Pandora's iPhone, by Stuart Carlson, 2016. Still spot-on in 2026:

A backdoor for the good guys simply does not exist. Once you build it, hackers walk through, authoritarian governments walk through, and the rest follows.

The UK is pressuring for chat control right now. EU Chat Control initiatives keep popping up. We need to keep saying NO to this!

Pandora's iPhone, by Stuart Carlson, 2016.

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[–] 66 points 5 months ago (1 child)

that’s a good image to convey the message to people propagandized by the us, but yes, "fbi" and "repressive regimes" are one and the same here

your domestic government poses much more of a threat to your privacy than some foreign "repressive regime" far away

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago

    I took it as “repressive regime” to mean the administration itself, (not some foreign government), as in more normal times the fbi was a separate entity. And would even investigate the president for crimes. But given the current consolidation of power and that checks and balances have been compromised, I suppose the distinction is moot now.

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  • [–] 59 points 5 months ago (8 children)

    Love the weird scale of threat depicted here.

    -smol bean megacorporation

    -regular bean fbi man

    -Big Hacker, the big hacker lobbyist

    -giant evil FOREIGNER with their evil UNIFORM and MEDALS

    -ect, other guys, artist kind of blew his load drawing all those evil medals

    Like the scale implies I should be most worried about the biggest guy, but I live in America. The feds are the biggest threat to me. You can tell this wasn't drawn by a leftist because...well, almost everything, but mostly because of how normal they seem to think the FBI is, and how small a deal being spied on by them apparently is compared to being spied on by someone that doesn't have the capacity to send a death squad to my apartment at any moment.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    That's only because the FBI guy and the Oppressive Regime guy have become the same guy

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    I also love the idea that all these people are waiting, specifically, for YOUR phone. This is masterful propaganda. Only thing missing is Putin drawn with bat wings, bloody fangs, and black eyes, and Zelensky as an angel blocking Putin.

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  • [–] 28 points 5 months ago

    Oh shit not the ETC

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  • [–] 19 points 5 months ago

    As far as threats go, I would swap FBI and Hackers.

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  • [–] 17 points 5 months ago

    Always keep in mind that your own state is almost always the group of actors having the most power over you. They are the ones who can hurt you or just make you jump though an infinite amount of hoops without any fear of consequence.

    Normal people really can just ignore everyone who is or comes after "Hackers". Focus on your own government. That's where the real risks are.

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  • [–] 26 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    What’s the ETC or behind it? What else could be worse?

    And why isn’t the FBI part of the repressive regimes man?

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  • [–] 21 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Apple seems too small and innocent in this image

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  • [–] 17 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    This illustration is completely wrong.

    The man representing hackers isn't in a fur suit.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago

    oh hey, its me, E T C

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago

    The scale is backwards lol.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    "If you don't have anything to hide, why would you be against this?" -- Americans

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  • [–] 6 points 5 months ago*

    The world is so vast and complicated, you just cant comprehend what good things your representatives are trying to do for you with your simple, tired, working class, simple brain.

    Its hard work running a government, not that you would ever know because youre not in the big club. That's why good things are hard to accomplish.

    Your government loves you so much its worked its butt off towards this common goal with other nation states across the world simultaneously. Why arent you grateful?

    Now go on back to your increasingly more expensive apartment, you got to get a lot to do before you get to your shift at your 3rd part time job. Oh and the retirement age went up again. Youre welcome.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago

    Should be "scammers" not "hackers".

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    Etc. could have been fraudsters and/or scammers.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    We're already at the "ETC" guy

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    picture would be better if there were fingers taking wallets and passpy

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

    Build the alternative and use it.

    You're either the dictator of your computer or you're not. A government 'forcing' companies to hand over logs describing what happened on their commercial platform means you have not even begun the fight. It's a complete farce.

    It's a distraction from the fact all these companies are rolling in capital by manipulating their users--oh, but I want to be manipulated by daddy Apple or daddy Discord, just not daddy national-government. What?

    It's a fucking larp. How many of you will agitate against this, but you will still use your fucking Discord/Apple/Google/Meta whatever?

    Oh, the government is going to hunt you down for using different software that is non-compliant with legislation? What? In what fantasy land? Wake me up when there's boots on the ground invading people's homes by authorities to check what software I'm running on my computer. It's never going to happen.

    EDIT: Sorry, the more I look at this cartoon the more this pisses me off. It's painting Apple as an innocent. It's fucking not. Come on, dear artist, labour more to paint mega-corp dictatorships as benign, aloof, white, middle-class targets. Get fuckt.

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  • [+] 1 point 5 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)
  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 child)

    You are absolutely correct, which is why this and even your comment is a distraction. Regardless of how much we dislike the sophisticated surveillance regime you can't deny material reality: it exists.

    The correct thing to do is to materially destroy it. Its current existence is the threat, not a theoretical oh, it might be compelled to do something to me. The actual fact it could do something to you now is the issue. It is doing things to you right now. Every user of these commercial entities labours freely for these trillion-dollar companies.

    E.g.: A Google android phone provides data to Google which they use in their commercial mapping-software, which they sell access to. "Oh, but I get free-access to Google maps; if my mobile-computer spies on me to improve Google maps then it's beneficial to be spied on." Such reasoning is trotted out ceaselessly, but it ignores the commercial nature of Google: other companies (& governments) are required to pay a license to use it. You're a rube labouring for free. You are an employee of Google, only you don't realise it; neither does the law. You materially impoverish yourself whilst enriching a capitalist corporation. The data you're giving away has value. Even if you want to deny that value consider the following: you pay for the hardware, the data connection and the electricity that enables the extraction of that data. !Socialise the losses privatise the profits! Free access to Google maps isn't charitable. It's a requirement to extract labour from you that improves Google maps. (EDIT 3: this is an important point that I wish to impress upon the reader: that improvement allows Google to demand higher prices from other commercial entities [& governments]. If the product stagnates then the price does too. To prevent this you are required to purchase increasingly sophisticated mobile-computers to extract increasingly sophisticated data sets.

    Have any of you used commercial software recently? Consumer computers are fucking super-computers, yet Microsoft windows and Adobe's PDF reader lags like a motherfucker dancing in molasses under the ocean in a pit of sand--just wtf!)

    You might as well praise your employer for providing shelter whilst at work. How charitable of them. Gee golly, I sure am pleased my employer lets my use a building whilst I labour for the owners. Gee golly, they're so charitable that they're not demanding a rent. (Satire.)

    I will reiterate: it exists now. Ask yourself what can you do now to weaken what it is you're fighting. This cartoon distracts from the fact that Apple is a private surveillance-corporation. Don't use Apple controlled computers. That is the correct line.

    Yes, your data will be inadvertently collected by rubes, but this cartoon says nothing about that fact. This cartoon is just a distraction. It shouldn't be applauded by those who want privacy. It should be critiqued for what it is: a distraction.

    EDIT: Apple would love this cartoon. Apple do not want to share their power with any government. This cartoon creates social-pressure to ease governmental oversight of their private, for profit fiefdom. This cartoon only aids Apple. Critique this cartoon.

    EDIT2: just look at the fucking cartoon: Apple's mobile-computer is on the left, brightly light. It's white like virgin snow. It's painted as a good thing. Apple's mobile-computer is a private prison. It's anything but good.

    FINAL EDIT: on the topic of Google maps. I was shocked to learn that a store's manager refused to comply with Google's terms for being listed on Google's maps. The shock was not from their refusal, but the requirements Google were demanding. They wanted a video that showed how to access the store (located within a larger commercial building) and privileged information. This was dressed up as attestation that they were in fact an employee of the store and therefore the data was valid and correct. However the privileged information they wanted was absurd: passwords to store safes and company logins.

    That was what I was told by the manager. For those who work within businesses do these requirements sound familiar? Is Google actually demanding such information as a requirement for new listings?

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  • [+] 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 child)
  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    I would say liberate yourself first. Buy computers that can or already are liberated (that is to say computers running libre software). Once liberated you will understand how it is done and can then teach others how to do it too.

    You should not be concerned about politics here. Already the people are rendered mute under Western democracies.

    Even if you don't think it's folly to persuade others, what are you persuading them of? To use software that you yourself don't use? Build it. Use it. Promote it. Can't write software? Donate to the orgs that are writing libre software. Can't run it? Haven't you liberated your computer? If you have you can run it. Can't promote it? Are you not able to communicate?

    Ditch Apple and Google. Use GrapheneOS. Use a linux powered mobile-computer like Pine Phone. Use encrypted overlay networks to communicate over the internet like i2p (it has a Java implementation and a C++ implementation), tor, hyphanet or my personal favorite: GNUnet. Heck, use all of them!

    I will preemptively address an infantile critique of GrapheneOS: it uses Google branded hardware. File off the logo if it disturbs you so much. This critique fails to address the reality: hardware is subsidized by technological behemoths like Google because their product is not the hardware, but the software that is built off data collected by the hardware. An argument could be made that taking advantage of that subsidization maliciously damages Google more than purchasing non-subsidized hardware. Something to think about. Regardless, Foxconn makes both Google Pixels and Apple Iphones. The branding blinds people of the reality.

    Anyway... rambles, rambles. It's not about convincing others, it's about you doing what you think is the correct thing to do.

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    [–] 5 points 5 months ago

    The FBI and others have had the open back door to iPhones for years.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    My conspiracy mind sometimes thinks that Apple has said backdoor and has given the keys, but plays a pretend game with the govt as if they didn't

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago

    Is really sad when a company is forced to install a backdoor like that, kill all their revenue, how they will sell all your data if the buyer can get it for free? Poor companies.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago

    "etc" it's Israel

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    biggest lifestyle challenge is escaping the apple ecosystem

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    Apple only needs to push a dodgy software update to the phone.. No need for a backdoor. All phones are registered with Apple so they know who to push to

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  • [–] -1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

    If you need a Chat use the anonymous https://securebit.chat/, showing the middle finger to control initiatives.

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