theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/23/cop-city-protester-phone

consumerrights.wiki/w/Common_Questions,Arguments,&_Responses_when_discussing_Flock_Surveillance

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[–] 127 points 3 months ago (3 children)

something I feel is important to note: they added CSAM to the list of things they were searching for in order to gain access to his phone.

when the phone was clean (due to the wipe), they did not follow up on that charge

if they truly believed this person to be in possession of CSAM, a warrant should've been issued by now to follow up on that very serious accusation. instead, they go after the destruction of evidence.

because they have nothing on this man, and it was a fabricated excuse to gain access to his phone.

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  • There never was any actual suspicion of CSAM. I assume its what they tell you to get you to let your guard down or make you more inclined to comply.

    "Well, I don't have any CSAM, so it'll be a quick search and they'll let me go"

    I have heard of another instance where customs claimed they wanted to search a phone for CSAM despite actually wanting to find something else. It worked in that instance.

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  • [–] 105 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Meanwhile they keep covering up that ranch in New Meico and hiding the list of all the murdering pedophile rapists.

    They use CSAM as an excuse to attack the innocent, while protecting the people who are actually involved in it.

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  • [+] 34 points 3 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (14 children)
  • [–] 18 points 3 months ago (11 children)

    Simple tutorials.

    I know that a decent chunk of the privacy/Linux folk have that same "I had to suffer and you should too" boomer mindset, and that's like 80% of the reason I haven't stopped using Google and Microsoft.

    I'm not a software dev, but I do have a job and a life and shit. There is only so much time I can spend trying to figure that shit out before I decide it's not worth it.

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  • [+] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)
  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    You're not wrong.

    But I'd like to point out that I said "I'm struggling to find a decent tutorial that works for me" and your response was "skill issue lol".

    Do you actually want people to switch to linux and graphene, or do you wanna laugh at incompetent normies?

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  • [+] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 child)
  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago

    Once again, I agree. Perhaps my previous phrasing was a bit harsh, I'm not taking offense. In my judo practice, there's this idea of "stupid uke", an opponent who intentionally acts like dead weight. Living training dummy for learning new moves or perfecting your form.

    I am, to some extent, playing stupid uke right now.

    Accessibility to normies is a common problem I see in smaller projects, even minor stuff like videogames. I'm thinking of a specific example right now, where the (small) dev team is clearly very talented...and very much falling into the expertise trap. Basically need to learn an entire programming language to play the game, which is not marketed as that kind of game.

    I recognize that I'm ahead of the curve in this sense, and I will figure it out one day, probably very soon. I just want to point out that accessibility will be a major factor, and that this is something that privacy-focused software will have to reckon with sooner rather than later.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    I've been using Linux for 20 years. I need a lot of help and I've never had any people be dicks about it or seen anyone else do it to others.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    You know that XKCD comic about the assumpitions of experts? Thats what you sound like.

    You may not be an expert in your eyes but compared to that commenter, you are, and when you speak to actual experts to find help you are already able to use the language that opens the door to that help. While to others its akin to searching for something when you don't have the key words or phrase that will lead to the appropriate results and you just get nothing.

    This person wants things like an info-graphic to help them get to where youbare or somewhere close.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

    Point taken.

    Maybe this will help: https://f-droid.org/packages/com.inspiredandroid.linuxcommandbibliotheca

    For other OSs, the github has download buttons on screen. https://github.com/SimonSchubert/LinuxCommandLibrary

    It's a tool and has a tldr section in case you don't want to read everything about a command. Sometimes I get bored and read through it just to brush up.

    Send an IM if you need anything specific.

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  • Honestly tutorials and documentation are a major positive for Linux over Windows in my experience. The handful of "just works" Linux distros are a great entry point because 1) they do often just work for basic needs, and 2) they often have forums with new users asking newb questions that you might also have, i.e. they are likely speaking a language you might understand (unlike relative gibberish you might read on Arch forums). When I have Windows issues, I've most often landed on a Microsoft forum with some bot asking if I've turned it off and on again, and never reaching a resolution.

    I do agree that toxic Linux users/commentors are a problem for the community, and I don't subscribe to the notion that the new generation has to experience 'pain' that I did. But there's also no getting around the discomfort of having to learn something new, even when it works 100% as intended. You will have to put time and effort into it, and you will have frustrations. Personally, I've crested the hill where I have less frustrations on Linux than Windows, and I'm glad I put that time in because I've got a lot of years left in me to enjoy the lower stress and greater freedom.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (1 child)

    Thank you yes please. I just want to know how to use Wine or whatever so I can use some of my Windows programs on my Linux machine. Especially my games from Steam and GOG. But also want to continue to rip my bluray and dvds. Also be able to get my Audiobook from Audible to MP3. I have Windows program that does that but no Linux one.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago

    my games from Steam and GOG.

    Steam handles all that for you, you don't even have to know about Wine or Proton.

    But also want to continue to rip my bluray and dvds.

    dvdbackup

    Also be able to get my Audiobook from Audible to MP3. I have Windows program that does that but no Linux one.

    maybe yt-dlp

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (2 children)

    that’s like 80% of the reason I haven’t stopped using Google and Microsoft.

    how can we help? Where are you currently stuck and what have you tried so far?

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (1 child)

    At this point I think it's a hardware (or the lack thereof) issue. I tried to virtual box on my computer using...I think cinnamon? Was recommended as a noob distro. Got weird error codes, googling them didn't help.

    Upon further discussion, I was informed that VB is one of the more complicated methods and I should just install it on another computer. Unfortunately I don't have a fully functional second computer.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago

    2 quick recommendations :

    • do not focus on Linux itself but rather everything else. If you use e.g. Firefox on any operating system, it is basically the same on Linux. You can even bring your data over. Most software running on Linux runs on Windows too, so the transition will be much easier than if you stay stuck on proprietary Windows only software.

    • try https://distrosea.com/ this way you don't need another computer nor even a virtual machine

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  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Enshitification has done enough to get me off Reddit, I personally think very simple entry level tutorials on how to best personally disconnect from the surveillance apparatus, myself I am not computer savvy at all whatsoever so I have a long road ahead of me, too. I’m young but still old school, I like printing zines and putting them out into the world physically, maybe something easily printable telling people

    1. What the problem is

    2. How to solve it themselves

    3. How to help others become aware subsequently help them.

    Of course, online messaging will work too, just needs to be very very wide spread.

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  • [+] 1 point 3 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 child)
  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago*

    Straight up making these programs easier for tech illiterate people like me is probably the only solution. I am already very interested in this stuff but the learning curve is so huge I never bothered. When I was like 13 I got all into computer science then immediately was shoved out by my lack of intelligence in the subject and how confusing it is. I shouldn’t have to be tech inclined to play video games on a computer. Actually that is one of the reasons I stopped playing games for 10+ years and eventually just bought a console that’s 200% easier than any computer

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  • [–] 20 points 3 months ago

    in the burgerreich, when you complain about the government, you get accused of child abuse

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  • Double standards much?

    Release the Epstine files.

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  • [–] 11 points 3 months ago

    Apple IOS user accused of chil..... Google Android user accused of chi......

    fuck off.

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  • [–] 10 points 3 months ago

    My boy is a hero for not allowing his contacts to become states evidence

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  • [–] 9 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    They better have proof or bring lots of money to the defamation lawsuit.

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  • [–] 31 points 3 months ago* (19 children)

    The US Department of Justice is attempting to prosecute an Atlanta resident in connection with the movement against the police training center known as Cop City because he had GrapheneOS on his phone

    Experts said it may be the first time the law has been aimed at the operating system

    What clown wrote this? It has nothing to do with GOS specifically, it has to do with destruction of evidence. Not trying to suggest that this person is guilty at all, it's just very strange phrasing. I guess "Protestor charged with destruction of evidence for deleting phone contents" gets less clicks than "protestor charged with running iLlEgAl operating system!".

    The case, which had its first hearing on Monday, centers on a little-known US federal statute that makes it a crime to destroy property in an effort to prevent it from being seized.

    Is it really "little known" that destroying evidence is illegal?

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  • [–] 42 points 3 months ago* (16 children)

    Is it really "little known" that destroying evidence is illegal?

    I suspect you are attacking the article’s lack of awareness and precision, but I applaud them for not echoing the fascist government’s carefully crafted and fictitious propaganda narrative.

    The government attempted to illegally and unconstitutionally search a person’s personal property. They had no cause, no suspicion, and no warrant. There was no evidence to begin with and no evidence to delete. What a person does with their own property and data is not the business of the government outside of due process. No evidence was deleted because nothing was evidence. The accusation is a work of fiction meant to punish someone for exercising their rights in the face of abuse.

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  • [–] 27 points 3 months ago

    Or to put it simply. The Government can't blanket search your property for a crime. They need a specific crime and probable cause. Not just, "We don't like you. Let me see your phone so I can find something illegal."

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  • [+] -16 points 3 months ago* (14 children)

    I suspect you are attacking the article’s lack of awareness and precision

    Uhhhh nope, I was attacking the article's notion that few people know that destruction of evidence is illegal, as I said.

    There was no evidence to begin with and no evidence to delete

    How could you possibly know that?

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  • [–] 17 points 3 months ago (9 children)

    It was a targeted harassment search into a political nuisance, not an actual warranted investigation. There was no charge. They let him walk away. Can't have evidence if there was no crime.

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  • [+] -11 points 3 months ago (8 children)

    It was a targeted harassment search into a political nuisance, not an actual warranted investigation

    There is no difference, legally.

    Can’t have evidence if there was no crime

    Can't know if there was a crime if the evidence was destroyed. Imagine if a corporation were being investigated for some sort of crime and they just went and deleted any evidence of it. Does your statement still apply?

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  • [–] 16 points 3 months ago* (7 children)

    If there's no suspicion of a crime, there's no legal search. So no evidence to gather.

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  • [+] -8 points 3 months ago (6 children)

    ok but...there was. Regardless of whether it's legitimate.

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  • [–] 11 points 3 months ago (5 children)
  • [–] -5 points 3 months ago* (4 children)

    You should read the article again. The suspicion was CSAM.

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  • [–] 8 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Based solely on the fact that he protested the cops hq. That was their excuse after their illegal search attempt. If there was an actual suspicion, they'd have a warrant and be searching his property, not just holding him up at the airport for a few minutes.

    Are you always this easy to fool? We all know this admin isn't going after actual child abusers.

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  • [–] 0 points 3 months ago

    I am not being fooled. I just understand how our justice system works. There is no rational thought process. Only consideration of the law. The prosecutors won't say anything about his protesting. They will only cite suspicion of CSAM.

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  • [–] 22 points 3 months ago* (3 children)

    If you have mushrooms in your car it is not evidence unless it is discovered during a lawful search as required by due process. Cops cannot just randomly search cars or any other property without cause.

    Hypothetical things are not evidence, regardless of whether they may or may not exist. The phone and any data on it was not evidence because the authorities had no legal or constitutional right or cause to search it.

    Since the phone was wiped, there is no data. This means even the hypothetical was-never-evidence data still is not evidence, because it is literally the absence of evidence. This is as much “destruction of evidence” as the last time you emptied your computers trash folder.

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  • [+] -13 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    If you have mushrooms in your car it is not evidence unless it is discovered during a lawful search

    If a cop has a warrant to search your car for mushrooms and you then burn the car to the ground, that's destruction of evidence.

    If the IRS subpoenas your tax documents and you throw them in a fire, that's destruction of evidence.

    Anything deemed to be pertinent to an investigation is evidence.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 child)

    No. They can't charge him with data destruction because it was the officer that destroyed the data.

    You're right, they will not be able to charge him with anything. This is an excellent case to set a precedent that this tech is totally legal.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

    That's not correct, according to the first sentence of the article from 404.

    The U.S. government has charged Samuel Tunick with allegedly typing in a passcode to wipe his phone

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago

    Freaked out when I realized I had the exact same YouTube recommendations as Louis 2 hours ago.

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