Graham Smith
cyberleagle.bsky.social
Graham Smith
@cyberleagle.bsky.social
IT and internet lawyer. Sceptical tech enthusiast. Reposts and links are not endorsements. All views my own. No posts are legal advice. www.cyberleagle.com
Reposted by Graham Smith
Thursday's Crime and Policing Bill debate in the UK House of Lords included quite a lot of anxiety about AI chatbots bills.parliament.uk/bills/3938/s...

"We all knew … that there would have to be an Online Safety Act II, and no doubt other versions as well."

#genAI #censorship #openweb #techpolicy
November 29, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Reposted by Graham Smith
Sir Tom Stoppard, an Index patron & contributor, leaves behind an incredible legacy when it comes to both literature and the fight for free speech. His response to authoritarianism was always to fight & to create. He will be sorely missed.

Our obituary: www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/in-m...
In memory of Sir Tom Stoppard, a visionary dramatist and fierce champion of free expression - Index on Censorship
One of the great playwrights of his time, Tom Stoppard will be remembered as a staunch advocate of free speech.
www.indexoncensorship.org
November 29, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Graham Smith
Truly a playwright for the ages. The recent staging of Rock’n’roll at the Hampstead Theatre was so good I saw it twice in a week, and cried at the end both times.
November 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Graham Smith
The problem is in practice you keep getting the wrong kinds of participants :(
November 29, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Graham Smith
And they’ve banned all points of order from the floor. Participatory democracy in action!
November 29, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Graham Smith
CoE draft recommendation coming up to next stage this week. Unless it has been radically revised, the best thing they could do is send it back to start again.
November 29, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Graham Smith
It's the satirists I feel sorriest for.
November 29, 2025 at 2:23 PM
The master of the No True Scotsman ploy.
Watched Jeremy Corbyn broadcast live on Sky News this morning launching his/your party. His final peroration was "we are going to seize it with both hands, build that party, build that society - and campaign forever more for real socialism and real social justice"
November 29, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Graham Smith
Once it was books, now its laptops & mobile phones.
Everything changed while at the same time nothing changed.
November 28, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Reposted by Graham Smith
The conversation around prostate cancer screening going on right now is the same. Scientists trying to explain the shortcomings of PSAs and the complex science of screening but celebrities assuring people screening will save millions of lives and people simply KNOW deep in their soul screening works
November 29, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Reposted by Graham Smith
ICE thugs accost woman, do their papers-please secret-police routine, claim falsely that her ID is fake, refuse to make a call to confirm it, and then, when she tries to make the call herself, try to seize her phone. And she's…Native American.
‘Northern Exposure’ actor gave ICE agents in Redmond her tribal ID. They called it ‘fake,’ she says
Indigenous actor Elaine Miles of "Northern Exposure" was detained by ICE at a Redmond bus stop. When she showed them her Tribal ID, they told her it was fake.
www.seattletimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Reposted by Graham Smith
🚨 REPORT 🚨 Breaking encryption is legally and practically unworkable. Today, we publish a report outlining why the government must not break end-to-end encryption and the straightforward steps @ofcom.bsky.social can take to protect our safety & security ⬇️
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/new-...
November 28, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Reposted by Graham Smith
Who remembers the last time a journalist guessed a URL? www.govtech.com/security/reu...
Reuters Accused of Illegally Obtaining Information
A Swedish company says the news service got information from a Web page that wasn't designed for public access.
www.govtech.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:04 AM
"The BBC was able to access the PDF version of the OBR's key report at 11:45 on Wednesday by replacing the word 'March' with 'November' in the web address of a previous edition." www.bbc.com/news/article...
OBR calls in cyber expert over botched release of Budget analysis
Rachel Reeves's statement was thrown into chaos after journalists were able to access the document early.
www.bbc.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Meanwhile in Australia… x.com/dittloff4sen...
November 28, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Reposted by Graham Smith
In *that* OBR document it was also revealed the digital ID will cost £1.8bn and that the scheme is currently unfunded.

That is a colossal amount of money for a scheme that promises so little in return.

Imagine where else that could be better spent.

The Government must think again.
November 26, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Welcome to a parallel universe in which public spending is not public spending if you call it investment. Get ready to play Budget Investment Bingo.
November 26, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Graham Smith
I would say this, but the IfG's budget live blog is already great, even before we get to the main event - where else do you get this kind of content?
November 26, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Communications Minister: "We will not be intimidated by threats. We will not be intimidated by legal challenges. We will not be intimidated by big tech. On behalf of Australian parents, we will stand firm," >>> And teens. Don't forget teens. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Australia social media ban: Teens challenge law before High Court
They argue the law - which will block users under 16 from having social media accounts - is unconstitutional.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Reposted by Graham Smith
A useful overview by Professor Sarah Joseph (from November last year) on how the social media minimum age obligation might violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Constitution:
November 26, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Australian Senate report on under-16 social media ban. (PDF) www.aph.gov.au/-/media/Comm...
www.aph.gov.au
November 26, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Reposted by Graham Smith
@itvnews.bsky.social coverage of @ofcom.bsky.social #vawg guidance here with comments from Internet Matters and Refuge on why its non-enforceable status may limit its impact. 2/ www.itv.com/news/2025-11...
November 25, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Reposted by Graham Smith
Spoilsports have corrected it without acknowledging the howler.
OMG. The Guardian have confused Kenneth Clark, presenter of the 1969 series 'Civilisation' with Tory ex-MP & former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke in their review of the new BBC series 'Civilisations:Rise & Fall'
November 25, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by Graham Smith
Or have they confused Kenneth Clark with his son Alan Clark MP, who had an affair with a mother and daughter, wrote about admiring Thatcher's ankles and all sorts of sleazy stuff?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Cl...
Alan Clark - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:23 AM