Matthew Feeney

Liberalism.org - Coming Soon An Online Magazine for Free & Open People. Coming soon.

I am thrilled to announce my big new project, Liberalism.org. Coming 3/12. It’s is a journal of liberal ideas, edited by @jkuznicki.bsky.social, with new podcasts from me and @uncanonical.net. It’s a project of @theihs.org, and has a superstar lineup of contributors. Sign up to get notified here:

We are alarmed by reports that Germany is on the verge of a catastrophic about-face, reversing its longstanding and principled opposition to the EU’s Chat Control proposal which, if passed, could spell the end of the right to privacy in Europe. signal.org/blog/pdfs/ge...

Fourth Amendment Victory: Michigan Supreme Court Reins in Digital When police have a warrant to search a phone, should they be able to see everything on the phone—from family photos to communications with your doctor to everywhere you’ve been since you first

Police shouldn’t get ‘open-book’ access to your phone. In a major boost for digital privacy, Michigan now demands tailored warrants. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

It is a sad indictment on much of the American media that someone asking one of the most powerful politicians in the world a basic question is considered groundbreaking or noteworthy.

The government is pushing for amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill with the explicit intent of accessing information stored in foreign servers and two-factor authentication codes. hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025...

CBP claim the drones are for law enforcement surveillance, but they will inevitably capture data associated with First Amendment-protected activities. It remains to be seen if any drone data is used as evidence in subsequent criminal proceedings.

Drones on the Border: Efficacy and Privacy Implications The U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s drone program undermines Americans’ privacy and has failed to live up to its expectations.

Seven years ago, ‪@davidjbier.bsky.social‬ and I wrote a paper on CBP drones. We noted that CBP had stated "that it does not deploy [drones] to monitor protests and other activities protected by the First Amendment." www.cato.org/immigration-...

Scientists find promising hints of life on distant planet K2-18b Scientists find new but tentative evidence that a faraway world orbiting another star may be home to life.

Trying to not think about the Great Filter and concentrate on science being neat. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has rejected the Home Office’s attempt to keep the proceedings of the Apple encryption-breaching case secret.

The tribunal did not buy the government's national security arguments.

t.co/6K5gtZ2osf

There's quite a lot of unhelpful reporting suggesting that high ranked natsec officials shouldn't use @signal.org
because it's compromised.

No. Use Signal.*

*But if you're a high ranked natsec official maybe don't use your personal phone for work and obey record retention laws.

Nacton giant warehouse leaves neighbours 'in tears' Residents say the 'megashed' towers over their homes, dominating the skyline and blocking the sun.

You could write a whole Coase Theorem exam based on this one article. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I knew before clicking on it that he was going to cite "fire in a crowded theatre". Just knew it.

No need to be sorry! I have very fond memories of us working together and of our discussions. I don't think I'm alone.

Some people don't find stoics particularly reassuring, but I find them helpful sometimes:

"All is ephemeral—both memory and the object of memory. The time is at hand when you will have forgotten everything; and the time is at hand when all will have forgotten you." - Marcus Aurelius

Perhaps not the most uplifting thought, but no one's legacy is forever or matters for very long. Everyone who has ever known you will one day die. One day the existence of "The United States of America" and "liberalism" will be known to a handful of historians.

I am one of the "few hundred", I suppose. I enjoyed reading drafts of your book and I have returned to your essay on gender and sexual identity a few times over the years.

"The British government’s undisclosed order, issued last month, requires blanket capability to view fully encrypted material, not merely assistance in cracking a specific account, and has no known precedent in major democracies."

Then it exceeds the scope of TCNs. Unless it is for bulk intercept?

253 Technical capability notices (1) The Secretary of State may give a relevant operator a technical capability notice under this section if-- (a) the Secretary of State considers that the notice is necessary for securing that the operator has the capability to provide any assistance which may be required to provide in relation to any relevant authorization

TCNs create a capability that can only be used by the operator to provide data in connection with a relevant authorisation, which is either a targeted interception warrant, communications data warrant, equipment interference warrant, or bulk interception warrant

U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts Secret order requires blanket access to protected cloud backups around the world, which if implemented would undermine Apple’s privacy pledge to its users.

Extraordinarly bad for everyone’s privacy and security. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts Secret order requires blanket access to protected cloud backups around the world, which if implemented would undermine Apple’s privacy pledge to its users.

This order from the UK govt to access all encrypted cloud content related to any Apple customer is unprecedented. No other liberal democracy has ever asked for an encryption breach on this scale, and it's likely other companies have been sent similar orders. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

You can have a mass deportation policy agenda or you can have civil liberties. You cannot have both.

Google Maps Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

maps.app.goo.gl/ut6yVXeiLAux...

Which neighbourhood is that?

The population would object if police access to the house also allowed foreign adversaries and criminals the opportunity to steal house keys, pin codes, etc.
www.belganewsagency.eu/europol-chie...

Big Brother Watch: Defending Civil Liberties, Protecting Privacy Big Brother Watch exposes and challenges threats to our privacy, our freedoms and our civil liberties at a time of enormous technological change in the UK.

This is my first week as Big Brother Watch's advocacy manager.

I'm looking forward to working with my new colleagues to defend free speech and privacy at a time when civil liberties in the UK are unfortunately in a sorry state.

bigbrotherwatch.org.uk

Farewell, CPS. Thank you for the last few years. I’m looking forward to the next gig, which starts next week.

I cannot stress this enough: download Signal. Move a lot of your stuff there so there aren’t obvious holes in your seizable records.

Many of the people in power are using end-to-end encryption (and coincidentally avoiding PRA/FOIA). You should be at least as careful as they are.

"the truth is that Brits are consistently more authoritarian on questions of civil liberties than most politicians realise.”

www.thetimes.com/article/8c29...

Kevin Mitnick Part 01 (Final)

Friends, FBI has responded to my FOIA request for Kevin Mitnick's files, and have made them available to everyone via the FBI public portal here: vault.fbi.gov/kevin-mitnic...

Hi, hi! 👋👋👋

Calling all wonks in my little Bluesky ecosystem. I'm trying to get a starter pack for UK tech policy going.

Please send me recommendations, tell me if you want to be added, and/or holler if I've missed anyone.

Looking for all the help I can get! Thanks in advance

go.bsky.app/SSXjTf