Discord mandates global age checks: face scan or ID required for full access, else “teen‑by‑default” restrictions. 🔐
Non‑verified users lose adult servers and features, despite past vendor ID data breaches. 🌐
Raises privacy concerns amid a shift toward gated internet access. 🧩

🔗 https://www.theverge.com/policy/876131/discord-age-verification-mandates-web-future

#TechNews #Privacy #SocialMedia #Discord #AI #Safety #Surveillance #DataProtection #OnlineSafety #Regulation #DigitalRights #Security #Internet #UserRights #BigTech

Discord will default all accounts to "teen" mode next month, requiring face scans or ID for full access to age-restricted servers. 📱
Most skip via account inference, but unverified users face filters, DM limits, and blocked Stage channels—raising privacy concerns. 🔒

🔗 https://www.theverge.com/tech/875309/discord-age-verification-global-roll-out

#TechNews #Discord #Privacy #AgeVerification #Biometrics #Gaming #Data #Security #DigitalRights #Surveillance #ID #FacialRecognition #UserRights #Tech #Regulation #Game #Games

Platforms could be so much better if they stopped treating usernames like permanent property. When identity can evolve, people don’t need to abandon accounts or create throwaways just to escape old choices. Flexible identity reduces duplicate accounts, improves moderation, supports accessibility, and keeps communities healthier. Digital identity should adapt as people do.

#DigitalIdentity #Privacy #TechEthics #Fediverse #UserRights

Sharing this Proton article with their 2026 internet predictions 📱

🔍 EU eyes permanent "voluntary" message scanning
🪪 Global age verification laws risk ID breaches
⚠️ VPN blocks expand in democracies as rogue AI agents loom

@protonprivacy

🔗 https://proton.me/blog/2026-internet-predictions

#TechNews #Privacy #VPN #AI #Surveillance #Encryption #Regulation #Data #Security #DigitalRights #Cybersecurity #UserRights #BigTech #InternetFreedom #AgeVerification #Proton #ProtonMail #EU #Europe #ChatControl #VPN #ID

UK launches major police reforms with expanded AI and live facial recognition 📹
AI analyzes CCTV footage to free up 6M officer hours yearly; facial rec vans rise to 50 🔍
Privacy concerns grow as surveillance scales without clear civil liberty protections ⚖️

🔗 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-overhaul-shabana-mahmood-home-office-ai-b2907845.html

#TechNews #Privacy #AI #FacialRecognition #Surveillance #Security #Data #Regulation #BigTech #Police #CivilLiberties #Ethics #DigitalRights #Cybersecurity #UserRights #UK #UnitedKingdom #CCTV

UK Lords vote to ban VPNs for under-18s to enforce online age checks 📵
Sees privacy tools as evasion of child safety rules under Online Safety Act; now heads to Commons for review ⚖️
Raises questions about balancing child protection with fundamental user rights to privacy and anonymity 🔍

🔗 https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/vpns/uk-lords-vote-to-ban-vpns-for-children-as-pressure-on-the-privacy-tools-increases

#TechNews #Privacy #VPN #Security #Regulation #Data #BigTech #UserRights #DigitalRights #Censorship #Freedom #Policy #Safety #Cybersecurity #OnlineFreedom #UK #UnitedKingdom

WhatsApp faces lawsuit alleging end-to-end encryption is a sham 📱
Meta calls claims "false and absurd," vowing to countersue 🔐
Users must weigh trust in encryption claims against need for verification 🧩

🔗 https://www.pcmag.com/news/lawsuit-alleges-that-whatsapp-has-no-end-to-end-encryption?test_uuid=04IpBmWGZleS0I0J3epvMrC&test_variant=B

#TechNews #Privacy #Encryption #Security #WhatsApp #Meta #Data #Surveillance #UserRights #BigTech #Transparency #Cybersecurity #Consent #OnlineSafety #Messaging

TikTok’s new US-based ownership is rolling out an updated privacy policy 📱
The app now collects more data — including users’ precise locations 🌎
Ownership change or not, data minimization remains the real test of accountability 🔍

🔗 https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-new-privacy-policy/

#TechNews #Privacy #Data #Security #AI #BigTech #Surveillance #SocialMedia #Policy #Transparency #UserRights #Ethics #Consent #Regulation #OnlineSafety #TikTok #US #USA

YouTube’s Appeal Decision Is In: My Inactive Manager Channel Stays Banned—And It’s Complete Bullshit

https://jaimedavid.blog/2026/01/26/16/04/13/analysis/jaimedavid327/9438/youtubes-appeal-decision-is-in-my-inactive-manager-channel-stays-banned-and-its-complete-bullshit/

Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike launches Confer, an end-to-end encrypted AI assistant. 🔒
Cloud-based models ensure only users access unscrambled data, blocking corporate surveillance of prompts and chats. ⚖️

This counters Big Tech's data extraction for ads and training, bolstering user rights. 📊

@signalapp

🔗 https://time.com/7346534/signal-confer-ai-moxie-marlinspike/

#TechNews #AI #Privacy #Encryption #Security #BigTech #Data #UserRights #AIethics #Cybersecurity #Innovation #Freedom #DigitalRights #OnlineSafety

Amazon is auto‑upgrading Echo devices for Prime members to Alexa+ during a free early access period, with users able to revert by saying “Alexa, exit Alexa+.” 🤖

The opt‑out design and forced default raise questions about consent, user control over smart‑home AI, and how far platforms can go with silent feature rollouts. 🔐

🔗 https://www.vice.com/en/article/amazon-annoying-alexa-plus-auto-upgrades/

#TechNews #Amazon #Alexa #AI #Privacy #BigTech #UserRights #Consent #SmartHome #Subscription #Data #Security #Innovation #Consumers #Technology

The FTC has finalized its order banning GM and OnStar from sharing drivers’ geolocation and behavior data with brokers and insurers 🚗
GM must now get explicit consent for certain data use and offer tools to access or delete user info 🔒

🔗 https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/14/the-ftcs-data-sharing-order-against-gm-is-finally-settled/

#TechNews #Privacy #DataProtection #UserRights #Accountability #Automotive #CyberSecurity #AI #FTC #DataSecurity #Transparency #ConsumerProtection #BigData #Ethics #GM #OnStar #Geolocation #Location #Broker

Hundreds of millions of Bluetooth audio devices need urgent patches ⚙️
Researchers found flaws in Google’s Fast Pair protocol letting attackers link, listen, or track users—even iPhone owners 📡
Highlights tension between seamless UX and user privacy 🔒

🔗 https://www.wired.com/story/google-fast-pair-bluetooth-audio-accessories-vulnerability-patches/

#TechNews #Privacy #CyberSecurity #DataSecurity #Bluetooth #Android #iPhone #Google #Vulnerability #Security #UserRights #Tech #OpenSource #Tracking #SoftwareUpdate #Audio #Music #Musica #Devices #Apple #iPhone

Google’s Gemini A.I. now scans your entire inbox to “help” you summarize, reply & organize. 📬
That’s not assistance — that’s surveillance wrapped in productivity branding. 🔍

If your emails need an opt‑out clause, maybe the feature shouldn’t exist by default. ⚠️

🔗 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/technology/personaltech/gmail-gemini-ai-email-inbox.html

#TechNews #Privacy #AI #Google #Gmail #Surveillance #Data #Security #UserRights #BigTech #DigitalEthics #OnlinePrivacy #TechPolicy #Accountability #AIethics #Cybersecurity #Gemini #Email

Signal creator Moxie Marlinspike unveils Confer, an open‑source AI assistant with true end‑to‑end encryption. 🤖

Unlike most chatbots, Confer’s data stays unreadable to operators, hackers, or authorities—verifiable through open code and TEEs. 🔐
A privacy‑first rethink of AI assistants. 🌱

🔗 https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/01/signal-creator-moxie-marlinspike-wants-to-do-for-ai-what-he-did-for-messaging/

#TechNews #Privacy #AI #Encryption #OpenSource #Cybersecurity #UserRights #DataProtection #EthicalAI #DigitalSovereignty #Security #Transparency #Technology #Signal #Confer #E2EE

Windscribe teams up with Addy.io, Ente, Kagi, and Notesnook to form a privacy alliance promoting specialist tools over bundled “all-in-one” ecosystems. 🔒

Users get cross-service discounts, emphasizing modularity and user choice instead of lock-in. ⚖️

🔗 https://www.privacyguides.org/news/2026/01/16/windscribe-launches-privacy-alliance-with-addy-io-notesnook-kagi-and-ente/

#TechNews #Privacy #Encryption #VPN #Cybersecurity #DataProtection #OpenSource #UserRights #DigitalTrust #Security #Technology #Innovation #PrivacyByDesign #EthicalTech #Internet #Security #Linux #FOSS

Swiss encrypted messenger Threema has been acquired by German firm Comitis Capital in a secondary buyout. 🔒

The move follows its 2020 sale to AFINUM and raises questions on how private equity ownership affects privacy-focused apps. 💭
Threema says its mission and team remain unchanged—for now. 🕊️

🔗 https://www.privacyguides.org/news/2026/01/16/another-private-equity-firm-acquires-threema/

#TechNews #Privacy #Encryption #DataProtection #Security #OpenSource #EU #UserRights #DigitalSovereignty #Technology #Cybersecurity #Swiss #Switzerland #Threema #Messenger

🔒 Encrypted RCS spotted in iOS 26.3 beta. 📱
Mentions of end‑to‑end encryption via carrier settings suggest Apple may enable secure RCS messaging soon—finally bridging iOS & Android text security. 🔐

Still, carriers must adopt the GSMA’s Universal Profile 3.x before users see cross‑platform E2EE in action. 🌐

🔗 https://www.privacyguides.org/news/2026/01/13/encrypted-rcs-spotted-in-ios-26-3-beta/

#TechNews #Privacy #Encryption #Apple #RCS #Google #iOS #Android #Messaging #Security #OpenStandards #UserRights #DataProtection #Interoperability #E2EE

🍏 Apple will use Google’s Gemini models and Cloud tech to power future AI features like Siri. 🤖

The non-exclusive, multi-year deal marks a shift for Apple, long known for in-house control, as it balances innovation with its on-device privacy stance. 🔐
Comes amid Google antitrust scrutiny. ⚖️

🔗 https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/googles-gemini-to-power-apples-ai-features-like-siri/

#TechNews #AI #Privacy #Apple #Google #Siri #Cloud #Data #Antitrust #Policy #Innovation #AIethics #Regulation #BigTech #UserRights #Gemini #iOS #iPhone #Tech

Checking out Qwant, a French search engine that promises to keep search data private and not sell user info. Clean interface, delivers relevant results.

https://www.qwant.com

#search #searchengine #searchengines #userrights #dataprotection #DataPrivacy