Age assurance is in the news again today. Sadly this isn’t a magic solution and will instead expose users to increased cybersecurity and privacy risks and drive under 18s towards less controlled spaces to obtain and share restricted files. #onlinesafety#privacy#digitalharms
" If a user typed in 'Twitter.com,' they would see 'Twitter.com' as they typed it before hitting 'Post.' But, after submitting, the platform would show 'X.com' in its place on the X for iOS app, without the user's permission, for everyone viewing the post. And shortly after this revelation, it became clear that there was another big issue: X was changing anything ending in 'Twitter.com' to 'X.com.'"
Personal data and customer information may have been stolen from Japanese tech giant Fujitsu after it reported a cyberattack. The company is currently investigating how its network was compromised by malware.
1/ Privacy and security are often used interchangeably, but they're not the same. While they are distinct concepts, they are deeply intertwined and essential in our digital age. Let's explore why. #Privacy#Security
6/ In today's interconnected world, where data is constantly being collected, stored, and shared, the importance of both privacy and security cannot be overstated. They are essential pillars of a trustworthy and ethical digital ecosystem. #OnlineSafety
🧵 Thread 1/3. What about making Mastodon an invite-only platform. This would mean each member can invite others, but there's a twist: invitees' profiles link back to their inviter. #Mastodon#InviteOnly#CommunityTrust#mastoadmin#fediverse
Hey Mastodon community! 🌈 I'm a cyber security enthusiast, and my partner a brilliant digital designer. I work as a cyber security contractor in Sydney, fighting online threats during the day and enjoying the city by night with my wonderful wifey. My life is full of exciting tech work and fun city moments, come see what it's like! #CyberSecurity#SydneyLife#TechWorld#CityFun#OnlineSafety#DailyAdventures#TechTalk#exploresydney
One from last week: Social media companies are relying on millions of teens to build their user base for advertising appeal, yet they do little to sufficiently protect them from online harm. Two researchers look at the most important points to consider in order to make social media platforms safer.
There's a big problem when it comes to the safety of children on social media platforms, researchers think machine learning could be the answer. They explain via @ConversationUS how the technology could be used to not only protect young users but also maintain their privacy.
CNN recounts five takeaways from yesterday's tech CEO hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee over the risks social media poses to children. From Mark Zuckerberg's apology to families who lost loved ones as a result of harmful social media use to the criticisms launched at TikTok's Chew for potential links to China's ruling party.
Five tech CEOs are testifying before Congress today in the pursuit of effective online child safety laws. Follow what X's Linda Yaccarino, TikTok's Shou Zi Chew, Snap's Evan Spiegel, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Discord's Jason Citron have to say via live coverage from @theverge.
"Hours before Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, was set to testify on Wednesday about child safety online, lawmakers released internal documents showing how his company had rejected calls to bulk up on resources to combat the problem."
"Social media company X is in the process of hiring 100 content moderators for a new office in Austin, Texas that will focus on fighting child abuse content, a goal it hopes to complete by the end of the year, an X executive said on Saturday. The Elon Musk-owned company announced the new 'Trust and Safety center of excellence' ahead of a U.S. Senate hearing on Jan. 31 about online child sexual exploitation."
It's genuinely stunning to me to find out how many people think "I'm not interesting, why would someone hack me?"
It's because you're "not interesting" and identity theft works best for people who aren't public figures.
Be smart...
While we're here, fill in this quiz:
First job. - Stop
Current job - Sending
Dream Job - Your
Favourite food- Potential
Favourite dog - Passwords
Favourite footwear- Or
Favourite Candy bar - Memorable
Favourite Ice Cream - Data
Your Vehicle colour - To
Favourite Holiday - People
Night owl/early bird - Who
Favourite day - Collect
Tattoos - This
Favourite colour- For
Do you like vegetables - Social
Do you wear glasses - Engineering
'Also included in the complaint is a description of a 2020 Meta internal company chat, in which one employee asked a colleague: “What specifically are we doing for child grooming (something I just heard about that is happening a lot on TikTok)?”
“Somewhere between zero and negligible,” the colleague responded. “Child safety is an explicit non-goal this half.”'
Meta has announced it will limit the type of content that teen users of Facebook and Instagram will see, following claims the platform is harmful to young people. Topics such as self-harm, graphic violence and eating disorders will be among those restricted. TechCrunch has the details:
My son has downloaded Discord, which means I really can't put off having a comprehensive discussion about online safety with him anymore. We've had lots of small conversations about not trusting everything you see online and stuff, butI haven't been very good about more comprehensive education. I do better with a book to guide the convo, but all the ones I'm finding are from 2019 or earlier. Surely there are more recent books for kids? #OnlineSafety#Bookstodon@bookstodon
'Google's YouTube and TikTok will be asked by EU industry chief Thierry Breton to explain how they protect children from illegal and harmful content on their platforms in line with new EU rules, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.'
Last night, after a tip-off, I decided to start checking out the instances federated with BSD Cafe. I came across some truly appalling instances, featuring horrible images and content that could end up on our timeline. As a result, I've begun integrating some blocklists into BSD Cafe, taking a gradual approach to avoid going overboard with the blocks.
This has led to the immediate removal of over 10 followers from my profile—potentially good folks, but from highly questionable instances. I can't stand by as BSD Cafe gets tainted with such materials.
Friends of the Fediverse, choose your instances wisely. It will ensure a far better experience for everyone.
🏳️⚧️ Safety tip for Transfem.Social members: 🏳️⚧️
Hi friends! Ember here with a small suggestion / reminder for online safety. This is not an instance rule, to be clear, just something that I strongly recommend for online personal safety.
In short - never share your personal information online!
We're a friendly, close-knit community here, but that doesn't make it safe to post personal details. Bad-faith actors sometimes sneak into communities like ours, looking for vulnerable people to stalk and harass. Fedi, in particular, has a problem of hateful people operating "scrapers" that use bots to scan the federated timeline and capture any information on marginalized people. This gets passed on to dangerous groups like KiwiFarms and used for targeted harassment.
Fortunately, you can resist this by limiting what types of personal information you share online. In particular, here are some things that you should never reveal:
Your legal name(s)
Your birth date
Your address (even city of residence)
Photos of your house (especially the exterior)
Your phone number
Where you work
There's also some which are a bit less critical, but I still strongly recommend against sharing. If you want to publish one of these, then please take the time to complete a calculated risk assessment!
Selfies / other photos showing your face
Your exact age (and be careful with ranges)
Where you went to school / college
Details of businesses / organizations you visit
Uncommon medical conditions (doctors get hacked a lot)
This may seem like a lot, but I promise you - it's a small price to pay for online safety! There are horrible people out there, and they'd like nothing more than to make us suffer. Let's make sure that doesn't happen!
--
With love from Ember,
Transfem.Social Community Moderator
:heart_pride: :heart_trans:
Reminder that if you post your nudes online, you should be very aware of the host's terms of service. Many sites lean on their terms, will refuse to remove your content if you change your mind.
This is not to say that content sharing is bad. Just... be safe and read the fine print. Those sites make big money selling your sexuality; they have little incentive to remove your stuff.