Patrick Leavy
LightNews LightNews
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Patrick Leavy
@patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
20 followers 7 following 600 posts
Save democracy - limit big tech

🌉 bridged from https://mastodon.social/@patrickleavy on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/
Posts Replies Media Videos
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
#bigtech have a new #datacenter design

#starwars #andor #ai #surveillance #surveillancecapitalism #privacy #climatechange
Image from the series Andor, of the Death Star. The dish for the laser is being built and moved into place.
December 3, 2025 at 9:45 PM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Looking at the announcement for a new browser from Kagi, I'm wondering "Doesn't @Vivaldi already do this?

@jon can you please confirm that Vivaldi is doing the same thing - full functionality but with zero telemetry?

#Kagi #vivaldi #privacy

Announcement: https://blog.kagi.com/orion
Why a new browser? The obvious question is: why the heck do we need a new browser? The world already has Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, and a growing list of “Al browsers.” Why add yet another? Because something fundamental has been lost. | Zero telemetry, privacy-first access to the internet: a basic human right. Your browser is the most intimate tool you have on your computer. It sees everything you read, everything you search, everything you type. Do you want that relationship funded by advertisers, or by you? With ad-funded browsers and Al overlays, your activity is a gold mine. Every click becomes a way to track, every page another opportunity to profile you a little more deeply. We believe there needs to be a different path: a browser that answers only to its user. Orion is our attempt at that browser. No trade-offs between features and privacy. It's fast, customizable, and uncompromising on both fronts.
November 26, 2025 at 11:54 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
One of the many benefits of taking online #privacy seriously - no ads, and loads of time saved!

Nice work #vivaldi browser

Not to mention 225,000 creepy trackers blocked 💪🏼

Start your journey to privacy this #thanksgiving by taking the #bigtechwalkout2025 […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Screenshot of the Vivaldi browser privacy dashboard, showing loads of ads and trackers blocked.
November 25, 2025 at 4:03 PM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Obi-Jon Kenobi talking to Princess Khan about how bringing some of that FTC badassery to New York City will be a win for working people 💪🏼

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRJWM_3OW2Y

This time Obi-Wan is asking the Princess for help, not the other way […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Screenshot of Jon Stewart interviewing Lina Khan. The headphones look a bit like Princess Leia's 'space buns' hair from Star Wars: A New Hope.
November 17, 2025 at 8:22 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
When you're selecting a product or service to use, remember that ownership and stucture matter.

Why? Because it can sometimes lead to #enshittification , the mechanisim of which is:

1. Bait - free service

2. Trap - network effect, walled gardens, serve […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Screenshot showing the machanism of Enshittification: 1. Bait: Lure in users with a great, often subsidized, service. 2. Trap: Use that captive audience to attract businesses (sellers, creators, advertisers). 3. Switch: Exploit those groups by degrading the experience for everyone to extract maximum profit, ultimately making the platform unusable.
November 9, 2025 at 9:37 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
#medialiberationday is today: 5th November 2025!

Have fun by doing your own #coverstory like this where you live.

https://mediarevolution.org/cover-story/

Fight the #billionairemindvirus
November 5, 2025 at 10:38 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
This is our TL;DR on the home page of our site:
https://www.rebeltechalliance.org/

Please forward to anyone you know that *seriously* can't be bothered with #privacy - because it's a team sport and you need them on board. If not they are essentially a snitch […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Key points (TL;DR) - from Rebel Tech Alliance's website: 1. Every time you connect to the internet you are being tracked. The data harvested feeds a massive industry called the "surveillance economy’. The business model underpinning it is called Surveillance Capitalism. 2. This data is traded constantly on an online bidding system called the RTB system. The personal nature of the data has enabled ‘micro-targeting’ of ads (personalised ads). 3. The data is supposed to be just used for ads, but anyone can purchase it: fraudsters, government agencies (both your own and those of foreign governments), data brokers and surveillance companies. 4. Elections can be distorted because anyone can use this information to micro-target propaganda, fake news and misinformation. They do this with ‘swing voters' (undecided voters), bombard them with messages to gradually change their vote. 5. Zoom out! Privacy is a collective problem, so it requires a collective solution. Privacy is a team sport; it's not just about you. The solution is to stop using Big Tech products and reduce the amount of your data that is harvested.
November 4, 2025 at 12:39 PM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Great sign: DON'T BE #smartphone ZOMBIES

You tell 'em Japan 😂

#bigtech #addiction #privacy
Sign reading "Don't be smartphone zombies"
November 2, 2025 at 10:49 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
How's everyone getting on with the #bigtechwalkout2025 ?

Now we're into November ideally you would have completed the October steps, the hardest of which was finding out which of your phone apps are the creepiest and ditching them (like the one in this […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Screenshot showing step 4 of the Big Tech Walkout 2025 programme: ditching phone apps with creepy trackers
November 1, 2025 at 10:17 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Since it's #halloween we get a rare view of the #techbros feeding in their bunker.

Stop feeding #bigtech 's creepy business model, #surveillancecapitalism !

Remember: #PrivacyIsPower 💪🏼

(It's too late for that person on the right.... they have been drained […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
cartoon-style image of tech bros in a bunker drinking the data that is leaking from the citizens in the street above.
October 31, 2025 at 10:26 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
With #halloween just around the corner, you need to make your choice -

#deathtech or #ethtech? Choose ethical tech, choose #privacy, choose people, not control and being phased out by #bigtech

Case in point: #google are not who you think they are […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Play on the CONTROL, ALT, DELETE key strokes - big tech version, and people version
October 22, 2025 at 9:51 PM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
#lichensubscribe
October 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
#mosstodon
Moss near a path
October 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
📢 New blog post out from our non-profit the Rebel Tech Alliance!

https://blog.rebeltechalliance.org/know-your-enemy-pt-1-google/

A deep dive into #google and why they should be cut out of your private life. It's super detailed, with loads of links to […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Screen shot of the Rebel Tech Alliance blog email newsletter
October 19, 2025 at 6:10 PM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
People in London!

You are required TODAY at this rally against #digitalid

https://massnoncompliance.com/
Poster giving details of the march in London on 18th October - protesting Digital ID
October 18, 2025 at 10:03 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Please share this article with all the "I've got nothing to hide" people you know. The ones who roll their eyes when you mention #privacy

https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/surveillance-secrets/

You never know when an individual (stalker? […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Excerpt from the Lighthouse report saying that normal people were tracked using the industry grade surveillance software.
October 15, 2025 at 7:59 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
At the bottom of this pic they should have written Moron AI 😂

Source: https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/billionaires-preparing-for-end

#billionairemindvirus #ai #mountainhead
October 14, 2025 at 8:10 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I haven't used #google search since 2017 because they record your searches and profile you 🤢

But this is reason enough:

#surveillancecapitalism
Photo of text from the book Supremacy by Parmy Olson. The text is a quote from Google's former head of ads, saying all other text apart from ads is filler.
October 2, 2025 at 9:39 PM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
The 'small tech' map - it's great to see that so many good alternatives to #bigtech unethical #datarape products exist.

Which will you switch to?

(This map appears on this page of our website: https://www.rebeltechalliance.org/stopusingbigtech.html , and […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
a map of europe with privacy-focused alternatives to big tech products on it. Also shown are US, Canada and FOSS products.
September 26, 2025 at 8:41 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Come on #ireland you're slacking - make some privacy tech!

Just because #bigtech have invaded the country doesn't mean you can't be working on ethical alternatives.

#ethtech #foss
Map of Europe with names of privacy tech products placed in the countries where they originate. Also listed are US privacy tech products, Canadian products and FOSS products.
September 19, 2025 at 8:37 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
This cartoon is funny, and on point, but you don't have to go analog to escape the evils of #bigtech

We have collected all the #privacy focused, and fully fictional, alternatives on our site. Start your #digitalexodus now, join the #bigtechwalkout2025 and […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Cartoon showing a tech bro trying to invade someone's life, but they resist and go analog instead.
September 6, 2025 at 7:11 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Damn. No wonder the coverage in the UK and elsewhere is so tame 😬

Israel has killed more journalists than all other modern wars put together 😳

Source: The Chris Hedges Report

https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-betrayal-of-palestinian-journalists

#gazagenocide
September 1, 2025 at 8:34 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
#openai is happy to sell a product that helps kill kids. Look at this final exchange between this poor kid and #chatgpt 😌😡

In what other industry could this happen? Teddies that *might* suffocate your child? No. Toys that might poison them? Of course not […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
August 28, 2025 at 6:53 PM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
@demi7en totally. Like this guy...
A person wearing a giant Mexican sombrero hat
August 24, 2025 at 9:29 AM
patrickleavy.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Londoners are pioneering new ways to avoid #facialrecognition
August 23, 2025 at 1:19 PM