE says federal agents appear to have lied about confrontation that led to shooting

Agents had initially said that two men — Alfredo Aljorna and Julio Sosa Celis – assaulted them with a broom and a shovel before one of them shot Sosa Celis. But that account was quickly called into question, and prosecutors now say “newly discovered evidence” contradicts the officers’ story.

The default assumption should be that they’re lying

Artificial Insecurity: threats to information integrity - Access Now In the second part of our series on AI and digital security, we examine how LLMs threaten information integrity.

Can you trust a chatbot’s answers? And is there any way to clean up the AI slop overwhelming the internet?

In part two of our series on AI and digital security, we dive into the murky world of LLMs and information 🔽
www.accessnow.org/artificial-i...

This Safer Internet Day, we call for AI tools that respect the privacy, security, and human rights of EVERYONE, especially at-risk communities.

AI is everywhere, but should people really trust it?

This #SaferInternetDay, we’re calling for AI tools that respect the privacy, security, and human rights of everyone, especially at-risk communities.

You can read our blog to learn more:
www.accessnow.org/artificial-i...

Access Now - A call to EU legislators: protect rights and reject the call to delete transparency safeguard in AI Act We, the undersigned organisations and individuals, urge you in the strongest possible terms to reject the deletion of the Article 49(2) transparency safeguard for high-risk AI systems that is…

No more AI Act loopholes!

We demand that EU co-legislators reject attempts to remove a key transparency safeguard from the AI Act.

Read more in our open letter ⬇️

“With minor tweaks, Ring’s tool to search for lost dogs could be used by law enforcement to track people,” EFF’s @mariotrujillo.bsky.social told @Metro.co.uk. “Homeowners don’t have to participate and privacy regulators can investigate.” metro.co.uk/2026/02/09/...

we need to talk about that Ring Super Bowl ad

Spyware maker is hijacking diplomatic efforts to limit commercial hacking, civil society warns Spyware maker NSO Group trumpeted the company’s participation in the Pall Mall Process, which drew criticism from civil society leaders and government officials who called out human rights abuses.

“Rand Hammoud, the surveillance campaigns lead at Access Now, said Pall Mall leadership needs to set up “clear criteria for industry engagement … to protect the credibility of an initiative that depends on good faith participation.”

therecord.media/spyware-make...

Artificial Insecurity: how AI tools compromise confidentiality - Access Now In the first part of our blog series on the dodgy digital security practices underlying advanced AI tools, we unpack how LLMs can jeopardize the confidentiality of people’s data.

Has your favorite chatbot spilled your gossip? Did an AI agent just expose your credit card details?

Our new blog series on AI and digital security shows how AI tools threaten privacy and confidentiality, and why human rights safeguards are essential.
www.accessnow.org/artificial-i...

Spyware maker is hijacking diplomatic efforts to limit commercial hacking, civil society warns Spyware maker NSO Group trumpeted the company’s participation in the Pall Mall Process, which drew criticism from civil society leaders and government officials who called out human rights abuses.

“NSO has been frustrating investigations, discrediting victims and researchers and putting enormous resources into actively trying to avoid accountability and providing remedy to victims in U.S. and other courts." @natynettle.bsky.social

Read more ⬇️

therecord.media/spyware-make...

How to Film ICE Filming federal agents in public is legal, but avoiding a dangerous—even deadly—confrontation isn’t guaranteed. Here’s how to record ICE and CBP agents as safely as possible and have an impact.

NEW: The @wired.com Security desk put together a comprehensive guide to filming ICE—with tips for reducing risk at the forefront. No paywall, but please consider subscribing to help find these kinds of resources. And stay safe out there. www.wired.com/story/how-to...

www.wired.com/v2/offers/wi...

JANE FONDA: “I know Don Lemon. My husband created CNN. And I will fight for their right to speak… they arrested the wrong Don. This is how autocrats act. We can’t fall for it.”

This is just insane. It’s only a matter of time before DHS kills another innocent person here.

(clip via MPR and @davidjbier.bsky.social on X)

Ultimately, Petitioners may, because of the arcane United States immigration system, return to their home country, involuntarily or by self-deportation. But that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place. Philadelphia, September 17, 1787: "Well, Dr. Franklin, what do we have?" "A republic, if you can keep it." With a judicial finger in the constitutional dike, It is so ORDERED. SIGNED this 31st day of February, 2026. 7um Jing FRED BIERY UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Credit: Bystander Matthew 19:14 John 11:35 There is also the photo of the boy from the viral stories included.

Federal judge has ordered the release of Liam Ramos (the bunny hat boy) and his father. A brief and rather remarkable order. Clearly written to be shared widely, so please do. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Trump’s acting cyber chief uploaded sensitive files into a public version of ChatGPT The interim director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency triggered an internal cybersecurity warning with the uploads — and a DHS-level damage assessment.

The interim head of CISA "uploaded sensitive contracting documents into a public version of ChatGPT last summer, triggering multiple automated security warnings that are meant to stop the theft or unintentional disclosure of government material from federal networks," per DHS sources.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩) Jon… | Sam Gregory 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩) Jon Stewart says it well. A smartphone camera is more than just technology. In the hands...

From Minneapolis to Tehran, witnesses are filming. State lies and AI fakes are trying to bury truth.

@witnessorg.bsky.social makes evidence matter - in streets with documenters, in halls of power shaping tech so truth can be trusted.

It's what we do. And we need your help.

tinyurl.com/5b7kw85f

new Forbes boycott list just dropped

Thank you @wyden.senate.gov @edmarkey.bsky.social !!!

Everyone following this can use this tool to tell their Senators to oppose ICE surveillance www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-f...

The corporate enablers of the ICE crackdown How Amazon, AT&T, and Citizens Bank are profiting from the administration’s mass deportation campaign.

Worth knowing.
popular.info/p/the-corpor...

Screenshot of an X.com post by The Associated Press (@AP) stating that dozens of immigrant families protested for better treatment behind fences at a Texas detention facility, where a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father were sent after being detained in Minnesota. Below is a video thumbnail showing a crowd gathered outdoors along a fenced walkway; many people wear bright blue or red outerwear, and some hold signs.

After being held in two of them as a boy, I fought for decades urging America to never again build concentration camps and put human beings in them. It breaks my heart to watch this happen twice now in my own lifetime.

The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.

It should freak the American people out that Trump, Noem and Bovino lie so enthusiastically. He wasn't "brandishing a weapon". He wasn't attending a "riot" or "interfering in a crime scene". He was an ICU nurse exercising his constitutional rights.

We saw what we saw.

DHS Is Lying To You About ICE Shooting a Woman At least four videos show what really happened when ICE shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday. DHS has established itself as an agency that cannot be trusted to live in or present reality.

THREAD: 404 Media has been covering ICE and the technology they've been using to surveil and raid "targets", detain people based on a flawed facial recognition app, and lie about violence on the streets.

They have established itself as an agency that cannot be trusted to live in or present reality.

I don’t want to hear anything from an elected official unless it’s a plan to defund the DHS and impeach Noem, Bovino, etc. No texts. No emails. No talk about the economy. Step up or step off.

Alex Pretti: Analysing Footage of Minneapolis CBP Shooting - bellingcat Bellingcat has analysed video of the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The footage appears to contradict statements made by the Department of Homeland Security.

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, on January 24. DHS claims he died after an armed struggle, but videos of the incident appears to contradict that claim. Read our analysis here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...