John Perrino

Quick Facts:

👉 The case challenges a UK government order for Apple to provide access to certain encrypted iCloud backups.

👉 The government demand jeopardizes the security and privacy of millions globally, undermines the UK tech sector, and sets a dangerous precedent for cybersecurity.

A UK Government Order Threatens the Privacy and Security of All Internet Users   - Internet Society Earlier this year, the UK government ordered Apple to provide access to encrypted data in the company's cloud storage service, iCloud.

The Internet Society is taking a stand against secret UK government orders to break encryption. 🇬🇧 🏛️ 🔐

We jointly filed a request with a court on Wednesday to provide expert evidence on privacy and security.

Public Knowledge 22nd Annual IP3 Awards - Meet the 2025 Awardees Internet Protocol: Dr. Joseph Lorenzo Hall Intellectual Property: Sarah Jeong Information Policy: Dr. Alondra Nelson President's Award: Alvaro Bedoya Presidents Award: Rebecca Kelly Slaughter

Congratulations to my incredible colleague @josephhall.org who has taught and inspired many of us in tech policy!

🎟️ www.eventbrite.com/e/22nd-annua...

2) Age assurance and default tools and/or settings for account holders By no later than 6 months after this Code comes into effect and where technically feasible and reasonably practicable, a provider of an internet search engine service must:     a) implement appropriate age assurance measures for account holders; and     b) apply tools and/or settings, like ‘safe search’ functionality, at the highest safety setting by default for an account holder its age assurance systems indicate is likely to be an Australian child, designed to protect and prevent Australian children from accessing or being exposed to online pornography and high impact violence material in search results. At a minimum, such tools and settings must filter out online pornography and high-impact violence material detected in search results. Note: Internet search engine services are designed for general public use, with or without an account. Providers of internet search engine services are not required to implement age assurance measures for end-users who are not account holders.

Search engines like Google and Microsoft must be in compliance by December 27, 2025.

Here's a screenshot of those eSafety Commissioner age assurance rules (alt text also available).

For my fellow nerds, here is the link to the codes (.pdf)

Section 7, Compliance Measure 2 (Page 5)

www.esafety.gov.au/sites/defaul...

Australia is quietly rolling out age checks for search engines like Google Just as Australians are adjusting to the idea of having their ages checked for social media, age assurance rules are being applied to search engines and many other corners of the internet.

Australia will require age checks for search engines to protect children from unwanted content with $50 million fines.

Except if you don't log in. No age check required and you can search for anything, same as now.

Makes sense right? 🤔

Not great for privacy. Not great for safety. 🤦

🛠️ ⚙️ 🌐 Open Standards: Continue to develop and deploy technical standards for adult content self-labeling and user preferences for mature content.

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💪 ✨📚 Empowering Users: Invest in digital literacy tools that give parents and children more control over their online experiences.

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👩‍🦽 🦻 👩🏽‍🦯 Accessibility for All

👉 Don't rely on verification methods that some people don’t have access to, such as government IDs or financial accounts.

👉 Make checks accessible by design for people of all physical and mental abilities.

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We must insist that any age verification system adheres to core Internet principles.

🗂️ Minimizing Data: Collect the minimum amount of data needed and never retain identifying data.

👤 Preserving Anonymity: Don't force people to link their identity to their online activity.

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Dangerous US Supreme Court Decision for Online Privacy and Security - Internet Society Texas’ mandatory age verification law, ruled constitutional last week, risks the privacy, security, and open nature of the Internet.

Last Friday's Supreme Court decision on age verification requirements was disappointing.

It was bad for online privacy, security, and open access to the Internet.

But the fight to protect a private, secure, and open Internet is not over.

Here's how my fellow nerds can take action! 🤓 🦸

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Kagan dissent continues:

"The State should be foreclosed from restricting adults’ access to protected speech if that is not in fact necessary."

Kagan dissent:
In preventing children from gaining access to “obscene for children” speech, States sometimes take measures impeding adults from viewing it too—even though, for adults, it is constitutionally protected free expression...

6-3 decision

Thomas for the majority with Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett

Kagan dissent with Sotomayor and Jackson

This is bad for the Internet.

Bad for your privacy.

Bad for your security.

It's not just about adult websites. We're talking about a huge swath of the Internet based on this broad law.

Here is the Supreme Court decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton.
www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

BREAKING: Supreme Court upholds state age verification law.

Thomas for the majority:

"The power to require age verification is within a State’s authority to prevent children from accessing sexually explicit content. H. B. 1181 is a constitutionally permissible exercise of that authority."

homer simpson from the simpsons is holding a sign that says the end is near ALT: homer simpson from the simpsons is holding a sign that says the end is near

Waiting to be disappointed by a Supreme Court age verification decision like

Majority opinion (Kagan):
"We hold that no impermissible transfer of authority has occurred... Congress sufficiently guided and constrained the discretion that it lodged with the FCC to implement the universal-service contribution scheme. And the FCC... has retained all decision-making authority..."

Very glad to see the Supreme Court uphold the Universal Service Fund, supporting crucial Internet connectivity for rural hospitals, schools, and low-income people!

With a self-imposed June 19 deadline, President Trump is expected to delay a TikTok ban again this week amid trade negotiations with China.

Oh Look, a New Censorship Tool Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.

"Now is not the time to introduce a new, abuse-prone tool that can be used to silence reporting and limit what users see online." Read the latest from @mrose.ink:

I would give it a medium chance right now. Totally not a science, but maybe a 20% chance of becoming law which is pretty high.

It's gotten to this stage before and stalled. It depends a lot on how much political capital the sponsors are willing to use and whether co-sponsors are added in the House.

Reps. Sylvia Garcia, Barry Moore Reintroduce Bipartisan and Bicameral Legislation to Protect Children Online WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29) and Rep.

Yes, it's surprisingly hard to find! Here is the press release. It links to a pdf of the bill text.

sylviagarcia.house.gov/media/press-...

🤝🏻 The bill advanced out of a Senate committee this week and was introduced in the House. I still remain hopeful we can get necessary updates to protect everyone's online security while improving support for victims and the online exploitation reporting system.

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❌ Technology services big and small that make the Internet faster and more secure for us could be forced to shut down or undermine security to protect against lawsuits for data they can't and shouldn't be able to see.

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🛠️ We explain how encryption protects children and make simple suggestions to address current issues with the bill.

🔐 End-to-end encryption makes sure nobody can get your passwords, payment information, or access photos of your children or grandchildren on your phone or computer.

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STOP CSAM Act Threatens Everyone’s Online Safety and Security - Internet Society The Internet Society calls on the Senate Judiciary Committee to address risks in the STOP CSAM Act that pose an existential threat to the Internet and crucial security technologies that keep children ...

The Internet Society sent a letter to Congress this week urging updates to the STOP CSAM Act to truly protect children from online abuse.

⚠️ Too often, legislation that claims to protect children would create new security vulnerabilities for everyone online.

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The Expertise Paradox What Elon Musk's DOGE experience reveals about the collision between different types of expertise—and why every industry is about to learn the same lesson

Musk's stint in govt is a cautionary tale about assuming expertise in one domain automatically qualifies someone - or yourself - to lead in another.

In my latest, I write about how this collision of different expertise is coming for every industry.

anchorchange.substack.com/p/the-expert...

This post/newsletter was one of my favorites from you! It really resonated.

I currently have "expert" in my title and frequently have to explain that does not make me an expert in everything.

Experts across the technical and policy domains need to listen first and work together.