Heather Burns
@heatherburnstech.bsky.social
freelance tech policy x digital rights / human rights / good trouble / midlife MPhil student @ Strathclyde / IANAL / https://heatherburns.tech / 💬 on Signal / open to work / 🇺🇦 / "bad ass Glaswegian" apparently
Pinned
Queen of the hill – Hi, I'm Heather Burns
I somehow managed to not fling myself off my chair.
heatherburns.tech
Some personal news. I've had such good fun doing a midlife masters @lawstrath.bsky.social that I'm going to stick around for another two years and do an MPhil in technology regulation and human rights. Huge thanks to everyone who got me up that hill.
heatherburns.tech/2025/08/21/q...
heatherburns.tech/2025/08/21/q...
20,000 views, which is 19,998 more than anyone has seen of the actual TCNs heatherburns.tech/2025/11/10/t...
November 11, 2025 at 6:34 AM
20,000 views, which is 19,998 more than anyone has seen of the actual TCNs heatherburns.tech/2025/11/10/t...
Just the 12,000 hits on this one so far
New post from me, for UK folks only, on how you need to start preparing for Apple to switch off Advanced Data Protection and the end-to-end encryption of the data you store on it. Like I said, UK only. #SunlitUplands
heatherburns.tech/2025/11/10/t...
heatherburns.tech/2025/11/10/t...
Time to start de-Appling – Hi, I'm Heather Burns
heatherburns.tech
November 10, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Just the 12,000 hits on this one so far
New post from me, for UK folks only, on how you need to start preparing for Apple to switch off Advanced Data Protection and the end-to-end encryption of the data you store on it. Like I said, UK only. #SunlitUplands
heatherburns.tech/2025/11/10/t...
heatherburns.tech/2025/11/10/t...
Time to start de-Appling – Hi, I'm Heather Burns
heatherburns.tech
November 10, 2025 at 1:18 PM
New post from me, for UK folks only, on how you need to start preparing for Apple to switch off Advanced Data Protection and the end-to-end encryption of the data you store on it. Like I said, UK only. #SunlitUplands
heatherburns.tech/2025/11/10/t...
heatherburns.tech/2025/11/10/t...
@benwhitelaw.bsky.social The transcript of that Southport hearing with X is up - thank you for sending me down this rabbit hole southport-prod.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/2025/11/Sout...
southport-prod.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:04 AM
@benwhitelaw.bsky.social The transcript of that Southport hearing with X is up - thank you for sending me down this rabbit hole southport-prod.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/2025/11/Sout...
This reminds me to re-read "The Plot Against America" by Philip Roth (the alternative history of a 1940s fascist Lindbergh presidency in which Father Coughlin figures prominently), as part of my winter retreat into fiction, because what even is fiction or non-fiction anymore
The Father Coughlin story is interesting because of parallels to the modern era. Wildly popular charismatic figure (30M listeners at peak when US had ~120M ppl). Private broadcasters tried to fact-check, pre-clear speeches, ban him while fans protested the censorship. FDR tried to stay out of it.
There’s no daylight between what Candace says here about “the Jews” & what Nazi propagandists & Father Coughlin said about the Jews in the 1930s. Her show is one of the top 5 “conservative” podcasts in the US. She has 5.5 million subscribers on YouTube and 7.3 million followers on X.
November 9, 2025 at 5:11 PM
This reminds me to re-read "The Plot Against America" by Philip Roth (the alternative history of a 1940s fascist Lindbergh presidency in which Father Coughlin figures prominently), as part of my winter retreat into fiction, because what even is fiction or non-fiction anymore
“The real challenge for society lies not just in their online worlds but in how little we have invested in their offline lives…Young people are much better at navigating online harm than we give them credit for. We know there are dangers and so do they.”
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
‘Andrew Tate is dead’: inside the minds of 16-year-olds | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 12:13 PM
“The real challenge for society lies not just in their online worlds but in how little we have invested in their offline lives…Young people are much better at navigating online harm than we give them credit for. We know there are dangers and so do they.”
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Reposted by Heather Burns
This is how fast Christian Nationalism is infecting tech policy: X's director of global government affairs told a Parliamentary committee this week that a violent video which inspired the Southport killer was actually a glorious miracle. (source: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home... nb adwall)
November 8, 2025 at 9:28 AM
This is how fast Christian Nationalism is infecting tech policy: X's director of global government affairs told a Parliamentary committee this week that a violent video which inspired the Southport killer was actually a glorious miracle. (source: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home... nb adwall)
Reposted by Heather Burns
Also this video is weirdly American for a British politician to have created.
“What are u gonna wear to class tomorrow?”
- probably a school uniform, because we’re in the UK.
“I’ll pick you up in the parking lot.”
- no u won’t, Chad, because this is Birmingham and we call it a car park
“What are u gonna wear to class tomorrow?”
- probably a school uniform, because we’re in the UK.
“I’ll pick you up in the parking lot.”
- no u won’t, Chad, because this is Birmingham and we call it a car park
November 6, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Also this video is weirdly American for a British politician to have created.
“What are u gonna wear to class tomorrow?”
- probably a school uniform, because we’re in the UK.
“I’ll pick you up in the parking lot.”
- no u won’t, Chad, because this is Birmingham and we call it a car park
“What are u gonna wear to class tomorrow?”
- probably a school uniform, because we’re in the UK.
“I’ll pick you up in the parking lot.”
- no u won’t, Chad, because this is Birmingham and we call it a car park
Reposted by Heather Burns
Fascinating that you’ve tagged in violence against women charities when among the things that have been forced to age gate or shut down as a result of the #OnlineSafetyAct are reddit support groups for sexual assault survivors.
Also… Brits don’t tend to say ‘parking lot’, who made this video?
Also… Brits don’t tend to say ‘parking lot’, who made this video?
Stranger Danger still applies online. That’s why we’ve implemented the Online Safety Act.
@counterhate.com @womensaid.bsky.social @evawuk.bsky.social @whiteribbonuk.bsky.social @mollyroseorg.bsky.social
#ukpolitics #uklabour #onlinesafety #violenceagainstwomen #childsafety #groomingawareness
@counterhate.com @womensaid.bsky.social @evawuk.bsky.social @whiteribbonuk.bsky.social @mollyroseorg.bsky.social
#ukpolitics #uklabour #onlinesafety #violenceagainstwomen #childsafety #groomingawareness
November 6, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Fascinating that you’ve tagged in violence against women charities when among the things that have been forced to age gate or shut down as a result of the #OnlineSafetyAct are reddit support groups for sexual assault survivors.
Also… Brits don’t tend to say ‘parking lot’, who made this video?
Also… Brits don’t tend to say ‘parking lot’, who made this video?
Reposted by Heather Burns
The FBI has subpoenaed the domain registrar of archive.today, demanding information about the owner.
FBI Tries to Unmask Owner of Infamous Archive.is Site
The FBI has subpoenaed the domain registrar of archive.today, demanding information about the owner.
www.404media.co
November 6, 2025 at 3:24 PM
The FBI has subpoenaed the domain registrar of archive.today, demanding information about the owner.
You'll never guess what's happening to the staff at the Leopards Eating Faces Foundation
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Heritage staff in open revolt over leader’s defense of Tucker Carlson
At least five members of Heritage’s antisemitism task force resigned after Roberts defended Carlson’s interview with antisemitic white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:56 PM
You'll never guess what's happening to the staff at the Leopards Eating Faces Foundation
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
With apologies to my wonderful German speaking friends - this is outstanding.
We translated Stephen Miller's speech into its original form.
November 6, 2025 at 7:32 AM
With apologies to my wonderful German speaking friends - this is outstanding.
I have long had a working theory that given his maternal heritage, Donald Trump is in fact the most Scottish man on the planet, meaning he just wants to be the Big Man at the golf course clubhouse. My theory continues to gather evidence.
November 5, 2025 at 7:38 PM
I have long had a working theory that given his maternal heritage, Donald Trump is in fact the most Scottish man on the planet, meaning he just wants to be the Big Man at the golf course clubhouse. My theory continues to gather evidence.
You really must take in the batshit response to the news coverage of the proposal to remove differential privacy from the US census, by the people who originated the plan. americarenewing.com/issues/wired...
November 5, 2025 at 1:48 PM
You really must take in the batshit response to the news coverage of the proposal to remove differential privacy from the US census, by the people who originated the plan. americarenewing.com/issues/wired...
Glasgow’s public transport is the most backwards and worst system in Europe, so let’s just add “the Chinese-made electric buses which my local bus service runs are remotely hackable” to that list.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Danish authorities in rush to close security loophole in Chinese electric buses
Investigation launched after discovery that Chinese supplier had remote access to vehicles’ control systems
www.theguardian.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Glasgow’s public transport is the most backwards and worst system in Europe, so let’s just add “the Chinese-made electric buses which my local bus service runs are remotely hackable” to that list.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Reposted by Heather Burns
PSA from 404 Media: you can opt-out of a data broker selling your flight travel data to the government to be searched without a warrant. Here's how I did it. This is ARC, the data broker owned by major U.S. airlines like United, Delta, American, etc
www.404media.co/how-to-opt-o...
www.404media.co/how-to-opt-o...
How to Opt-Out of Airlines Selling Your Travel Data to the Government
The Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), owned by major U.S. airlines, collects billions of ticketing records and sells them to the government to be searched without a warrant. I managed to opt-out o...
www.404media.co
November 4, 2025 at 2:05 PM
PSA from 404 Media: you can opt-out of a data broker selling your flight travel data to the government to be searched without a warrant. Here's how I did it. This is ARC, the data broker owned by major U.S. airlines like United, Delta, American, etc
www.404media.co/how-to-opt-o...
www.404media.co/how-to-opt-o...
Is CC’s executive director called Demirzel
NEW: Common Crawl, the massive archiver of the web, has gotten cozy with AI companies and is providing paywalled articles for training data. They’re also lying to publishers who have asked for material to be removed. “The robots are people too,” CC’s exec director told us when we asked about this.
The Nonprofit Feeding the Entire Internet to AI Companies
Common Crawl claims to provide a public benefit, but it lies to publishers about its activities.
www.theatlantic.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Is CC’s executive director called Demirzel
Reposted by Heather Burns
On the 75th anniversary of the #ECHR, the European Court of Human Rights provides a helpful overview of key cases that demonstrate how the Convention protects human rights
Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights - Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights - www.coe.int
European convention on human rights : How it changed the lives of many people across the continent.
www.coe.int
November 4, 2025 at 8:57 AM
On the 75th anniversary of the #ECHR, the European Court of Human Rights provides a helpful overview of key cases that demonstrate how the Convention protects human rights
Last night I had a bad dream about that time a certain maliciously chaotic boss put me on a Skype call at 10 PM to *start* writing a Parliamentary committee enquiry submission which was due at 11:59 PM, in case you ever wondered why the entire UK digital rights sector could fit into one small room.
November 3, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Last night I had a bad dream about that time a certain maliciously chaotic boss put me on a Skype call at 10 PM to *start* writing a Parliamentary committee enquiry submission which was due at 11:59 PM, in case you ever wondered why the entire UK digital rights sector could fit into one small room.
Guys that conference talk I gave in 2017 was meant to be *hypothetical* arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Republican plan would make deanonymization of census data trivial
“Differential privacy” algorithm prevents statistical data from being tied to individuals.
arstechnica.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Guys that conference talk I gave in 2017 was meant to be *hypothetical* arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Reposted by Heather Burns
US citizen shot from behind as he warned ICE agents children would be coming to get bus, lawyers say
U.S. citizen shot from behind as he warned ICE agents about children gathering at bus stop, lawyers say
Lawyers for Carlos Jimenez said he was in fear after an agent threatened him with chemical spray, then pointed a gun at him.
www.latimes.com
November 2, 2025 at 11:25 PM
US citizen shot from behind as he warned ICE agents children would be coming to get bus, lawyers say
And British.
There are a large number of Democratic politicians who insist that Jonathan Haidt is a reliable narrator and one who they should take their legislative cues from. They should be asked why they're supporting someone the Heritage Foundation is cheering on in their efforts to censor the internet.
November 3, 2025 at 7:11 AM
And British.