Farzaneh Bad
@farzdusa.bsky.social
DigitalMedusa https://digitalmedusa.org/
Netrifying the enemies of the global Internet
Say no to IP and government overreach!
Netrifying the enemies of the global Internet
Say no to IP and government overreach!
Set up a conduit-psiphon so that people can connect to Internet service. only a few peers from time to time. I cannot bring myself to shut this down thinking I am depriving people of a vital service. And the Islamic Republic sabotages millions of people's Internet.
February 5, 2026 at 5:26 AM
Set up a conduit-psiphon so that people can connect to Internet service. only a few peers from time to time. I cannot bring myself to shut this down thinking I am depriving people of a vital service. And the Islamic Republic sabotages millions of people's Internet.
It is important not to misframe what Wikimedia has done as a "license" deal even if free. Licensing will restrict smaller actors and individuals. It creates a host of “export” and “import” issues. We need to be very careful about this otherwise we are going to create a digital divide in access.
Veteran tech journo @benjedwards.com has a nice story this week for @arstechnica.com on Wikipedia's API access deals with many of the large AI developers. Initially, the headline and intro weren't clear that these are NOT content license deals, a common mistake in coverage of the deals.
January 18, 2026 at 3:01 PM
It is important not to misframe what Wikimedia has done as a "license" deal even if free. Licensing will restrict smaller actors and individuals. It creates a host of “export” and “import” issues. We need to be very careful about this otherwise we are going to create a digital divide in access.
Reposted by Farzaneh Bad
Stop whatever you're doing and read @farzdusa.bsky.social rejoinder to "digital sovereignty" at @futurefreespeech.org's Bedrock Principle:
How Digital Sovereignty Will Lead to The Slow and Fast Erosion of The Internet
Sovereignty is not a synonym for autonomy; it is instead the uncompromising authority to impose a single will upon others.
www.bedrockprinciple.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Stop whatever you're doing and read @farzdusa.bsky.social rejoinder to "digital sovereignty" at @futurefreespeech.org's Bedrock Principle:
Yes I am having existential crisis and feeling like an utter failure. Nation states normalize these shutdowns by blocking kids from social media, age verification and sometimes even blocking apps in your colonies! Tired of your lip service to a free and open Internet that you don’t protect.
It is very obvious that the Internet community which I am a part of has let people down. Islamic Republic can just keep people in the dark because they have access to technology and network operators are not empowered enough to resist it? Isnt this because access and connectivity became secondary?
January 13, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Yes I am having existential crisis and feeling like an utter failure. Nation states normalize these shutdowns by blocking kids from social media, age verification and sometimes even blocking apps in your colonies! Tired of your lip service to a free and open Internet that you don’t protect.
It is very obvious that the Internet community which I am a part of has let people down. Islamic Republic can just keep people in the dark because they have access to technology and network operators are not empowered enough to resist it? Isnt this because access and connectivity became secondary?
January 13, 2026 at 1:08 PM
It is very obvious that the Internet community which I am a part of has let people down. Islamic Republic can just keep people in the dark because they have access to technology and network operators are not empowered enough to resist it? Isnt this because access and connectivity became secondary?
Some people in western democracies are so used to their basic freedom that they don't even notice when nation states take them away. Or support it even!
January 12, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Some people in western democracies are so used to their basic freedom that they don't even notice when nation states take them away. Or support it even!
There are different ways to achieve justice. My Maman Zahra paved the way for the rest of us through tolerance, resilience and compassion.
I am thinking a lot about my Maman Zahra. I am glad you aren’t here to see how many more mothers are grappling with the monstrous grief of losing their children to injustice. But also I am hoping for those mothers not to take their dreams of justice to grave.
January 11, 2026 at 9:18 PM
There are different ways to achieve justice. My Maman Zahra paved the way for the rest of us through tolerance, resilience and compassion.
I am thinking a lot about my Maman Zahra. I am glad you aren’t here to see how many more mothers are grappling with the monstrous grief of losing their children to injustice. But also I am hoping for those mothers not to take their dreams of justice to grave.
January 11, 2026 at 9:15 PM
I am thinking a lot about my Maman Zahra. I am glad you aren’t here to see how many more mothers are grappling with the monstrous grief of losing their children to injustice. But also I am hoping for those mothers not to take their dreams of justice to grave.
Reposted by Farzaneh Bad
1. Indiana passes law requiring website with more than 1/3 harmful-to-minors sexual content to verify that users are adults.
2. Pornhub parent Aylo responds by blocking Indiana users.
3. Indiana now sues because Hooisers may use VPNs to evade the geoblock, so ...
events.in.gov/event/protec...
2. Pornhub parent Aylo responds by blocking Indiana users.
3. Indiana now sues because Hooisers may use VPNs to evade the geoblock, so ...
events.in.gov/event/protec...
Protecting children from porn: Attorney General Todd Rokita files lawsuit against websites allegedly violating age verification law
events.in.gov
December 15, 2025 at 10:08 PM
1. Indiana passes law requiring website with more than 1/3 harmful-to-minors sexual content to verify that users are adults.
2. Pornhub parent Aylo responds by blocking Indiana users.
3. Indiana now sues because Hooisers may use VPNs to evade the geoblock, so ...
events.in.gov/event/protec...
2. Pornhub parent Aylo responds by blocking Indiana users.
3. Indiana now sues because Hooisers may use VPNs to evade the geoblock, so ...
events.in.gov/event/protec...
And here you go with Telegram ad! The fun part is that Telegram picks the ads for your channels. So your channel could be about how bad cow milk is for your gut health and Telegram will add an ad under your post: join the cow milk advocacy group! Fun times!
January 5, 2026 at 2:27 PM
And here you go with Telegram ad! The fun part is that Telegram picks the ads for your channels. So your channel could be about how bad cow milk is for your gut health and Telegram will add an ad under your post: join the cow milk advocacy group! Fun times!
I understand that people want to think they have found the cause of the agony they are going through, they have found the perpetrator who took their loved ones away. Fixation on one factor might bring you temporary relief but it’s not worth the distraction from effective solutions.
Because they’re not. Anyone with even minimal crisis-response training and familiarity with suicidality understands that psychosis is a complex, multifactorial condition—and that this fixation on chatbots distracts from the far more important work of identifying and addressing its underlying causes.
For all that the media has spent years freaking out about what social media does to our brains, I don’t understand why there appears to be little effort to grapple with the fact that these chatbots are, for some not insignificant portion of the population, literally psychosis machines
January 4, 2026 at 6:05 PM
I understand that people want to think they have found the cause of the agony they are going through, they have found the perpetrator who took their loved ones away. Fixation on one factor might bring you temporary relief but it’s not worth the distraction from effective solutions.
My mom says Generative AI chatbots made a big difference in her life this year. In your fight with big tech, don't forget that these AI online services, can be essential for some of the most vulnerable people.
December 31, 2025 at 7:12 PM
My mom says Generative AI chatbots made a big difference in her life this year. In your fight with big tech, don't forget that these AI online services, can be essential for some of the most vulnerable people.
Encryption is not a risk factor, encryption is security of the service. Its existence doesn't inherently increase risk. Its lack of existence on the other hand does.
December 31, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Encryption is not a risk factor, encryption is security of the service. Its existence doesn't inherently increase risk. Its lack of existence on the other hand does.
Reposted by Farzaneh Bad
Christmas present to self: a trio of freshly typeset and footnoted editions from the master of the 1920s and the 2020s, from the delightful almabooks.com
December 28, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Christmas present to self: a trio of freshly typeset and footnoted editions from the master of the 1920s and the 2020s, from the delightful almabooks.com
Watch the story of an actress who joined the uprising against hijab and for liberty in Iran and said something so profound: I will not participate in a cinema that does not present people with the image narrative that speaks to them and is acceptable for them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=y29z...
ترانه علیدوستی در گفتگو با پگاه آهنگرانی؛ مستند ترانه
YouTube video by BBC Persian
www.youtube.com
December 28, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Watch the story of an actress who joined the uprising against hijab and for liberty in Iran and said something so profound: I will not participate in a cinema that does not present people with the image narrative that speaks to them and is acceptable for them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=y29z...
This is how a lot of laws get made: roll out a “security” rule with foreseeable harm, let people absorb the damage for years, then slowly carve out exemptions.remedies that arrive after humiliation, loss, and stress don’t erase the harm. Anyway this is good news! swalwell.house.gov/media-center...
Swalwell, Duckworth Legislation Supporting Parents Traveling with Breast Milk Officially Becomes Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced that the White House signed the Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening (BABES) Enhancement Act into law, a bipartisan victory that ...
swalwell.house.gov
December 27, 2025 at 3:32 PM
This is how a lot of laws get made: roll out a “security” rule with foreseeable harm, let people absorb the damage for years, then slowly carve out exemptions.remedies that arrive after humiliation, loss, and stress don’t erase the harm. Anyway this is good news! swalwell.house.gov/media-center...
Another Christmas meal: ash reshte
December 25, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Another Christmas meal: ash reshte
And after years I had Nan, butter and honey for Christmas breakfast. At this point I miss Esfahan.
December 25, 2025 at 4:35 PM
And after years I had Nan, butter and honey for Christmas breakfast. At this point I miss Esfahan.
I managed to close all my tabs! There were over 100 of them!
December 25, 2025 at 4:29 PM
I managed to close all my tabs! There were over 100 of them!
Reposted by Farzaneh Bad
The real cost of the administration’s utterly bonkers restriction on visas for trust and safety workers.
dcjournal.com/state-dept-v...
dcjournal.com/state-dept-v...
State Dept. Visa Misstep Will Aid Predators, Scammers, Traffickers – DC Journal - InsideSources
On the day Congress weighed 19 child-safety bills, the State Department told diplomats to deny visas to skilled workers in “content moderation,
dcjournal.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:34 PM
The real cost of the administration’s utterly bonkers restriction on visas for trust and safety workers.
dcjournal.com/state-dept-v...
dcjournal.com/state-dept-v...
Reposted by Farzaneh Bad
It’s definitely a choice to file a 1201(a) suit for web scraping in the same week that a judge definitively rejected that theory of liability.
December 19, 2025 at 9:38 PM
It’s definitely a choice to file a 1201(a) suit for web scraping in the same week that a judge definitively rejected that theory of liability.
Reposted by Farzaneh Bad
As the former Google Associate General Counsel for web search -- a product built on scraping third party content without permission -- I'm having a lot of trouble processing Google's new lawsuit against someone else for scraping search results. storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog...
storage.googleapis.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:24 PM
As the former Google Associate General Counsel for web search -- a product built on scraping third party content without permission -- I'm having a lot of trouble processing Google's new lawsuit against someone else for scraping search results. storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog...
Watched the Islamic Republic statement on Wsis… they like sovereignty 😂 they dont like human rights also they are critical of big tech because they cant apply their finger chopping laws.
December 17, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Watched the Islamic Republic statement on Wsis… they like sovereignty 😂 they dont like human rights also they are critical of big tech because they cant apply their finger chopping laws.
And if I am not mistaken wsis+20 draft was adopted which means IGF is now permanent.
December 17, 2025 at 9:23 PM
And if I am not mistaken wsis+20 draft was adopted which means IGF is now permanent.