@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

paulbiggar

@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io

Software engineer and devtools founder - founded CircleCI and https://mastodon.cloud/@darklang

Irish, based in NYC after a decade in SF.

Functional languages, devtools, progressive politics, tech, pastries. Recurser. (he/him)

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

vecna, to random
@vecna@retro.pizza avatar

@paulbiggar Hi! I'm working on a talk about Lavender (thank you for that amazing work).
I wanted to go a little deeper into the possibility that Meta is actively working with the IDF. I don't have any conclusive thoughts (except that your questions should be answered, and we might not even believe Meta's answers). do you?

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@vecna one of the best theories I saw was from folks who work on reverse engineering WhatsApp. They believe there's timing attacks possible, when someone controls the ISP

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@vecna @jade another option is that WhatsApp data is being collected via joining these groups, or (physically) compromised phones

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@vecna @jade did you see https://theintercept.com/2024/05/22/whatsapp-security-vulnerability-meta-israel-palestine/

paulbiggar, to random
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

An open letter for freedom and justice - signed by many tech leaders. I'd encourage others to read and sign

https://techforfreedomandjustice.github.io/tech-open-letter/

paulbiggar, to random
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

Looking forward to the People's Conference next week. Reach out if you're going and want to connect (paul@techforpalestine.org, or X or IG)

https://peoplesconferenceforpalestine.org/

paulbiggar, to random
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

SalesForce is actually hosting an event with Shai Davidai in the Salesforce tower

https://x.com/paulbiggar/status/1785411643259736559?s=46

ian, to random
@ian@mckellar.social avatar

I'm suspicious of anyone who freaks out more about the peaceful occupation of lawns on college campuses than the violent occupation of Palestine.

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@ian it's pure propaganda. They want people not to think about what Israel is doing in Gaza

gwynnion, to random
@gwynnion@mastodon.social avatar

The more elected Democrats get behind Israeli genocide and attacking protesters as "terrorists" or what have you, the more convinced I am they cannot be trusted on any other issue either, if they're so determined to throw in with fascists.

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@gwynnion Palestine is opening our eyes about a lot of things in America

aaron.rupar, to random

I am going to spend the next 6 months getting yelled at by "leftists" for speaking bold truths like "if you don't like Trump, you should vote for Biden." This is apparently highly triggering and causes them to lash out. But someone has to do it.

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@aaron.rupar seems reasonable to not vote for someone committing a genocide?

raph, to Israel
@raph@social.coop avatar

Good piece by @paulbiggar asking how exactly Israel gets WhatsApp information to feed into its Lavender AI (that automatically generates target lists): https://blog.paulbiggar.com/meta-and-lavender/

People who are in chat groups with known militants get flagged by Lavender. There is little doubt that Israeli intelligence infiltrates large chat groups, but Meta's track record on Israel/Palestine suggests it may also actively hand over data and allow Israel to automate the process.

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@Beachbum @raph one could argue that it's working perfectly

paulbiggar, to random
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

I just published about Meta and Lavender - specifically how Whatsapp is used to enable bombing of WhatsApp users.

https://blog.paulbiggar.com/meta-and-lavender/

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

Lavender uses WhatsApp messages as input to their AI - where do they get this from? Surely Meta should not be giving group membership to a military that is bombing their users and their entire families, without oversight?

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

Several of Meta's senior leaders have been significant supporters of Israel, including Zuckerberg donating to Zaka, and Sheryl Sandberg doing a propaganda tour

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

It is also not widely known that Lavender was produced by Unit 8200 (the Israeli NSA), and that Meta's CISO -- the most senior person responsible for policy and suppression of Palestinian content -- was in Unit 8200

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

Meanwhile, Meta has been systematically pro-Israel, suppressing Palestinian content, and has soft launched an anti-"anti-Zionist" policy that shocked Jewish Voice for Peace.

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

At the same time, they've neglected to release a transparency report for the time covered by Lavender's use

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

Overall, the lesson is that people should not trust WhatsApp at all, and should migrate to other messaging apps like @signalapp

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@signalapp A lot of difficult questions for Meta before that trust can be rebuilt, and I don't honestly believe that Meta can or will answer them

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@signalapp Read my full post for more detail

https://blog.paulbiggar.com/meta-and-lavender/

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@alshafei Relatedly, @signalapp just added support for usernames instead of phone numbers

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

@alshafei @signalapp oh right yeah. Masking it is a significant improvement but yeah, it doesn't protect you from the app company's abuses

paulbiggar, to random
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

Pour one out for the folks at lavender dot ai who I'm guessing just started their urgent rebrand

paulbiggar, to random
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

Free Palestine! 🇵🇸

paulbiggar, to random
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

This report about AI targeting is one of the worst things I’ve ever read

https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

Here's my Twitter thread about it

https://x.com/paulbiggar/status/1776253334762012818?s=46

paulbiggar,
@paulbiggar@hachyderm.io avatar

And an interview I did on it

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5Y-xmEywU0/?igsh=MTJlcDA3bzlsenBoZg==

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • megavids
  • Durango
  • DreamBathrooms
  • ngwrru68w68
  • osvaldo12
  • cubers
  • magazineikmin
  • ethstaker
  • Youngstown
  • rosin
  • slotface
  • everett
  • kavyap
  • InstantRegret
  • JUstTest
  • khanakhh
  • thenastyranch
  • anitta
  • modclub
  • GTA5RPClips
  • mdbf
  • cisconetworking
  • tester
  • tacticalgear
  • provamag3
  • Leos
  • normalnudes
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •