Tim de Sousa
timdesousa.bsky.social
Tim de Sousa
@timdesousa.bsky.social
190 followers 420 following 410 posts
Privacy, Information Governance and Tech Ethics wonk, based in Sydney Australia. Mediocre ukulele player. Slightly snobbish about coffee.
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I’m having a day. So let’s not talk about privacy, let’s talk about art.
Weekend painting subject identified.
@alan678.bsky.social 's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #LunchTime
this one is kind of traditional - but still a favorite. really love Puffins. #photography #EastCoastKin #Puffin #Birds
Client: Our security is great! We don't need an assessment!
Also client:
the password to the louvre surveillance server was "louvre"

www.thesocialpost.it/2025/11/02/f...
Reposted by Tim de Sousa
Australia's social media age restrictions, what's in and what's out, updated today. www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/ind...
Reposted by Tim de Sousa
One month out from the under-16s ban and almost all of the users caught up in the Discord data breach caused by age assurance appeals were based in Australia, OAIC has finally confirmed. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
What a pack of flamin’ galahs
Reposted by Tim de Sousa
Will affected individuals be provided with the findings of the system? Will they be told what the systems says about them, and why? Probably not - it seems to be a black box.

The purpose of a system is what it does. This is not a system designed for robust and defensible application of laws.
I hardly needs be said, but 1) Facial recognition is flawed and does not have 100% accuracy 2) It's generally less accurate on POC 3) Any automated decision-making system needs an appeals mechanism, which would inc. referring to relevant evidence (e.g. ID docs). This is nuts.
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people

www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
Reposted by Tim de Sousa
Kind of an interesting story of the AFP cracking into a crypto wallet from the new commissioner today, after discovering random numbers in the notes app www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/...
This is like using a rube goldberg machine to open a door, millions of times a day. The power costs of this must be insane.
Brace for another wave of x refuges
This owl is not mad… he’s just disappointed.
Really? I am looking forward to the emotional devastation this owl will unleash.
That’s all for now, happy Saturday.
Your one-hour piece is as valid as your ten-hour one. Just do something. And then keep doing it.
Trying and failing is not a waste of time, even though it feels like it when you’re squeezing art in around your day job.
Practice doesn’t have to be good to be useful. Small and rough is still helpful skill building.
So what have I learned? Anything? I’m more patient with things being bad before they get good, and making multiple things. Larger pieces take time and planning and have multiple stages.
October 2025 - behold the most judgmental owl I have even seen (another amazing @mikemelton.bsky.social reference).
September 2025 - Sunday afternoon life drawing sessions, fun with charcoal pencils
August 2025 - simplicity can be effective; Motherhood looks hard.
June 2025 - Landscapes are hard, but dogs remain good fodder (and are at least enthusiastic about the results).
May 2025 - begun, the Birb Wars have. Thanks @mikemelton.bsky.social. Birds are much easier to draw than humans for some reason.
April 2025 - crawl, walk, run? No, the lesson is, tracing is a useful tool and there’s not such thing as cheating, only technique.
But also a good lesson in the importance of making a second attempt. These were done in dip pen with fountain pen ink - which reacts very differently to watercolour. It dries a lot faster but also has a kind of glow.