Five hours after Charlie Kirk was shot this week, an Atlanta man got a phone call from an Illinois police officer asking about a photo he shared with a couple of close friends on a private Discord chat. The Atlanta man, who asked not to be identified, says the post was merely a confirmation that he had purchased the same T-shirt that the accused killer wore (from an Illinois-based online shop).

Social media companies are generally forbidden by law from divulging users’ private communications to the government without a traditional legal process (e.g., court order). But there’s an exception: in perceived emergencies, social media platforms can proactively and “voluntarily” hand over private messages in response to what’s called an “emergency disclosure request” (EDR).

Discord, I am told, did not respond to any EDR here; but when I asked them directly if they’d provided law enforcement with information to traditional legal process, they declined to respond on-record.

The FBI, or the intelligence community, evidently is monitoring Discord private messaging, even from people who have broken no law.

Full blown Orwellian world. Run for local government and stop this shit.

The largest populated areas are left leaning. If they ae controlled by democratic socialist, we can restrict this shit. Just by pure numbers.

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[–] 51 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I saw this coming in 1999 when Scott McNealy inadvertantly spilled the beans on what his hateful industry was up to, and I have been extremely cautious about what I've been posting ever since. People have called me a paranoid crackpot for decades. I guess I hate to tell you I told you so...

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  • [–] [S] 36 points 1 year ago

    De-google and open source has been my push this year. I'm not the most knowledgeable but I don't trust these companies.

    I stopped using social media for almost 20 years. Only anonymous chats like this are used. Everything goes through a VPN and I always think that someone else is reading my stuff.

    9-11 put us on this track with no restrictions.

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  • [+] 1 point 1 year ago* (1 child)
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    If I ever get oppressed for my speech

    You already are.

    Ask yourself: can you say or post absolutely everything that falls under free speech - i.e. not calls to violence of civil disturbance? Do you feel like you can safely talk about all subjects without being cancelled or sued?

    As soon as you start thinking twice about whether you can say something safely, that's censorship. Censorship isn't someone breathing over your neck saying "Be careful what you say", it's you self-censoring so you don't get into trouble.

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    [–] 36 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    Snowden told us about these type of IC capabilities 12 years ago. We are cooked, y'all. Cooked.

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  • [–] 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)

    I think you missed his conclusion.

    We have tools that they can't penetrate. Privacy is a right. We're not cooked.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Lol, okay. As the vast majority of people have no clue and no interest in utilizing those tools. No interest in understanding threat vectors and cryptography. Cooked was a bit glibb, but the general "we", I do not see your optimism.

    "Privacy is a right"... sure, so is healthcare and shelter... I am sure those policies are going global really soon.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    As the vast majority of people have no clue and no interest in utilizing those tools.

    I can't agree more. A few family members got really paranoid about their communications being monitored after Trump was elected again, so I offered to show them Signal or Element. Nah, no interest, "too hard". They still text even with the fucking US government itself warning people it's a very insecure medium.

    I'm hoping that disinterest changes after a few people get locked up based on social media PMs, but don't have all that much hope.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    After the ICE raids started, I had a lot of people reach out to me I've given trainings and lots of people switched to more secure systems.

    There is an increased appetite in many oppressed groups for this. Don't try to force it. Be open and ready to train those who are eager.

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  • [–] 126 points 1 year ago (22 children)

    not a single person gives a shit about charlie kirk; the whole crackdown is because politicians got a glimpse ofhow people will react when they die and they don't like it.

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  • [–] [S] 52 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (19 children)

    They don't give a shit about that either. Trump has been trying to goat people into violence and he final got his wish (possibly by his own people). They are seizing on that. That is why he moved the national guard into memphis TN. He wants marshall law to hold power forever.

    Edit: spelling

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  • [–] 36 points 1 year ago (12 children)

    Edit: spelling

    Since we're making corrections, the word is "goad," not "goat." You try to "goad" people into behavior or choices they wouldn't normally make.

    I try not to correct people much anymore if their message is still pretty obvious. I realized that offering too many corrections could cause people to post less, and I didn't want to be the cause of that. But the fact that you were already willing to edit goaded me into suggesting another correction.

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  • [–] 26 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Also it's martial, not marshal, which is reasonably important as martial means pertaining to war, i.e. the army running things.

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    This is a great point out. Just like Chomping/ Champing at the bit.

    Your good. Just don't be the " it is it's vs its" person when you have nothing to add. I just want to fight those people.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (3 children)

    It is worrisome that he is goating people to violence with Christy Noam running Homeland security.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Using ICE and the national guard to overthrow the people. Well you always need a secret police force and military to tale over. He just picked the dumbest ones.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    With Christy Noem in charge, the dog days of democracy are over. Because she put a bullet in its head for insubordination.

    But no I agree I mean I always knew we're going to get fashy here but I always thought the bad guys would have their shit together more.

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  • [–] 22 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    A dead nazi is funny but at the end of the day they're just another dead nazi. Now when Hitler or Goebbels eats shit, that's a call for celebration.

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  • [–] 25 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Exactly what Charlie Kirk would want! More censorship!

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  • [–] 23 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    so an illinois policeman called a guy in atlanta around a convo about a thing that happened in utah??? That policeman should be investigated.

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  • [–] 42 points 1 year ago (16 children)

    Using this to try to get more people off of discord.

    Also not privacy related, but fuck substack

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  • [–] [S] 19 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    Ken Klippenstein has done amazing work and broke multiple stories.

    This is not a smear against discord but a reveal of how the government is operating. If you don't think it is a privacy issue then you don't know what privacy is. Being a fan boy doesn't change what is happening.

    Use discord all you want but your point is baseless about the story.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Apologies, I wasn't criticizing the article, or you for sharing it. It's a tricky sentence, especially if English isn't your first language - the "but" changes the subject. Article is definitely privacy related.

    What isn't privacy related is my opinion about subtack. I don't mean to derail, so will let anyone reading this look up why ss sucks and make their own decision.

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  • [–] [S] 6 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Gotcha. SS has a troubling history. One could argue journalist have a open door policy.

    How do you say one is a journalist while another isn't? Today, anyone can be a journalist and a lot of traditional journalist are doing their own thing.

    Even credible outlets are changing. The New Your Times was considered top tier but now..... lord have mercy. Billionaires are buying up and interfering with the companies. And then we have private equity firms, the lice found on the flies that eat shit.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago* (4 children)

    Yes, I wonder what journalists ("professional" and otherwise) are supposed to do. Everyone going their own way and splintering off into many little voices doesn't feel like the right answer, but publishers are beholden to investors and can be bought out by billionaires. I suppose there are publishers/agencies that have maintained their integrity like 404 Media, or Al Jazeera.

    Maybe this is just the burden of anyone in a democracy: to constantly weigh the quality of the sources of information you're using to form opinions which spawn action.

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  • [–] [S] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Critical thinking is a invaluable tool that ia slowly being lost to drone mentality. That is how democracy dies.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    Getting funding from South Korea might be an option. They probably want the Trump Regime to go away, so that they can carry on business without a toddler doing stupid shit.

    If a civil war happens, I suspect the Blue States would get a great deal of foreign support. "Fuck that guy", would be a big part of that. The other part being "I want a reliable business partner." Kinda like how the Confederates were boned internationally when it came to trade. Plus, it would be an easy way to earn favors with whatever institution that displaces Trumpkins.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    What's wrong with substack? Lots of great independent journalists use it.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Highly prone to lock-in, enshittification, and they promote Nazis.

    Just another centralized platform that can't help but want to become universal.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    What's the better alternative?

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    There are several, but the most direct alternative is Ghost (see SS to Ghost migration guide here).

    I used to subscribe to several SS newsletters that switched to Ghost, which is how I found out about it. But I wouldn't have even noticed if they hadn't told me.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Unfortunate choice of initialisation there.

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  • [–] 20 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    You may as well assume that anything done on public social media is being read, searched and filtered in real-time by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

    Given the trajectory of this administration in persecuting people for their political affiliation, dumping commercial social media should be an imperative for everyone who isn't goose stepping.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    That's been the case for 10 years. Unless it's e2ee, it's public record and can be tied to your real name with a minimal amount of paperwork.

    Before I comment anything anywhere, I imagine it being read in a court room in a monotone voice. Bip bop dippity dop, the judge in this case is a swell person and I hope they have a lovely day!

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  • [–] [S] 10 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Well they will have to read a lot of my erotic zelda/link fan fiction.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Sounds like a CSAM case for a motivated partisan prosecutor.

    People break the law, as it is written, way more than they think. Selective enforcement to target political rival groups is very much in the playbook here.

    It is less safe to speak in public today than it was 2 years ago, and it is only getting worse. Protecting your privacy also means protecting yourself from mob justice when they decide you're the new target group.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    This was what should have been a private conversation though, not public.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    It was said in a Discord chat. Discord chats are not private, you agree to that in the TOS when you sign up.

    There are always people monitoring the chats, voice and video, looking for illegal activities. Something was said in that conversation that their algorithm flagged for human review and that person sent it to law enforcement.

    You have zero privacy on any social media. Everything that you write is viewable by the service owner and they actively look for things to report to law enforcement.

    Companies pay lip service to your privacy, but at the end of the day they’ll turn you in the instant it suits them. If you want privacy, you use encryption so that your privacy is guaranteed by mathematics.

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  • [–] 24 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    As a Turkish citizen, this gives me a sense of deja-vu. America is going through the same crackdowns on freedoms we experienced 25 years ago.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    What happened as a result? Any tips?

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    One thing that happened was that the Turkish leader Erdogan, visited Trump during his first administration, and after the meeting, Erdogan's security force attacked people who were legally protesting. A visiting head-of-state's private security came to America and beat-up legal protesters on American soil - and the Trump administration did nothing.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    frequent political violence while the leaders scapegoat the entire Kurdish population.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    Kurds have been Erdoğan'a greatest friends over the years. When Erdoğan called for a referendum in 2010 to abolish the independent judiciary (the infamous "yetmez ama evet" referandum), support from Kurdish nationalists was critical for Erdoğan's victory.

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    I really do worry tools like whatever the naperville pd using here are going result in a lot of damage and upturned lives once their use becomes more casual, like god knows what's going to happen with the president declaring random political views terrorism

    no real court orders were involved, the article mentions a EDR wasn't invoked, no push back from discord over what sounds like some sort of dump or access to all images uploaded to the service

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Socialist Democrates whant's to destroy e2ee in sweden to both parties is anti encryption and pro mass surveillance. They are fighting against eachother of "who can introduce most surveillance and police state laws first"

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Liberals always try to prepare everything the Fascists need to do Fascism when the Fascists get elected (with help from the liberals)

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago* (3 children)

    That's what happens when the billionaires donate to all the political parties.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    That's what happens when you let billionaires operate unchecked. Billionaires have the ability to operate like an independent nation of one, fucking up the works for real nations who are trying to take care of their people.

    Billionaires should either be prohibited, or their expenditures should be tightly regulated. Make them get permission from a regulatory panel before they can spend their money.

    "No, you already have a yacht, you don't need another. Just for being shitty enough to request a SECOND yacht, that money will be earmarked to build homeless shelters instead. Anything else?"

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