Tony Roberts
@phatcontroller.bsky.social
Academic working on digital citizenship, digital rights, digital authoritarianism, digital disinformation, civic tech, digital surveillance and all that jazz. Free typo with every post.
The Great Fascist Migration.
Roll up! Roll up!
Roll up! Roll up!
November 9, 2025 at 2:53 PM
The Great Fascist Migration.
Roll up! Roll up!
Roll up! Roll up!
Global DPI Summit opens with a plenary panel of five men in suits introduced by another man. Please try harder @CoDevelop @UNDP @ITU @WorldBank #ManelFail #GDPIS
November 4, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Global DPI Summit opens with a plenary panel of five men in suits introduced by another man. Please try harder @CoDevelop @UNDP @ITU @WorldBank #ManelFail #GDPIS
Stop living rent free in my coffee shop! No laptops allowed in Montenegro coffee shop ☺️
October 23, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Stop living rent free in my coffee shop! No laptops allowed in Montenegro coffee shop ☺️
I don't know why people go on and on about linking digital-ID to mobile phones and financial transactions. What could possibly go wrong?
October 12, 2025 at 11:03 AM
I don't know why people go on and on about linking digital-ID to mobile phones and financial transactions. What could possibly go wrong?
If Digital-ID was 'democratic' they would let us vote on it.
October 3, 2025 at 4:40 PM
If Digital-ID was 'democratic' they would let us vote on it.
At last Starmer unites the nation, in opposition to his authoritarian imposition of compulsory biometric digital-ID. Literally nobody wants to be forced to carry a pass-book. Are you mental?
September 25, 2025 at 7:49 PM
At last Starmer unites the nation, in opposition to his authoritarian imposition of compulsory biometric digital-ID. Literally nobody wants to be forced to carry a pass-book. Are you mental?
Africa’s internet shutdowns double as digital crackdowns rise. First ever book on internet shutdowns published online.
www.cajnewsafrica.com/2025/09/16/a...
www.cajnewsafrica.com/2025/09/16/a...
September 18, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Africa’s internet shutdowns double as digital crackdowns rise. First ever book on internet shutdowns published online.
www.cajnewsafrica.com/2025/09/16/a...
www.cajnewsafrica.com/2025/09/16/a...
Proud to have edited the first ever book on Internet Shutdowns in Africa with the brilliant Felicia Anthonio who leads the #KeepItOn coalition Access Now. There have been over 200 shutdowns in Africa in the last decade. #DigitalRights Free to download > www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?do...
September 16, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Proud to have edited the first ever book on Internet Shutdowns in Africa with the brilliant Felicia Anthonio who leads the #KeepItOn coalition Access Now. There have been over 200 shutdowns in Africa in the last decade. #DigitalRights Free to download > www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?do...
Complicit in genocide
August 13, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Complicit in genocide
Heavenly Digital Exclusion
August 12, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Heavenly Digital Exclusion
We Are All Plasticine Action!
August 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM
We Are All Plasticine Action!
When will they make an actually smartphone that blocks state surveillance and stops companies stealing your data and micro-targetting you with messaging to manipulate your beliefs and behaviour?
August 7, 2025 at 12:52 PM
When will they make an actually smartphone that blocks state surveillance and stops companies stealing your data and micro-targetting you with messaging to manipulate your beliefs and behaviour?
Politicians are not the ones running the country. Not in the interests of their constituents anyway.
July 10, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Politicians are not the ones running the country. Not in the interests of their constituents anyway.
The wrong Amazon is burning. The wrong ICE is melting.
June 28, 2025 at 7:05 AM
The wrong Amazon is burning. The wrong ICE is melting.
Algo-Rhythm and Blues
June 26, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Algo-Rhythm and Blues
Algorithmic Authoritarianism
right-wing digital propagandist pleads for PalantirTech deployment
right-wing digital propagandist pleads for PalantirTech deployment
June 13, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Algorithmic Authoritarianism
right-wing digital propagandist pleads for PalantirTech deployment
right-wing digital propagandist pleads for PalantirTech deployment
Rumours of my death (as reported by AI slop) have been greatly exaggerated. It also costs very much less expensive to book Tony Roberts than Google AI claims.
May 27, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Rumours of my death (as reported by AI slop) have been greatly exaggerated. It also costs very much less expensive to book Tony Roberts than Google AI claims.
No tech for apartheid
May 4, 2025 at 5:27 PM
No tech for apartheid
Launching the new book 'Digital Surveillance inAfrica'
authored by members of the African Digital Rights Network (ADRN) a virtual network of 75+ African researchers from 30+ African countries hosted by @ids.ac.uk #DRIF25
www.africandigitalrightsnetwork.org/publications
authored by members of the African Digital Rights Network (ADRN) a virtual network of 75+ African researchers from 30+ African countries hosted by @ids.ac.uk #DRIF25
www.africandigitalrightsnetwork.org/publications
May 1, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Launching the new book 'Digital Surveillance inAfrica'
authored by members of the African Digital Rights Network (ADRN) a virtual network of 75+ African researchers from 30+ African countries hosted by @ids.ac.uk #DRIF25
www.africandigitalrightsnetwork.org/publications
authored by members of the African Digital Rights Network (ADRN) a virtual network of 75+ African researchers from 30+ African countries hosted by @ids.ac.uk #DRIF25
www.africandigitalrightsnetwork.org/publications
A new dataset, visualized as maps, reveals the extent to which African workers are indirectly employed in the tech sector, doing content moderation, customer service, and data annotation for AI models, among other jobs. restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...
April 28, 2025 at 3:40 AM
A new dataset, visualized as maps, reveals the extent to which African workers are indirectly employed in the tech sector, doing content moderation, customer service, and data annotation for AI models, among other jobs. restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...
Pre-conference research activity in Zambia.
April 25, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Pre-conference research activity in Zambia.