#weaponization-of-government

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Right-wing politics
fromTruthout
22 hours ago

No Kings Must Mean No War: Foreign Policy Is Least Democratic Space in Politics

The majority of Iranian Americans oppose the war on Iran, despite media portrayal of pro-monarchy sentiments.
World politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 day ago

Is the US committing war crimes by targeting Iran's civilian infrastructure?

Attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure by US officials may constitute serious war crimes under international law.
US politics
fromwww.npr.org
1 day ago

As DOJ prepares to share state voter data with DHS, a key privacy officer resigns

The DOJ is acquiring sensitive voter registration data, raising privacy concerns, as a key privacy officer resigns amid ongoing legal challenges.
fromTruthout
2 days ago

Rupture and Repair Under Fascist Conditions

"We have a great opportunity in our movements to learn how to be opponents without being enemies," says Tanuja Jagernauth. This perspective emphasizes the importance of maintaining respect and understanding even amidst conflict.
Social justice
fromwww.dw.com
2 days ago

Hungary's Watergate: Secret service spied on opposition

Many have described it as a 'return to dictatorship and Communist times.' The intelligence service is said to have tried to recruit technicians in charge of maintaining the party's IT system, in order to access internal party information and use it to rig the election.
Europe politics
SF politics
fromPadailypost
3 days ago

Candidate defends party registration

Jim Irizarry claims he mistakenly registered with a far-right party, while opponent David Canepa argues it was intentional and questions Irizarry's qualifications.
Digital life
fromExchangewire
4 days ago

Regulating Social Media: Where do we go from here?

Social media platforms are designed for addiction, prompting global legislative actions to restrict children's access.
UK news
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago

If my boyfriend did what my pastor did, I believe police could investigate'. The campaign to close a serious gap in UK law | Barbara Speed

Rachael Reign's allegations against the UCKG highlight issues of control and coercion within religious groups, which are not covered by current coercive control laws.
fromenglish.elpais.com
5 days ago

Over 33,000 people arrested in Bukele's crackdown were not listed as gang members

Official data reveals a significant discrepancy: while intelligence reports identified 58,270 gang members and collaborators at large, authorities have arrested 91,628 people, meaning over 33,000 were not previously listed as gang members.
World news
France politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
5 days ago

Assault on justice': how far-right attacks are threatening rule of law in Europe

Marine Le Pen and Nicolas Sarkozy faced legal challenges, claiming political bias and injustice in the French judicial system.
Social media marketing
fromeuronews
1 week ago

Governments pressured to stop 'enshitification' as internet worsens

The Norwegian Consumer Council's viral video highlights concerns over 'enshitification,' the decline in quality of digital platforms.
US news
fromFuturism
6 days ago

Ominous Surveillance "Scarecrows" Appearing Across America

Police technology, including COWs, is rapidly growing, with the law enforcement equipment market projected to reach $11.7 billion by 2025.
World politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
1 day ago

War crimes are no longer shameful. That should terrify you

Warring sides in the Middle East show contempt for civilian life, flouting international laws protecting civilians amid escalating conflict.
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

They can reach me wherever': China using financial tactics to coerce people who flee, says report

Transnational repression tactics by Hong Kong authorities target dissidents abroad, using financial means to intimidate and control them.
Artificial intelligence
fromNextgov.com
3 days ago

Old-school spycraft could make a comeback as AI undermines trust

AI may enhance intelligence gathering but also revive traditional espionage methods due to reliability issues with digital communications.
#human-rights
Left-wing politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

Trump's sanctions against a UN human rights expert show free speech is dying |

Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian people, as concluded by multiple international human rights organizations and experts.
fromenglish.elpais.com
1 month ago
World politics

Human Rights Watch director: AI, in the hands of autocratic governments, will accelerate their ability to control and surveil the population'

Left-wing politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

Trump's sanctions against a UN human rights expert show free speech is dying |

Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian people, as concluded by multiple international human rights organizations and experts.
fromenglish.elpais.com
1 month ago
World politics

Human Rights Watch director: AI, in the hands of autocratic governments, will accelerate their ability to control and surveil the population'

US politics
fromIndependent
4 days ago

Alex Woodward: How ICE agents have become Donald Trump's own personal police

Donald Trump is using armed ICE officers at airports to pressure Democrats and Republicans regarding the filibuster.
#surveillance
fromSilicon Canals
5 days ago
Privacy professionals

The real US surveillance threat isn't AI - it's the data infrastructure we already built - Silicon Canals

The infrastructure for mass surveillance already exists, relying on pre-existing technology and data rather than new AI advancements.
fromSecurityWeek
1 week ago
World politics

Iran Built a Vast Camera Network to Control Dissent. Israel Turned It Into a Targeting Tool

Israel's use of Iran's compromised street cameras in Khamenei's killing highlights the vulnerability of surveillance systems in modern warfare.
Privacy professionals
fromSilicon Canals
5 days ago

The real US surveillance threat isn't AI - it's the data infrastructure we already built - Silicon Canals

The infrastructure for mass surveillance already exists, relying on pre-existing technology and data rather than new AI advancements.
World politics
fromSecurityWeek
1 week ago

Iran Built a Vast Camera Network to Control Dissent. Israel Turned It Into a Targeting Tool

Israel's use of Iran's compromised street cameras in Khamenei's killing highlights the vulnerability of surveillance systems in modern warfare.
fromElectronic Frontier Foundation
1 week ago

Digital Hopes, Real Power: From Revolution to Regulation

66% of internet users live where political or social sites are blocked, and 78% are in countries where people have been arrested for online posts. New social media regulations have emerged in dozens of countries in the past year alone.
World politics
US politics
fromSlate Magazine
1 week ago

This Democracy Expert is Warning that ICE at the Airports is Absolutely a Dry Run for the Midterms

The United States is experiencing a rapid decline in democratic norms and institutions, with significant threats to upcoming elections.
#international-law
World politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
5 days ago

The security council has allowed unchecked power and brutality. To protect peace, we must reform the UN | Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

International law violations lead to chaos, with the UN's inaction and the rise of armed conflicts threatening global security and humanitarian principles.
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 months ago
US politics

We just witnessed power kidnapping the law

The US abduction of Venezuela's president has no basis in international law and represents power displacing law and principle.
World politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
5 days ago

The security council has allowed unchecked power and brutality. To protect peace, we must reform the UN | Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

International law violations lead to chaos, with the UN's inaction and the rise of armed conflicts threatening global security and humanitarian principles.
NYC parents
fromThe Atlantic
3 weeks ago

Today's Atlantic Trivia: Authoritarianism

The Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, a group of mothers whose children disappeared during Argentina's dictatorship, continue protesting weekly in Buenos Aires nearly five decades after their movement began in 1977.
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

Police in Hong Kong can now demand phone and computer passwords under amended national security law

The new amendments empower police to require a person under investigation suspected of endangering national security to provide any password or decryption method for electronic devices and to provide the police any reasonable and necessary information or assistance.
EU data protection
Social justice
fromemptywheel
2 weeks ago

The New Regime - emptywheel

Liberalism creates separation between economic winners and losers, breeding mutual resentment and social division that destabilizes society.
#democratic-backsliding
Europe politics
fromenglish.elpais.com
2 weeks ago

The United States loses its status as a liberal democracy: Trump is aiming for a dictatorship'

Nearly a quarter of the world experienced democratic backsliding in 2025, with the United States now classified as a non-liberal democracy comparable to Hungary and Turkey under Trump's leadership.
Europe politics
fromenglish.elpais.com
2 weeks ago

The United States loses its status as a liberal democracy: Trump is aiming for a dictatorship'

Nearly a quarter of the world experienced democratic backsliding in 2025, with the United States now classified as a non-liberal democracy comparable to Hungary and Turkey under Trump's leadership.
fromianVisits
3 weeks ago

Official announcement: It's time to end the tyranny of officially

Once upon a time, adding official to an announcement served a purpose. It distinguished fact from rumour, press release from pub chat. Sensible. Helpful. Civilised. But in recent years, the word has gone rogue. Nothing can simply happen anymore. It must be officially announced.
Media industry
Philosophy
fromApaonline
3 weeks ago

Secrecy, Democracy, Necessity

Executive officials justify secrecy through claims of protecting decision-making integrity and national security, but such necessity arguments alone cannot legitimize secret governance in democracies.
World news
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 weeks ago

War spirals as information control tightens

The war on Iran has escalated with increased leadership assassinations, a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and strikes on energy infrastructure.
Left-wing politics
fromSlate Magazine
2 weeks ago

They've Been Measuring the Health of Democracies for Years. Guess What Their New Report Says About America.

The Trump administration's dismantling of democratic institutions has caused the United States' democracy rating to fall to 1965 levels, representing unprecedented autocratization in modern times.
#government-surveillance
fromThe Verge
3 weeks ago
Intellectual property law

Anthropic doesn't trust the Pentagon, and neither should you

Anthropic sued the Pentagon over a supply chain risk designation, citing First and Fifth Amendment violations, amid broader concerns about government surveillance authority and AI oversight.
fromElectronic Frontier Foundation
1 month ago
Privacy professionals

The Anthropic-DOD Conflict: Privacy Protections Shouldn't Depend On the Decisions of a Few Powerful People

Privacy protection depends on corporate contract negotiations rather than legal frameworks, requiring Congress and courts to establish enforceable restrictions on government surveillance and data use.
Intellectual property law
fromThe Verge
3 weeks ago

Anthropic doesn't trust the Pentagon, and neither should you

Anthropic sued the Pentagon over a supply chain risk designation, citing First and Fifth Amendment violations, amid broader concerns about government surveillance authority and AI oversight.
Privacy professionals
fromElectronic Frontier Foundation
1 month ago

The Anthropic-DOD Conflict: Privacy Protections Shouldn't Depend On the Decisions of a Few Powerful People

Privacy protection depends on corporate contract negotiations rather than legal frameworks, requiring Congress and courts to establish enforceable restrictions on government surveillance and data use.
Information security
fromTheregister
3 weeks ago

Hackers: Democracy's last line of cyber defense

The hacker mindset—analytical curiosity combined with systemic thinking—can defend democracy by creating decentralized communication tools that resist censorship and empower oppressed communities.
New York City
fromwww.amny.com
3 weeks ago

Op-Ed | Mamdani must rein in mass surveillance before it's too late | amNewYork

NYC's surveillance infrastructure enables systematic data sharing between agencies, facilitating ICE deportations despite judicial orders for release and creating predictable abuse patterns.
Miscellaneous
fromenglish.elpais.com
4 weeks ago

'Cover-Up': A reporter against the impunity of power and the horror of war

Seymour Hersh, an 88-year-old investigative journalist with six decades of experience, has exposed major government abuses including the My Lai massacre, Abu Ghraib prison abuses, and alleged CIA pipeline sabotage, now featured in the Netflix documentary Cover-Up.
US politics
fromemptywheel
2 weeks ago

Accountability - emptywheel

Accountability for Trump and his administration is essential to prevent him from scapegoating Muslims for failures resulting from his Iran conflict decisions.
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

Invasive' AI-led mass surveillance in Africa violating freedoms, warn experts

This large-scale and invasive AI-enabled surveillance of public spaces is not legal, necessary or proportionate to the legitimate aim of providing security. History shows us that this is the latest tool used by governments to invade the privacy of citizens and stifle freedom of movement and expression.
Privacy professionals
World politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
3 weeks ago

The battle on the propaganda front intensifies

Iran employs asymmetric economic tactics against U.S.-Israeli military superiority while misinformation complicates public understanding of the conflict.
World politics
Portraying leaders as evil symbols justifies intervention while obscuring underlying political structures that enabled their rise, perpetuating cycles of instability.
Privacy professionals
fromDataBreaches.Net
1 month ago

Hacktivists claim to have hacked Homeland Security to release ICE contract data - DataBreaches.Net

Hacktivists claiming to be 'Department of Peace' breached DHS and leaked contracts between the agency, ICE, and over 6,000 companies including defense and tech firms.
EU data protection
fromInfoWorld
1 month ago

Sovereignty isn't a toggle feature

European cloud alternatives like Hetzner and Scaleway can deliver comparable performance and capabilities to AWS while significantly reducing costs, though they require greater operational responsibility and architectural commitment to sovereignty.
fromThe Nation
3 weeks ago

The "Rules-Based Order" Is Gone. Let's Not Bring It Back.

The very same European leaders and anointed members of the Blob expressing outrage about Greenland were largely silent or supportive as Trump bombed Iran and Nigeria, abducted Maduro, and continued to aid and abet Israel's genocide in Gaza.
World politics
fromTechCrunch
1 month ago

Hacktivists claim to have hacked Homeland Security to release ICE contract data | TechCrunch

Why hack the DHS? I can think of a couple Pretti Good reasons! I'm releasing this because the DHS is killing us and people deserve to know which companies support them and what they're working on.
Privacy professionals
Privacy technologies
fromWIRED
1 month ago

How to Organize Safely in the Age of Surveillance

Grassroots organizing requires careful tradeoffs between openness and security to protect participants from extensive government surveillance and corporate data cooperation.
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

How America Chose Not to Hold the Powerful to Account

Since Richard Nixon was forced to resign, powerful people in both political parties have worked assiduously to ensure that their leaders would escape the consequences of their actions. Trump has evaded punishment for crimes both low (campaign-finance violations, for which he was convicted, though he will serve no time thanks to his 2024 victory) and high (his attempted overthrow of the federal government in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss, for which he was spared by the Supreme Court's decision to grant him a kingly immunity).
US politics
US news
fromwww.npr.org
1 month ago

The Trump administration is increasingly trying to criminalize observing ICE

Observers who follow and document ICE agents face detention and potential criminal charges under a federal law banning interference with federal officers.
Social justice
fromTruthout
1 month ago

Living Under a Concentration Camp Regime - and Fighting Back

Mass detention systems expand through legal 'end runs' and normalization; rapid U.S. detention infrastructure growth signals a dangerous escalation requiring organized resistance.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
1 month ago

'Totalitarian' Technologies and the Transformation of the Political World: A Radical Cold War Critique

Modern Cold War technology was viewed by many political theorists as inherently totalitarian, shaping society's structures, enabling propaganda, control, and genocide, not merely neutral tools.
Law
fromAbove the Law
1 month ago

Accountability In An Age Of Unaccountability - Above the Law

Legal system turmoil: arrests, Epstein file fallout, judicial misconduct, and mounting ethical breaches requiring disbarment of dishonest administration lawyers.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Abusers using AI and digital tech to attack and control women, charity warns

Record numbers of women who were abused and controlled through technology were referred to Refuge's specialist services during the last three months of 2025, including a 62% increase in the most complex cases to total 829 women. There was also a 24% increase in referrals of under-30s. Recent cases included perpetrators using wearable tech such as smartwatches, Oura rings and Fitbits to track and stalk women, disrupting their lives through smart home devices that control lights and heating, and using AI spoofing apps to impersonate people.
Public health
World politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Autocracy is rising in the west. But the global south proves it's not inevitable | Kenneth Roth

Autocrats face growing internal pressure from their populations, while democracy remains valued globally despite Western challenges from far-right movements and disaffected voters.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
1 month ago

What Accountability-Seeking Protest Can Tell Us About Democracy

Different kinds of political protest pursue distinct aims; accountability-seeking protest aims to hold actors responsible and can reinforce democratic community bonds.
fromDataBreaches.Net
2 months ago

When the GDPR is weaponized to shut journalists up, don't go silently into that dark night - DataBreaches.Net

In video comments, the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said, "Make no mistake, under President Trump's leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely. And if I haven't been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you." So people have a First Amendment right to worship that DOJ will protect, but journalists suddenly have no First Amendment right to report on issues of public interest and concern? We disagree.
Privacy technologies
#ice
fromFortune
2 months ago
US politics

Only 4 democracies have created paramilitary police squads since 1960-if you include ICE | Fortune

fromFortune
2 months ago
US politics

Only 4 democracies have created paramilitary police squads since 1960-if you include ICE | Fortune

Social justice
fromAxios
2 months ago

Leaders urge action in 2026: "We are on the brink of tyranny and authoritarianism"

Authoritarian-style enforcement is eroding civil rights, protest freedoms, and democracy, prompting state and local legal actions and demands for inclusive civil rights strategies.
World news
fromTruthout
2 months ago

Police States Are Terrifying, But They Are Brittle. I Witnessed This in Tunisia.

A mass movement in Tunisia toppled a 24-year dictator fifteen years ago, showing how quickly entrenched authoritarian systems can collapse.
World news
fromwww.aljazeera.com
1 month ago

Anticorruption efforts declining in democracies around the world: Watchdog

Global corruption perceptions fell to a decade low (CPI 42); the US score slipped amid institutional pressure, weakened enforcement of anticorruption laws, and overseas aid cuts.
US politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Trump-led abuses amid democratic recession' put human rights in peril, HRW report says

Global democratic backsliding endangers human rights and the rules-based order, with concentrated assaults on US democratic institutions and accountability mechanisms.
fromFuturism
1 month ago

The Department of Homeland Security Is Demanding That Google Turn Over Information About Random Critics

"Don't play Russian roulette with [this man's] life," Jon told lead DHS prosecutor, Joseph Dernbach, in the email. "Err on the side of caution. There's a reason the US government along with many other governments don't recognise the Taliban. Apply principles of common sense and decency." Five hours later, per WaPo, Jon received a response - not from Dernbach or the DHS, but from Google.
Privacy professionals
Privacy professionals
fromWIRED
1 month ago

How Data Brokers Can Fuel Violence Against Public Servants

Comprehensive state consumer privacy laws fail to protect public servants, enabling a data-to-violence pipeline by allowing public-source personal data to be sold and exposed.
fromElectronic Frontier Foundation
2 months ago

Beware: Government Using Image Manipulation for Propaganda

A short while later, the White House posted the same photo - except that version had been digitally altered to darken Armstrong's skin and rearrange her facial features to make it appear she was sobbing or distraught. The Guardian one of many media outlets to report on this image manipulation, created a handy slider graphic to help viewers see clearly how the photo had been changed.
US politics
World politics
fromwww.dw.com
2 months ago

What you can do to bypass authoritarian surveillance

Authoritarian governments build segregated "splinternets" that require verified identities, biometrics, and location data to prevent anonymity and control digital participation.
US politics
fromThe Nation
1 month ago

Freedoms Under Threat

Independent, progressive journalism holds the powerful accountable, centers marginalized communities, exposes distortions, and relies on reader support to sustain urgent coverage.
US politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 months ago

Trump's Board of Peace' puts rights abusers in charge of global order

The US president proposes a self-serving 'Board of Peace' that undermines the UN and human rights, gathering repressive leaders into a club of impunity.
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

Put Humans in Charge Again

Strong executive authority and flexible decision-making enable rapid, large-scale public works, mass hiring, and fast crisis responses when bureaucratic processes are bypassed.
#authoritarianism
World politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

After years spent documenting state terror, I know it when I see it. And I see it now in the US and Israel | Janine di Giovanni

State terror uses arbitrary detention, torture, killings and fear, justified by rhetoric of security and order, to silence dissent and control populations.
US politics
fromwww.mediaite.com
2 months ago

Alex Pretti's Past Does Not Justify the Government Killing Him

Alex Pretti was killed by federal agents using unnecessary and fatal force while peacefully observing and documenting government action in Minneapolis.
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

How Autocrats Meddle With Elections

More than 60,000 North Carolina ballots were challenged in 2024, including longtime voter Dawn Baldwin Gibson's early ballot in the state Supreme Court race.
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