Josh Franco
@heiferbeefmountain.bsky.social
160 followers 250 following 19 posts
Hot takes on tech, human rights law and baseball mostly. I work for Amnesty Tech but I skeet for myself.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
heiferbeefmountain.bsky.social
Inter-American SR on Free Expression calls for a ban on highly-invasive spyware like Pegasus which violates human rights by design.
www.oas.org/en/iachr/exp...
Text of recommendation stating: Prohibit, through the appropriate regulatory authority, the acquisition, import,
and use of commercial spyware technologies lacking technical safeguards to limit
functions to specific, necessary, and proportionate surveillance objectives
Reposted by Josh Franco
amnesty.org
Big Tech or big technology companies like Meta, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple influence how we access and interact on the internet.

Here's why Big Tech companies are a threat to human rights ⬇️
Why are Big Tech companies a threat to human rights?
Our new briefing, ‘Breaking up with Big Tech,’ outlines how big technology companies influence how we access the internet and how their power affects human rights.
amn.st
Reposted by Josh Franco
lipstickkrantikari.bsky.social
New! If you are curious about how automation in welfare services effects people’s rights in Denmark, check out the easy-to-read version of Amnesty International’s investigation "Coded Injustice: Surveillance and Discrimination in Denmark’s automated welfare state".
Reposted by Josh Franco
aliaalghussain.bsky.social
I spoke to OkayAfrica about the landmark Kenya lawsuit in which a judge recently rule the court has jurisdiction to hear a case against #Meta for its contribution to violence in #Ethiopia about the avenues this opens up for community accountability

Read more here: www.okayafrica.com/kenya-ethiop...
Can Facebook Be Held Responsible for Violence in Africa? Kenya’s Courts Say Yes | OkayAfrica
Ethiopian plaintiffs take on Meta in a landmark Kenyan lawsuit that could redefine Big Tech's accountability for fueling violence in Africa.
www.okayafrica.com
Reposted by Josh Franco
docmattmoudi.bsky.social
Last week, I was starstruck and positively stoked to sit down w @alixdunn.com and three incredible co-panelists to talk UK politics and broligarchy at the Computer Says Maybe live show in London. The show is now available on CSM's podcast feed – take a listen!

www.saysmaybe.com/podcast/ai-c...
Reposted by Josh Franco
mguariglia.bsky.social
Hungary has banned pride events and is allowing authorities to use face recognition to find the people who attend.

THIS is exactly the future we’ve been warning about as a movement to ban government use of face recognition has been working tireless to ban it at the local and state level.
Hungary's new anti-LGBTQ+ law bans Pride events and sparks protests
The law, supported by Orbán’s Fidesz party and their minority coalition partner the Christian Democrats, was pushed through parliament in an accelerated procedure after being submitted only a day earl...
apnews.com
Reposted by Josh Franco
ccrjustice.org
Must read: Mahmoud Khalil speaks out for the first time since his arrest by the Trump administration in an exclusive letter, dictated over the phone to his family, from ICE detention in Louisiana.
Reposted by Josh Franco
amnesty.org
The arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student activist and lawful permanent resident, is another attack on human rights by the Trump administration.

Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are human rights, not grounds for deportation.
U.S. authorities must release Mahmoud Khalil immediately
Reposted by Josh Franco
donncha.is
🔔NEW: Apple threat notification 🔔

Apple have just sent new notifications to individual's targeted by highly-invasive mobile spyware!

Reach out to our team at @Amnesty's Security Lab or trusted experts if you received this critical warning

www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
Apple threat notifications: What they mean and what you can do
Apple threat notifications: What they mean and what you can do
www.amnesty.org
Reposted by Josh Franco
katiaroux.bsky.social
Il est urgent d'adopter une approche critique du technosolutionnisme de la France et de poser des limites claires à l'utilisation d'outils qui, au nom de la sécurité, menacent nos droits fondamentaux.

Pour agir ✍️👇
www.amnesty.fr/petitions/la...
[PÉTITION] Agissons avant que la reconnaissance faciale devienne une réalité en France
En France, le recours aux technologies de surveillance se multiplie. La prochaine étape, la reconnaissance faciale ? L'inquiétude est réelle.
www.amnesty.fr
Reposted by Josh Franco
jacobbogage.bsky.social
**Major** update to this story, and something I'll continue reporting on through the weekend:

🚨 The new acting IRS commissioner has indicated she plans to comply with DHS's request for the addresses of 700,000 suspected undocumented immigrants. 🚨

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Reposted by Josh Franco
rymkh.bsky.social
New @amnestyuk.bsky.social report on a phenomenon at the core of racist policing in many countries.

Imposing a “crime label” based on racist data keeps feeding the cycle of harm. Read about the stories of people having their life impacted because of the use of racist data by the police.
amnestyuk.bsky.social
Racist data in, racist policing out.

Our new report exposes how police use of technology to “predict crime” means thousands are being racially profiled.

It is automated racism. And it must be banned.

Sign the petition: www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/ban-...
Reposted by Josh Franco
amnesty.org
Policy announcements by Meta pose a grave threat to vulnerable communities globally & increase the risk of contributing to mass violence & gross human rights abuses just like in Myanmar in 2017.

Read more in @techpolicypress.bsky.social.
Meta's New Content Policies Risk Fueling More Mass Violence And Genocide | http://amn.st/63327IQtih
Ignoring lessons from Myanmar and Ethiopia, Meta is stripping away safeguards against mass violence, write Pat de Brún and Maung Sawyeddollah.
amn.st
Reposted by Josh Franco
openrightsgroup.org
"The consensus among cybersecurity experts could not be clearer:

There is no way to provide government access to end-to-end encrypted data without breaking end-to-end encryption, thus putting every user’s security and privacy at risk."

Sign our petition NOW ⬇️

you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/ke...
Keep our Apple data encrypted
It is reported that the Home Office has ordered Apple to build a backdoor into its encrypted services so that they can get hold of content that any Apple user has upload to the cloud. Encryption keeps...
you.38degrees.org.uk