Valerie O'Neill
@minabird.bsky.social
Co-founder at baycloud.com security/privacy co. with baycloud.bsky.social
Mancunian, mother of three, animal wrangler & painter
Mancunian, mother of three, animal wrangler & painter
Pinned
Valerie O'Neill
@minabird.bsky.social
· Feb 6
Who would have thought the tinfoilhats were not only right but under imaginative? Ah if only Ross Anderson was here to see this....
We were right that the surveillance machine would damage democracy.
I was accused of being too "militant", while our attempts to head it off with clear, enforceable, technical procedures & working technology were ridiculed.
See our blog posts going back to 2011 baycloud.com/blog/listall...
I was accused of being too "militant", while our attempts to head it off with clear, enforceable, technical procedures & working technology were ridiculed.
See our blog posts going back to 2011 baycloud.com/blog/listall...
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
There is a very large loophole in that controllers claiming to be "media organisation" would not be required to respect the signal, so data subjects would not have the right to refuse their online activity being processed for behavioural advertising purposes (paragraph 3).
November 9, 2025 at 4:13 PM
There is a very large loophole in that controllers claiming to be "media organisation" would not be required to respect the signal, so data subjects would not have the right to refuse their online activity being processed for behavioural advertising purposes (paragraph 3).
Thread 👇
The European Commission's "GDPR simplification" package proposal mandates a browser level signal to allow data subjects’ to refuse a request for consent, and exercise the right to object and potentially to give their consent, see Article 88b, page 57.
November 10, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Thread 👇
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
"Google told FTM that to obtain the support of law firms is common practice, and said its lobby spending was similar to those of other companies in the industry"
How Google won friends and influenced people - while slowly gobbling up a quarter of all ad revenue on the internet.
Here's my look at two decades of Google’s ruthless tactics to secure its dominance.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Here's my look at two decades of Google’s ruthless tactics to secure its dominance.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
How Google fooled Brussels: the tech giant’s playbook exposed
Regulators in the U.S. and the EU are closing on tech giant Google in an attempt to break up its dominance over the internet. An investigation by Follow the Money reveals how Google has persuaded lawm...
www.ftm.eu
November 3, 2025 at 6:23 AM
"Google told FTM that to obtain the support of law firms is common practice, and said its lobby spending was similar to those of other companies in the industry"
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
Revealing story by @alexfanta.bsky.social in @ftm.nl.
"Over the past decade, Google lobbyists met with the Commission at least 420 times, and spent well over 60 million euros on lobbying"
And with an open end, given Trump's tariff threats against enforcement.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
"Over the past decade, Google lobbyists met with the Commission at least 420 times, and spent well over 60 million euros on lobbying"
And with an open end, given Trump's tariff threats against enforcement.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
How Google fooled Brussels: the tech giant’s playbook exposed
Regulators in the U.S. and the EU are closing on tech giant Google in an attempt to break up its dominance over the internet. An investigation by Follow the Money reveals how Google has persuaded lawm...
www.ftm.eu
November 3, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Revealing story by @alexfanta.bsky.social in @ftm.nl.
"Over the past decade, Google lobbyists met with the Commission at least 420 times, and spent well over 60 million euros on lobbying"
And with an open end, given Trump's tariff threats against enforcement.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
"Over the past decade, Google lobbyists met with the Commission at least 420 times, and spent well over 60 million euros on lobbying"
And with an open end, given Trump's tariff threats against enforcement.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
The European Commission unduly protected Elon Musk’s social network X from public scrutiny, the European Ombudsman has found.
The watchdog has asked the Commission to be more transparent about disclosures from companies under the EU's Digital Services Acts.
New story:
www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
The watchdog has asked the Commission to be more transparent about disclosures from companies under the EU's Digital Services Acts.
New story:
www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
Watchdog slams EU executive for hiding user risks on Elon Musk’s X
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
www.ftm.eu
November 4, 2025 at 11:09 AM
The European Commission unduly protected Elon Musk’s social network X from public scrutiny, the European Ombudsman has found.
The watchdog has asked the Commission to be more transparent about disclosures from companies under the EU's Digital Services Acts.
New story:
www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
The watchdog has asked the Commission to be more transparent about disclosures from companies under the EU's Digital Services Acts.
New story:
www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
Last year, @alexfanta.bsky.social and I started collecting data on a decade of meetings between Google and the European Commission. Today, Alex shows how Google influenced people in Brussels to dominate the scene.
Google, the world’s largest search engine operating three in four smartphones, has played Brussels like a fiddle – shaping laws, silencing rivals, and calling it "innovation". The chart shows how Big Tech bankrolls Brussels’ top think tanks.
Read our latest story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Read our latest story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
November 3, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Last year, @alexfanta.bsky.social and I started collecting data on a decade of meetings between Google and the European Commission. Today, Alex shows how Google influenced people in Brussels to dominate the scene.
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
This is why I don’t trust these companies when they sell tech to education - because this is who they are: criminals who don’t care about digital rights or humans at all.
Stop letting them into schools, whoever they are. They lie and can afford the fines. Nothing but jail will make them do better
Stop letting them into schools, whoever they are. They lie and can afford the fines. Nothing but jail will make them do better
regulations that are put in place to protect individuals from the wealthiest and most powerful corporations are apparently `out of control’
October 31, 2025 at 6:15 PM
This is why I don’t trust these companies when they sell tech to education - because this is who they are: criminals who don’t care about digital rights or humans at all.
Stop letting them into schools, whoever they are. They lie and can afford the fines. Nothing but jail will make them do better
Stop letting them into schools, whoever they are. They lie and can afford the fines. Nothing but jail will make them do better
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
Google has agreed to pay $1.375 billion to settle a case that Texas brought against it for allegedly tracking and collecting user data and geolocation without proper consent.
www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/...
www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/...
Google to pay $1.375B in Texas privacy lawsuit settlement - Austin Business Journal
Texas and Google have finalized a huge settlement tied to a privacy lawsuit.
www.bizjournals.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Google has agreed to pay $1.375 billion to settle a case that Texas brought against it for allegedly tracking and collecting user data and geolocation without proper consent.
www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/...
www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/...
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
Google agreed to pay up to $190 million in legal fees to private law firms representing Texas as part of a $1.375 billion consumer privacy settlement with the state. The company said it would also pay $71 million in legal fees to the Texas AG’s office as part of the May settlement reut.rs/47sM4Gx
October 24, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Google agreed to pay up to $190 million in legal fees to private law firms representing Texas as part of a $1.375 billion consumer privacy settlement with the state. The company said it would also pay $71 million in legal fees to the Texas AG’s office as part of the May settlement reut.rs/47sM4Gx
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
Facebook owner asked Government to lead pushback against data protection laws at EU level
www.irishtimes.com/technology/b...
the gluttony of zuckerberg knows no bounds. these guys must take the public for imbeciles
www.irishtimes.com/technology/b...
the gluttony of zuckerberg knows no bounds. these guys must take the public for imbeciles
Data protection rules ‘completely out of control’, Meta tells Government
Facebook owner asked Government to lead pushback against data protection laws at EU level
www.irishtimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Facebook owner asked Government to lead pushback against data protection laws at EU level
www.irishtimes.com/technology/b...
the gluttony of zuckerberg knows no bounds. these guys must take the public for imbeciles
www.irishtimes.com/technology/b...
the gluttony of zuckerberg knows no bounds. these guys must take the public for imbeciles
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
gee, won’t regulators think of the poor multi-billioners profiting out of theft, environmental destruction, and shitty and harmful tech they keep pushing aggressively into the public
October 31, 2025 at 6:19 PM
gee, won’t regulators think of the poor multi-billioners profiting out of theft, environmental destruction, and shitty and harmful tech they keep pushing aggressively into the public
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
The ICO claim #UKGDPR complaints are arising "as people become more aware of their #dataprotection rights" & now propose to refuse investigation of many of these. In fact, complaints have been stable since #GDPR & but with ↓↓ regulatory action by ICO have ↑ since 2023: inforrm.org/2025/10/28/c...
October 29, 2025 at 10:21 AM
The ICO claim #UKGDPR complaints are arising "as people become more aware of their #dataprotection rights" & now propose to refuse investigation of many of these. In fact, complaints have been stable since #GDPR & but with ↓↓ regulatory action by ICO have ↑ since 2023: inforrm.org/2025/10/28/c...
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New blog on UK Information Commissioner's plan to reject investigation of many #DataProtection complaints, an💡inconsistent with its obligation to inform all complainants of an investigation outcome & liable to fuel further disregard for the UK #GDPR especially among SMEs: inforrm.org/2025/10/28/c...
Cause for Complaint: Assessing the ICO’s Proposed New Approach to Data Protection Complaints – David Erdos
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)’s data protection complaint handling performance is currently in very clear crisis. Despite its pledge to assess and respond to 80% of such complaints w…
inforrm.org
October 29, 2025 at 12:11 PM
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We must assume they designed Chrome as an intrinsic part of their surveillance infrastructure and now feel they don’t need to hide that.
Why (and since when) does Chrome replace shared URLs by "share.google" URLs?
October 26, 2025 at 9:03 AM
We must assume they designed Chrome as an intrinsic part of their surveillance infrastructure and now feel they don’t need to hide that.
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
Today's mood.
(Image courtesy of the Snow Leopard Trust, whose work we support in Kyrgyzstan)
(Image courtesy of the Snow Leopard Trust, whose work we support in Kyrgyzstan)
October 22, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Today's mood.
(Image courtesy of the Snow Leopard Trust, whose work we support in Kyrgyzstan)
(Image courtesy of the Snow Leopard Trust, whose work we support in Kyrgyzstan)
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
i don’t want a vacation i want to be lightly sedated and placed beneath a tree
October 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
i don’t want a vacation i want to be lightly sedated and placed beneath a tree
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
NVIDIA and OpenAi:
Concerns that their “increasingly complex and interconnected web of business transactions is artificially propping up the trillion-dollar AI boom.“
@bloomberg.com $NVDA 👀
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Concerns that their “increasingly complex and interconnected web of business transactions is artificially propping up the trillion-dollar AI boom.“
@bloomberg.com $NVDA 👀
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
October 7, 2025 at 11:08 PM
NVIDIA and OpenAi:
Concerns that their “increasingly complex and interconnected web of business transactions is artificially propping up the trillion-dollar AI boom.“
@bloomberg.com $NVDA 👀
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Concerns that their “increasingly complex and interconnected web of business transactions is artificially propping up the trillion-dollar AI boom.“
@bloomberg.com $NVDA 👀
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
I'm sure financial journalists can correct me if I'm wrong, but it also seems reminiscent of how very large risky assets were concentrated in the balance sheet of a handful of too-big-to-fail institutions.
Peter Atwater
“With each passing day, the AI space looks more and more like the USA’s home mortgage securitization at the peak of the 2007-8 housing bubble with its overlapping series of capital conveyor belts.”
“With each passing day, the AI space looks more and more like the USA’s home mortgage securitization at the peak of the 2007-8 housing bubble with its overlapping series of capital conveyor belts.”
October 9, 2025 at 1:16 PM
I'm sure financial journalists can correct me if I'm wrong, but it also seems reminiscent of how very large risky assets were concentrated in the balance sheet of a handful of too-big-to-fail institutions.
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
Congratulations to Maria Corina Machado, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize - her incredible optimism has already changed her country. I spoke to her, and wrote about her, at the beginning of this year:
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
The ‘Anthropological Change’ Happening in Venezuela
Maduro is still in place, but a pro-democracy movement is transforming the beleaguered country.
www.theatlantic.com
October 10, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Congratulations to Maria Corina Machado, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize - her incredible optimism has already changed her country. I spoke to her, and wrote about her, at the beginning of this year:
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
Good News! Governor Newsom has rightly rejected pressure from Silicon Valley Big Tech & AdTech & just signed the CA Opt Me Out Act (was AB-566)! h/t
@calprivacy.bsky.social
Here is my post about it from last week.
baycloud.com/blog/PostDet...
@calprivacy.bsky.social
Here is my post about it from last week.
baycloud.com/blog/PostDet...
If it happens, this will mean that companies than develop or maintain browsers, i.e. any "interactive software application that is used by consumers to locate, access, and navigate internet websites", must:
baycloud.com
October 8, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Good News! Governor Newsom has rightly rejected pressure from Silicon Valley Big Tech & AdTech & just signed the CA Opt Me Out Act (was AB-566)! h/t
@calprivacy.bsky.social
Here is my post about it from last week.
baycloud.com/blog/PostDet...
@calprivacy.bsky.social
Here is my post about it from last week.
baycloud.com/blog/PostDet...
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
Great news! Governor Newsom has signed The CA Opt Me Out Act (AB 566, Lowenthal). This bill, sponsored by the CPPA, will make it easier for Californians to protect their privacy by requiring browsers to offer opt-out preference signals. It goes into effect Jan. 1, 2027.
October 8, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Great news! Governor Newsom has signed The CA Opt Me Out Act (AB 566, Lowenthal). This bill, sponsored by the CPPA, will make it easier for Californians to protect their privacy by requiring browsers to offer opt-out preference signals. It goes into effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Reposted by Valerie O'Neill
After 8 years of inaction, the DPC now claims that RTB adtech does not provide location data to dodgy firms.
Wrong.
Meet "Patternz" for example:
An Israeli surveillance tool built on RTB data that provides a targeted individual's coordinates and "driving path" www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...
Wrong.
Meet "Patternz" for example:
An Israeli surveillance tool built on RTB data that provides a targeted individual's coordinates and "driving path" www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...
October 7, 2025 at 7:47 AM
After 8 years of inaction, the DPC now claims that RTB adtech does not provide location data to dodgy firms.
Wrong.
Meet "Patternz" for example:
An Israeli surveillance tool built on RTB data that provides a targeted individual's coordinates and "driving path" www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...
Wrong.
Meet "Patternz" for example:
An Israeli surveillance tool built on RTB data that provides a targeted individual's coordinates and "driving path" www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...
Unusually for the time of year about 15 red kites and a pair of buzzards are circled for food here today. Bad weather on its way
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October 2, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Unusually for the time of year about 15 red kites and a pair of buzzards are circled for food here today. Bad weather on its way
🦅🦅
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The Network Advertising Initiative proposes their version of St Augustin' s prayer "make me chaste and virtuous, but not yet.". In case anyone is taken in by this (thinking of you
@gavinnewsom.bsky.social), this was exactly their position 12 years ago with Do Not Track
@gavinnewsom.bsky.social), this was exactly their position 12 years ago with Do Not Track
October 2, 2025 at 8:02 AM
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