Rebecca Williams
@rebeccawilliams.info
Writer, lawyer, and artist exploring the internet.
Privacy @ACLU.org, Board @MuckRock.com, Teaching @Pratt.edu.
Signal: rebecca.411 / Everything else: rebeccawilliams.info
Privacy @ACLU.org, Board @MuckRock.com, Teaching @Pratt.edu.
Signal: rebecca.411 / Everything else: rebeccawilliams.info
Pinned
Welcome to Tech Shadow Work
Tech Shadow Work launches in 2026 as a biweekly newsletter. Each issue uses a recent moment in technology or tech policy to examine its shadow, asking what these decisions reveal about societal power ...
rebeccawilliams.info
Subscribe to my new ~biweekly newsletter, Tech Shadow Work, where I will write about the unspoken "shadow" behind tech policy discourse: rebeccawilliams.info/welcome-to-t...
Welcome back bill to not have facial recognition technology at Wegmen’s and other places of public accommodation legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationD...
The New York City Council - File #: Int 0213-2026
Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York in relation to prohibiting places or providers of public accommodation from using biometric recognition technology and prote...
legistar.council.nyc.gov
February 4, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Welcome back bill to not have facial recognition technology at Wegmen’s and other places of public accommodation legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationD...
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
34 #Oklahoma legislators sue to block upload of state residents’ data to AAMVA’s national #realid database:
papersplease.org/wp/2026/01/2...
papersplease.org/wp/2026/01/2...
OK legislators sue to block upload of state residents’ data to AAMVA’s national REAL-ID database – Papers, Please!
The petitioners, led by Sen. Kendal Sacchieri (R-Blanchard), include sixteen members of the Oklahoma Senate and eighteen members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. They are represented by Oklahoma City attorney Wyatt McGuire.
papersplease.org
January 28, 2026 at 8:28 PM
34 #Oklahoma legislators sue to block upload of state residents’ data to AAMVA’s national #realid database:
papersplease.org/wp/2026/01/2...
papersplease.org/wp/2026/01/2...
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
Thank you to @justinhendrix.bsky.social and @techpolicypress.bsky.social for a great interview about “Your Data Will Be Used Against You.” @nyupress.bsky.social
Worth a listen.
www.techpolicy.press/how-to-apply...
Worth a listen.
www.techpolicy.press/how-to-apply...
How to Apply the 'Tyrant Test' to Technology
George Washington University Law School professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson is the author of the forthcoming book Your Data Will Be Used Against You.
www.techpolicy.press
February 1, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Thank you to @justinhendrix.bsky.social and @techpolicypress.bsky.social for a great interview about “Your Data Will Be Used Against You.” @nyupress.bsky.social
Worth a listen.
www.techpolicy.press/how-to-apply...
Worth a listen.
www.techpolicy.press/how-to-apply...
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
I believe NSO Group has one goal: Bring Pegasus spyware to America.
They're trying to create the perception that they are a reformed company.
But they just got caught trying to hijack diplomatic efforts to whitewash Pegasus spyware 1/
They're trying to create the perception that they are a reformed company.
But they just got caught trying to hijack diplomatic efforts to whitewash Pegasus spyware 1/
February 2, 2026 at 9:08 PM
I believe NSO Group has one goal: Bring Pegasus spyware to America.
They're trying to create the perception that they are a reformed company.
But they just got caught trying to hijack diplomatic efforts to whitewash Pegasus spyware 1/
They're trying to create the perception that they are a reformed company.
But they just got caught trying to hijack diplomatic efforts to whitewash Pegasus spyware 1/
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
Download a PDF of our first ever zine here.
Our Zine About ICE Surveillance Is Here
Download a PDF of our first ever zine here.
www.404media.co
February 2, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Download a PDF of our first ever zine here.
remind me to try to be more like Catherine O’Hara whenever you can
February 1, 2026 at 12:48 AM
remind me to try to be more like Catherine O’Hara whenever you can
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
Watch the full training.
Eyes on ICE: Document and Record
YouTube video by ACLU
www.youtube.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Watch the full training.
This is fiscal AND technological responsibility bsky.app/profile/thec...
Mamdani Targets ‘Unusable’ AI Chatbot for Termination
Mamdani Targets ‘Unusable’ AI Chatbot for Termination
Reporting from The Markup and THE CITY exposed how the bot, touted by the Adams administration, repeatedly served up false and damaging information.
buff.ly
January 30, 2026 at 9:59 PM
This is fiscal AND technological responsibility bsky.app/profile/thec...
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 11:55 AM
A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
New from 404 Media: here is the user guide for ELITE, the tool Palantir made for ICE. A map shows people on a map; ICE clicks them, brings up their dossier. ICE uses to find which neighborhoods to target. We obtained it, you can now read the document for yourself: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co
January 30, 2026 at 2:51 PM
New from 404 Media: here is the user guide for ELITE, the tool Palantir made for ICE. A map shows people on a map; ICE clicks them, brings up their dossier. ICE uses to find which neighborhoods to target. We obtained it, you can now read the document for yourself: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
The search and seizure warrant for Hannah Natanson explicitly authorized law enforcement personnel to use her fingers and face to attempt to unlock her phone.
Washington Post Raid Is a Frightening Reminder: Turn Off Your Phone’s Biometrics Now
The search warrant to raid a Washington Post reporter’s home shows how authorities can open your phone without your consent.
interc.pt
January 30, 2026 at 4:14 PM
The search and seizure warrant for Hannah Natanson explicitly authorized law enforcement personnel to use her fingers and face to attempt to unlock her phone.
Who’s watching the watchers watching the watchers? Well it’s me, but it everyone in the watching chain too and some other people. Watching is getting less and less linear.
January 30, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Who’s watching the watchers watching the watchers? Well it’s me, but it everyone in the watching chain too and some other people. Watching is getting less and less linear.
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
Teaching Kafka tonight
January 25, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Teaching Kafka tonight
I stay subscribed to government industry listservs and periodicals for “insider knowledge,” but a lot of the time the flat industry speak (the nature of the beast) feels like it’s eroding knowledge I previously had, I must stay strong
January 28, 2026 at 4:09 PM
I stay subscribed to government industry listservs and periodicals for “insider knowledge,” but a lot of the time the flat industry speak (the nature of the beast) feels like it’s eroding knowledge I previously had, I must stay strong
thinking about how the pros of friction-maxxing are fidelity and protection, e.g., Tidal high fidelity audio not loading offline, Proton docs requiring login and also being slow to load
January 28, 2026 at 2:33 PM
thinking about how the pros of friction-maxxing are fidelity and protection, e.g., Tidal high fidelity audio not loading offline, Proton docs requiring login and also being slow to load
if any focus groups want to know what millennials truly want I can unlock the secret for them (it’s public healthcare and decentralized social media)
January 28, 2026 at 2:21 PM
if any focus groups want to know what millennials truly want I can unlock the secret for them (it’s public healthcare and decentralized social media)
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
If “sharing information about suspicious cars that drove by on the Internet” is illegal, than Kash Patel better be cracking down hard on Nextdoor before he bothers with Signal.
Important: Kash Patel’s egregiously anti-first-amendment statements here and Cam Higby’s claim to have “infiltrated” huge ICE-monitoring chats do NOT mean Signal is somehow “compromised.”
“An asshole manages to get added to some massive + intentionally minimally-screened chats” is not surprising.
“An asshole manages to get added to some massive + intentionally minimally-screened chats” is not surprising.
FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal groups tracking ICE, Patel says
FBI Director Kash Patel made the statement after right-wing media figures said they joined the chats and claimed participants were obstructing law enforcement.
www.nbcnews.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:09 AM
If “sharing information about suspicious cars that drove by on the Internet” is illegal, than Kash Patel better be cracking down hard on Nextdoor before he bothers with Signal.
January 27, 2026 at 1:56 AM
so good
now hold on just one minute. when I signed on to work for a creepy right-wing surveillance company named after seeing stones used by the dark lord Sauron to manipulate and control others in an attempt to enslave the free people of middle earth I had no idea we might do some evil.
More: “I’ve read stories of folks rounded up who were seeking asylum with no order to leave the country, no criminal record, and consistently check in with authorities. Literally no reason to be rounded up. Surely we aren’t helping do that?”
www.wired.com/story/palant...
www.wired.com/story/palant...
January 26, 2026 at 11:57 PM
so good
I've seen threads about how privacy slows organizing. My thoughts:
1. People are rightfully overwhelmed by all this surveillance
2. Risk modeling balances that tension; folks need more info on how to prioritize the protection of data that could be used to criminalize them
3. Respect others' agency
1. People are rightfully overwhelmed by all this surveillance
2. Risk modeling balances that tension; folks need more info on how to prioritize the protection of data that could be used to criminalize them
3. Respect others' agency
January 26, 2026 at 12:35 AM
I've seen threads about how privacy slows organizing. My thoughts:
1. People are rightfully overwhelmed by all this surveillance
2. Risk modeling balances that tension; folks need more info on how to prioritize the protection of data that could be used to criminalize them
3. Respect others' agency
1. People are rightfully overwhelmed by all this surveillance
2. Risk modeling balances that tension; folks need more info on how to prioritize the protection of data that could be used to criminalize them
3. Respect others' agency
this serious & good thread is going viral appropriately
my silly side thought is how I am "winter person" that could be invaded in the winter easily, maybe I am "an internet person that could not be invaded online," but no I could be invaded anywhere I think, maybe not in my own mind but even then
my silly side thought is how I am "winter person" that could be invaded in the winter easily, maybe I am "an internet person that could not be invaded online," but no I could be invaded anywhere I think, maybe not in my own mind but even then
Another friend put it to me like this: "ICE has made the classic Nazi mistake. They've invaded a winter people in the winter."
January 26, 2026 at 12:12 AM
this serious & good thread is going viral appropriately
my silly side thought is how I am "winter person" that could be invaded in the winter easily, maybe I am "an internet person that could not be invaded online," but no I could be invaded anywhere I think, maybe not in my own mind but even then
my silly side thought is how I am "winter person" that could be invaded in the winter easily, maybe I am "an internet person that could not be invaded online," but no I could be invaded anywhere I think, maybe not in my own mind but even then
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, on January 24. DHS claims he died after an armed struggle, but videos of the incident appears to contradict that claim. Read our analysis here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...
Alex Pretti: Analysing Footage of Minneapolis CBP Shooting - bellingcat
Bellingcat has analysed video of the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The footage appears to contradict statements made by the Department of Homeland Security.
www.bellingcat.com
January 25, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, on January 24. DHS claims he died after an armed struggle, but videos of the incident appears to contradict that claim. Read our analysis here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
We've just published this great essay by Georgia Edwards, Zuzanna Wojciak and shirin anlen from
@witnessorg.bsky.social on how GenAI is threatening OSINT journalism's core assumptions and how to address that threat
A piece worth your precious time
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/ai-unde...
@witnessorg.bsky.social on how GenAI is threatening OSINT journalism's core assumptions and how to address that threat
A piece worth your precious time
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/ai-unde...
AI is undermining OSINT’s core assumptions. Here’s how journalists should adapt
As generative AI makes fabrication easier and detection harder, experts must evolve its methods, invest in contextual expertise, and adopt transparent workflows.
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk
December 12, 2025 at 11:51 AM
We've just published this great essay by Georgia Edwards, Zuzanna Wojciak and shirin anlen from
@witnessorg.bsky.social on how GenAI is threatening OSINT journalism's core assumptions and how to address that threat
A piece worth your precious time
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/ai-unde...
@witnessorg.bsky.social on how GenAI is threatening OSINT journalism's core assumptions and how to address that threat
A piece worth your precious time
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/ai-unde...