• Bangladesh: AL Govt’s secret surveillance state: The regime spent at least over 100m USD to equip NTMC, Rab, police with surveillance infrastructure from 2016-24.
• Data Brokers Face New Pressure for Hiding Opt-Out Pages From Google: After reporters found dozens of firms hiding privacy tools from search results, US senator Maggie Hassan insists the companies explain their practices—and pledge to improve access to privacy controls.
• Fighting Twitter’s age verification with a special guest: This person is publishing every possible workaround that exists, allowing users to bypass these checks. On Twitter, as well as any other website that dares to violate everyone’s privacy by requiring them to violate their own anonymity.
• The Open Source Initiative Announces the Release of the Industry’s First Open Source AI Definition: The release of version 1.0 was announced today at All Things Open 2024, an industry conference focused on common issues of interest to the worldwide Open Source community.
• Japan: Apple Must Lift Browser Engine Ban by Decemberhttps: Japan recently passed the Smartphone Act, officially the Bill on the Promotion of Competition for Specified Software Used in Smartphones. Among its most important reforms is a direct prohibition on Apple’s long-standing ban on third-party browser engines on iOS.