FLOSS Weekly 752: Stalkers Beware - Cooper Quintin on Personal Privacy and TOR University Challenge
Oct 4, 2023
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Privacy expert Cooper Quintin discusses the dangers of constant personal privacy exposure, the stalkerware industry, decentralization of social media, the expanding data broker industry, encryption tools, and the need for privacy laws.
The alarming rise of stalking and the ease with which anyone can spy on others poses a significant threat to personal privacy.
Stalkerware and spouseware, often disguised as parental control software, are being used for abusive purposes and require serious attention and awareness.
Privacy nihilism is misguided, and individuals can take steps to protect themselves through ad blockers, encrypted services, and platforms that value privacy.
Deep dives
The Growing Threat of Stalking Business
The podcast episode delves into the alarming rise of the stalking business and the implications it has for personal privacy. It highlights that anyone with a motivation to spy on others can easily do so, posing a significant threat to individuals' privacy. The guest speaker, Cooper Quinton of the EFF, discusses how the EFF's Threat Lab is actively fighting against this issue. The episode explores various related topics, making it an informative and eye-opening discussion.
The Danger of Stalkerware and Spouseware
The podcast sheds light on the alarming prevalence of stalkerware and spouseware, which are malware explicitly designed for spying on partners or family members. The speaker emphasizes that these invasive tools are often marketed as parental control or child monitoring software, while in reality, they are being used for abusive purposes. The podcast stresses the importance of taking such threats seriously and highlights the efforts made by cybersecurity experts to raise awareness and combat this industry.
The Role of Privacy Nihilism and Mitigating Strategies
The episode dives into the concept of privacy nihilism, which is the belief that privacy is already non-existent or not worth protecting. The speaker argues that privacy nihilism is misguided and explores various mitigation strategies. These strategies include using ad blockers and tracker blockers, promoting encrypted web and messaging services, and actively choosing platforms that respect privacy. The podcast encourages individuals to engage in threat modeling, thinking critically about their privacy needs, and taking steps to protect themselves online. It concludes on an optimistic note, highlighting the progress made in encryption and decentralized social media as potential solutions to privacy concerns.
The Impact of Data Feeds on Surveillance
Law enforcement agencies can now access extensive social media data through data feeds provided by companies like Shadow Dragon. This eliminates the need for warrants and bypasses the time-consuming process of obtaining data directly from platforms like Facebook. By subscribing to these data feeds, law enforcement agencies gain access to information about individuals' social media connections and discussions, as well as their interests and activity. This has ignited concerns about the potential misuse of these tools in the hands of authoritarian governments and the implications of surveillance capitalism.
A Call for a Decentralized Internet and Privacy Regulations
The state of the internet, dominated by a few major platforms, has raised concerns about surveillance capitalism and the decline of smaller forums and independent blogs. The speaker emphasizes the need to move towards a new internet that is decentralized and preserves user privacy. Initiatives like Mastodon and Blue Sky are mentioned as promising examples. Mastodon allows users to pick their own server and community, and switch to a different server if needed. Blue Sky focuses on open-source content moderation and customizable algorithms. The speaker also advocates for federal privacy laws and regulations to protect individuals' data and limit the influence of data brokers.
Cooper Quintin of the EFF treats Doc Searls and Katherine Druckman to plenty of wisdom about the extremes of constant personal privacy exposure online, and how some of the worst threats can come from people you know.
The stalkerware industry that allows people to spy on victims easily.
How can we truly decentralize social media?
The expanding data broker industry.
Effective mitigation like encryption tools and pushing for privacy laws.
