Rebecca Williams
@rebeccawilliams.info
Writer, lawyer, and artist exploring the internet.
Privacy @ACLU.org, Board @MuckRock.com, Teaching @Pratt.edu.
rebeccawilliams.info • Signal: rebecca.411
Privacy @ACLU.org, Board @MuckRock.com, Teaching @Pratt.edu.
rebeccawilliams.info • Signal: rebecca.411
Pinned
what if technology wasn't something that was done to us, but instead something that we do?
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
Check out @civicsoftech.bsky.social's Privacy Week events organized by @banvillemorgan.bsky.social on January 28 and January 29: www.civicsoftechnology.org/privacy
January 5, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Check out @civicsoftech.bsky.social's Privacy Week events organized by @banvillemorgan.bsky.social on January 28 and January 29: www.civicsoftechnology.org/privacy
this effectively means anyone
Collection of biometrics from anyone “associated” with a foreigner – Papers, Please!
Underlying the proposal is an implicit but impermissible assumption that merely to “associate” with foreigners is sufficiently suspicious to create probable cause for a search.
papersplease.org
January 4, 2026 at 1:26 PM
this effectively means anyone
Registering a digital id for newborns is dystopian and happening in many countries today (listed here)
Rumored plan to expand UK digital ID to newborns give Tories chance to attack | Biometric Update
There is fresh panic in the UK over rumors that the government is considering extending its digital ID scheme to cover newborns.
www.biometricupdate.com
January 4, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Registering a digital id for newborns is dystopian and happening in many countries today (listed here)
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
“To some extent, it moves stalking and harassment more easily from online to the real world, which is always the problem with wearables…”
Meta smart glasses pose a threat to women, campaigners say
Reports of covert filming have prompted privacy fears as experts are concerned that the devices would be altered to ‘nudify’ women without their consent
www.thetimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 11:07 PM
“To some extent, it moves stalking and harassment more easily from online to the real world, which is always the problem with wearables…”
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
Doing what I can arstechnica.com/ai/2026/01/n...
January 3, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Doing what I can arstechnica.com/ai/2026/01/n...
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
at least part of everything this government does is to impress a handful of psychos on twitter
Several of the photos have Twitter up on a screen in the background but I can’t make out what search term appears
January 3, 2026 at 7:38 PM
at least part of everything this government does is to impress a handful of psychos on twitter
January 3, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Imagine you find out later in life you’re a GAI baby. (See Drew’s next post/article too).
The parents of the first baby born in 2026 in this county outside Baltimore got their name ideas from ChatGPT. Hudson Oakley Winkler.
www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/01/c...
www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/01/c...
ChatGPT named Carroll County’s first-born baby in 2026
The first baby born in Carroll County in 2026 was named with help from ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot.
www.baltimoresun.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Imagine you find out later in life you’re a GAI baby. (See Drew’s next post/article too).
Reverse Escape from New York
January 1, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Reverse Escape from New York
I was there. It was very very cold and very very hopeful. What a wonderful way to kick off a New Year.
Chants of “tax the rich” break out among thousands of New Yorkers huddled up outside the inauguration of Zohran Mamdani as Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks.
January 1, 2026 at 10:16 PM
I was there. It was very very cold and very very hopeful. What a wonderful way to kick off a New Year.
Grateful to be on this list and that @techpolicypress.bsky.social exists as an outlet for folks to contribute to. You should pitch them this year.
In 2025, Tech Policy Press published over 1,100 posts, including articles, analyses, perspectives, transcripts, trackers, podcasts, and more. We're grateful to our volunteer community of contributors, our fellows, and our staff. Here are the most read items of the year. buff.ly/Jw5QGIU
Top 30 Most Read Pieces on Tech Policy Press in 2025 | TechPolicy.Press
In 2025, Tech Policy Press published over 1,100 posts, including articles, analyses, perspectives, transcripts, trackers, podcasts, and more.
buff.ly
January 1, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Grateful to be on this list and that @techpolicypress.bsky.social exists as an outlet for folks to contribute to. You should pitch them this year.
every time there is an article about how upsetting the dystopian subway ads are I feel so profoundly understood, like we’re both in the film They Live and have tried on the sunglasses
The ads “are intended for an audience of people with titles like ‘chief people helper’ or ‘director of employee experience.’”
The Year of Subway Slop
AI and nonsense ads trolled us on our commutes.
www.curbed.com
December 29, 2025 at 3:42 PM
every time there is an article about how upsetting the dystopian subway ads are I feel so profoundly understood, like we’re both in the film They Live and have tried on the sunglasses
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
I made a thing that uses the Anna's Archive dump of Spotify metadata and your own listening history to generate playlists of recommended songs, then save the playlist to your preferred streaming service or as a txt file github.com/JonGerhardso...
GitHub - JonGerhardson/reccomend_from_archive: Music reccomender that uses your spotify streaming history and an sqlite database to create playlists you might like
Music reccomender that uses your spotify streaming history and an sqlite database to create playlists you might like - JonGerhardson/reccomend_from_archive
github.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:42 AM
I made a thing that uses the Anna's Archive dump of Spotify metadata and your own listening history to generate playlists of recommended songs, then save the playlist to your preferred streaming service or as a txt file github.com/JonGerhardso...
remember the New Year is a ripe opportunity to ask yourself: Which big evil platform will I leave behind for a niche platform en route to the bliss of physical media and IRL interactions?
It’s not too late to delete Spotify this year, I have Kindle in my sights, what are you moving on from?
It’s not too late to delete Spotify this year, I have Kindle in my sights, what are you moving on from?
December 28, 2025 at 10:28 PM
remember the New Year is a ripe opportunity to ask yourself: Which big evil platform will I leave behind for a niche platform en route to the bliss of physical media and IRL interactions?
It’s not too late to delete Spotify this year, I have Kindle in my sights, what are you moving on from?
It’s not too late to delete Spotify this year, I have Kindle in my sights, what are you moving on from?
In 2025, I got better at making things and I bet 2026 will follow suit and that is very exciting.
December 27, 2025 at 6:06 AM
In 2025, I got better at making things and I bet 2026 will follow suit and that is very exciting.
A friend recently told me about The Poster’s Paradox where you don’t want to post anything that might alienate you from others, a job, etc., but also its through posting that you can connect to others, a job, etc.
I guess that’s just vulnerability w/ context collapse sprinkled on top for surprise.
I guess that’s just vulnerability w/ context collapse sprinkled on top for surprise.
December 27, 2025 at 6:03 AM
A friend recently told me about The Poster’s Paradox where you don’t want to post anything that might alienate you from others, a job, etc., but also its through posting that you can connect to others, a job, etc.
I guess that’s just vulnerability w/ context collapse sprinkled on top for surprise.
I guess that’s just vulnerability w/ context collapse sprinkled on top for surprise.
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
You can do a lot locally with a dedicated group of 15 to 40 people. Regular people should be thinking at that scale rather than at the scale of thousands.
December 27, 2025 at 5:04 AM
You can do a lot locally with a dedicated group of 15 to 40 people. Regular people should be thinking at that scale rather than at the scale of thousands.
Reposted by Rebecca Williams
Despite what you may hear, antifa supersoldiers are not running Portland. (Unfortunately.)
For @thebaffler.com, I wrote about Trump's war on the left, NSPM-7, and his administration's new attempts to mobilize the ressentiment of its supporters. thebaffler.com/latest/phant...
For @thebaffler.com, I wrote about Trump's war on the left, NSPM-7, and his administration's new attempts to mobilize the ressentiment of its supporters. thebaffler.com/latest/phant...
Phantom Threat | Hannah Gais
With enough conspiratorial flair, just about anyone can be a fire-breathing radical.
thebaffler.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Despite what you may hear, antifa supersoldiers are not running Portland. (Unfortunately.)
For @thebaffler.com, I wrote about Trump's war on the left, NSPM-7, and his administration's new attempts to mobilize the ressentiment of its supporters. thebaffler.com/latest/phant...
For @thebaffler.com, I wrote about Trump's war on the left, NSPM-7, and his administration's new attempts to mobilize the ressentiment of its supporters. thebaffler.com/latest/phant...
This lawsuit underscores a core administrative law principle: the executive branch must implement statutes as written. 21 states are challenging OMB actions that would effectively defund the CFPB under Dodd-Frank.
December 23, 2025 at 5:58 PM
This lawsuit underscores a core administrative law principle: the executive branch must implement statutes as written. 21 states are challenging OMB actions that would effectively defund the CFPB under Dodd-Frank.
“Overall, the article aims to understand the uneven neoliberal transition of recent years and reflect on how workers can, through sabotage, turn infrastructure into ‘technologies of dissent’ to defend public ownership”
December 23, 2025 at 3:43 PM
“Overall, the article aims to understand the uneven neoliberal transition of recent years and reflect on how workers can, through sabotage, turn infrastructure into ‘technologies of dissent’ to defend public ownership”
“He asked to show his ID, which officers declined. Instead, they ran his biometrics. DHS is attempting to rewrite the rules on how the government collects & uses DNA, claiming legal authority to treat the entire human body — its structures, its sounds, even its molecular code — as government data.”
Trump's DNA Dragnet: The Law That Turns Us All Into Suspects
Donald Trump's administration is turning immigration screening into the backbone of a DNA surveillance system that reaches far beyond the border.
www.rollingstone.com
December 23, 2025 at 2:49 PM
“He asked to show his ID, which officers declined. Instead, they ran his biometrics. DHS is attempting to rewrite the rules on how the government collects & uses DNA, claiming legal authority to treat the entire human body — its structures, its sounds, even its molecular code — as government data.”
I keep knowing more and more people on Subway Takes, Kareem really is just getting every New Yorker’s take
December 23, 2025 at 2:52 AM
I keep knowing more and more people on Subway Takes, Kareem really is just getting every New Yorker’s take
whenever I work with the students or interns I feel like everything is going to be okay & the future is very very bright; I wish everyone had access to hope on tap like I do
December 23, 2025 at 2:34 AM
whenever I work with the students or interns I feel like everything is going to be okay & the future is very very bright; I wish everyone had access to hope on tap like I do
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December 22, 2025 at 5:28 PM
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I suppose it’s for the best that we don’t have another site to mine, but I wish Shazam had a default public feed; I want to see other’s random musical lookup transactions, like Venmo but fun
December 19, 2025 at 11:56 PM
I suppose it’s for the best that we don’t have another site to mine, but I wish Shazam had a default public feed; I want to see other’s random musical lookup transactions, like Venmo but fun