Timothy Edgar
@timothy-edgar.bsky.social
I teach privacy and cybersecurity at Brown U and Harvard Law School; author of Beyond Snowden; former White House national security staff; former ACLU
"Encryption is a human right, and it's a bird right too." Celebrating Global Encryption Day with @josephhall.org & his parrot.
For Global Encryption Day, I explain the value of encryption to a parrot, an animal that repeats everything and shares too much: youtu.be/OA6kbB1wZcE?...
Encrypt the Parrot: An Interview with Joseph Lorenzo Hall, Internet Society
What happens when a parrot that repeats everything it hears meets a technologist who defends privacy?
In this witty and insightful chat, Joseph Lorenzo Hall, Distinguished Technologist at the…
youtu.be
October 23, 2025 at 8:56 PM
"Encryption is a human right, and it's a bird right too." Celebrating Global Encryption Day with @josephhall.org & his parrot.
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
Is the internet too dependent on AWS? Experts weigh in — @timothy-edgar.bsky.social told ABC News that relying on only a few major big tech cloud providers creates significant infrastructure vulnerabilities.
Is the internet too dependent on AWS? Experts weigh in
A massive outage disrupted critical services, including airlines and payments.
ow.ly
October 23, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Is the internet too dependent on AWS? Experts weigh in — @timothy-edgar.bsky.social told ABC News that relying on only a few major big tech cloud providers creates significant infrastructure vulnerabilities.
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
To call this administration a clown show would be to insult clowns, many of whom are highly trained professionals, unlike these absolute clueless amateurs.
EXCLUSIVE: One Saturday afternoon in October, my phone lit up with a notification.
I glanced down at the message.
“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.
So began my text exchange with the woman who is prosecuting the president's perceived political enemies.
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
I glanced down at the message.
“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.
So began my text exchange with the woman who is prosecuting the president's perceived political enemies.
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
October 20, 2025 at 11:02 PM
To call this administration a clown show would be to insult clowns, many of whom are highly trained professionals, unlike these absolute clueless amateurs.
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
Lindsey Halligan says I’m not a journalist.
But if you think I am, and you value our our non-profit legal news and analysis, you can support our work here: givebutter.com/journalism/a...
You can also follow me on Substack: annabower.substack.com/about
But if you think I am, and you value our our non-profit legal news and analysis, you can support our work here: givebutter.com/journalism/a...
You can also follow me on Substack: annabower.substack.com/about
October 20, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Lindsey Halligan says I’m not a journalist.
But if you think I am, and you value our our non-profit legal news and analysis, you can support our work here: givebutter.com/journalism/a...
You can also follow me on Substack: annabower.substack.com/about
But if you think I am, and you value our our non-profit legal news and analysis, you can support our work here: givebutter.com/journalism/a...
You can also follow me on Substack: annabower.substack.com/about
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
October 20, 2025 at 10:59 PM
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
My take on what the Supreme Court's term means for the internet, in Harvard Law Today (scroll down to Timothy Edgar, Lecturer on Law). hls.harvard.edu/today/evalua...
Evaluating the Supreme Court: Harvard Law faculty weigh in on 2024-2025 SCOTUS term - Harvard Law School
Harvard Law faculty offer their thoughts on some of the most important Supreme Court decisions of this term — and how they could impact the law and society.
hls.harvard.edu
July 3, 2025 at 7:24 PM
My take on what the Supreme Court's term means for the internet, in Harvard Law Today (scroll down to Timothy Edgar, Lecturer on Law). hls.harvard.edu/today/evalua...
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
Identity/credential services should not be snooping on us. #nophonehome
Digital Identity Leaders and Privacy Experts Sound the Alarm on Invasive ID Systems | American Civil Liberties Union
Signatories, including the ACLU, warn officials of “Phone Home” feature of digital IDs that allows the government to track people’s daily lives
www.aclu.org
June 2, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Identity/credential services should not be snooping on us. #nophonehome
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
It’s a special honor to be among those receiving honorary degrees from Brown. It’s a place that welcomed me and shaped me and challenged me and liberated me, and made possible everything that came after. I’m looking forward to celebrating this weekend with friends.
www.brown.edu/news/2025-05...
www.brown.edu/news/2025-05...
Brown to confer honorary degrees on seven distinguished leaders at Commencement 2025
The University will bestow honorary degrees on a diverse group of community leaders, artists, writers, performers and scholars during its Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 25.
www.brown.edu
May 23, 2025 at 6:38 PM
It’s a special honor to be among those receiving honorary degrees from Brown. It’s a place that welcomed me and shaped me and challenged me and liberated me, and made possible everything that came after. I’m looking forward to celebrating this weekend with friends.
www.brown.edu/news/2025-05...
www.brown.edu/news/2025-05...
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
With renewed relevance, this explainer I wrote last month:
Signal Gate: The Criminal Law Precedents That Are Most Relevant
The key legal issues are:
--> 18 U.S.C. 793(f)(1) of the Espionage Act - gross negligence
--> Destruction of government records
Signal Gate: The Criminal Law Precedents That Are Most Relevant
The key legal issues are:
--> 18 U.S.C. 793(f)(1) of the Espionage Act - gross negligence
--> Destruction of government records
Signal Gate: The Criminal Law Precedents That Are Most Relevant
A range of federal laws, including the Espionage Act and laws against the destruction of government records, could apply in Signal Gate.
www.justsecurity.org
April 21, 2025 at 5:20 PM
With renewed relevance, this explainer I wrote last month:
Signal Gate: The Criminal Law Precedents That Are Most Relevant
The key legal issues are:
--> 18 U.S.C. 793(f)(1) of the Espionage Act - gross negligence
--> Destruction of government records
Signal Gate: The Criminal Law Precedents That Are Most Relevant
The key legal issues are:
--> 18 U.S.C. 793(f)(1) of the Espionage Act - gross negligence
--> Destruction of government records
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
In a last-minute switch, the #CISA said it will continue funding a contract for #MITRE to manage the CVE program and other vulnerability databases. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/cisa-reverse...
CISA reverses course, extends MITRE CVE contract
While the last-minute extension averts an immediate lapse in support, rival organizations are being stood up to supplant the global vulnerability system.
cyberscoop.com
April 16, 2025 at 2:54 PM
In a last-minute switch, the #CISA said it will continue funding a contract for #MITRE to manage the CVE program and other vulnerability databases. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/cisa-reverse...
Facebook whistleblower testimony on Mark Zuckerberg's cooperation with CCP shows why Congress was wrong to focus exclusively on TikTok when US and other Big Tech companies play footsie with China in service of the bottom line. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zzx...
Facebook Whistleblower Makes Shock Claim About Mark Zuckerberg During Senate Testimony
YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News
www.youtube.com
April 15, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Facebook whistleblower testimony on Mark Zuckerberg's cooperation with CCP shows why Congress was wrong to focus exclusively on TikTok when US and other Big Tech companies play footsie with China in service of the bottom line. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zzx...
Some riveting testimony from a whistleblower on Facebook's detailed cooperation with CCP censorship even as Mark Zuckerberg was denying this before Congress. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zzx...
Facebook Whistleblower Makes Shock Claim About Mark Zuckerberg During Senate Testimony
YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News
www.youtube.com
April 15, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Some riveting testimony from a whistleblower on Facebook's detailed cooperation with CCP censorship even as Mark Zuckerberg was denying this before Congress. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zzx...
Everything in the "Houthi PC small group" chat, including the name, should only have been discussed in classified channels. www.businessinsider.com/trump-admini...
I'm a former intelligence official. The Signal fiasco was as risky as leaving the nuclear codes in a Starbucks.
Timothy H. Edgar worked inside the intelligence community during the Bush and Obama administrations. He called the Signal debacle "remarkably reckless."
www.businessinsider.com
March 28, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Everything in the "Houthi PC small group" chat, including the name, should only have been discussed in classified channels. www.businessinsider.com/trump-admini...
Historical tidbit: the reason it was called D-Day is so the Germans wouldn't know what DAY the attack was coming, which was sensitive even though they didn't know where the attack was coming.
March 28, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Historical tidbit: the reason it was called D-Day is so the Germans wouldn't know what DAY the attack was coming, which was sensitive even though they didn't know where the attack was coming.
Leaving the nuclear codes in a Starbucks would be reckless even if a journalist noticed and politely gave them back to you without publishing them.
I'm a former intelligence official. The Signal fiasco was as risky as leaving the nuclear codes in a Starbucks.
Timothy H. Edgar worked inside the intelligence community during the Bush and Obama administrations. He called the Signal debacle "remarkably reckless."
www.businessinsider.com
March 28, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Leaving the nuclear codes in a Starbucks would be reckless even if a journalist noticed and politely gave them back to you without publishing them.
Just so we're all clear on the law: it is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison to allow "information relating to the national defense through gross negligence" to be delivered to people not allowed to received it. Espionage Act, 18 U.S.C. § 793(f).
March 28, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Just so we're all clear on the law: it is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison to allow "information relating to the national defense through gross negligence" to be delivered to people not allowed to received it. Espionage Act, 18 U.S.C. § 793(f).
A high-level conversation about whether to conduct military operations, and following them in real time, is literally what the Situation Room is for. Saying they were unclassified insults our intelligence. www.businessinsider.com/trump-admini...
I'm a former intelligence official. The Signal fiasco was as risky as leaving the nuclear codes in a Starbucks.
Timothy H. Edgar worked inside the intelligence community during the Bush and Obama administrations. He called the Signal debacle "remarkably reckless."
www.businessinsider.com
March 28, 2025 at 11:14 AM
A high-level conversation about whether to conduct military operations, and following them in real time, is literally what the Situation Room is for. Saying they were unclassified insults our intelligence. www.businessinsider.com/trump-admini...
Don't have classified conversations on commercial platforms - and yes, discussing military strikes before they happen is classified, I tell @businessinsider.com
www.businessinsider.com/trump-admini...
www.businessinsider.com/trump-admini...
I'm a former intelligence official. The Signal fiasco was as risky as leaving the nuclear codes in a Starbucks.
Timothy H. Edgar worked inside the intelligence community during the Bush and Obama administrations. He called the Signal debacle "remarkably reckless."
www.businessinsider.com
March 28, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Don't have classified conversations on commercial platforms - and yes, discussing military strikes before they happen is classified, I tell @businessinsider.com
www.businessinsider.com/trump-admini...
www.businessinsider.com/trump-admini...
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
SignalGate Isn’t About Signal
The Trump cabinet’s shocking leak of its plans to bomb Yemen raises myriad confidentiality and legal issues. The security of the encrypted messaging app Signal is not one of them.
www.wired.com/story/signal...
The Trump cabinet’s shocking leak of its plans to bomb Yemen raises myriad confidentiality and legal issues. The security of the encrypted messaging app Signal is not one of them.
www.wired.com/story/signal...
SignalGate Isn’t About Signal
The Trump cabinet’s shocking leak of its plans to bomb Yemen raises myriad confidentiality and legal issues. The security of the encrypted messaging app Signal is not one of them.
www.wired.com
March 27, 2025 at 4:20 PM
SignalGate Isn’t About Signal
The Trump cabinet’s shocking leak of its plans to bomb Yemen raises myriad confidentiality and legal issues. The security of the encrypted messaging app Signal is not one of them.
www.wired.com/story/signal...
The Trump cabinet’s shocking leak of its plans to bomb Yemen raises myriad confidentiality and legal issues. The security of the encrypted messaging app Signal is not one of them.
www.wired.com/story/signal...
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
I'll be speaking with @pgeddington.com and Michael Fox about my book, "Policing White Supremacy," on Wednesday, March 26 at 1pm at the Cato Institute in D.C. @cato.org Join us for a lively discussion! Register here: www.cato.org/events/polic...
Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within
Somewhere between the tendency to see everything through the lens of race and racial oppression and the tendency to dismiss those dynamics altogether lies the truth in any given setting, including cri...
www.cato.org
March 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
I'll be speaking with @pgeddington.com and Michael Fox about my book, "Policing White Supremacy," on Wednesday, March 26 at 1pm at the Cato Institute in D.C. @cato.org Join us for a lively discussion! Register here: www.cato.org/events/polic...
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
Holy cow❗
People apparently _returned_ from El Salvador for mistaken identity etc. in Alien Enemies Act deportations.
This new development appears to show that the Trump administration's claim that they know all detainees sent to El Salvador prison were properly vetted may be dangerously false.⬇️
People apparently _returned_ from El Salvador for mistaken identity etc. in Alien Enemies Act deportations.
This new development appears to show that the Trump administration's claim that they know all detainees sent to El Salvador prison were properly vetted may be dangerously false.⬇️
ACLU attorney Gelernt says there were people who were returned from El Salvador after the flights because they either weren't Venezuelan or were women and the El Salvadoran government declined to take them.
BOASBERG vows to get to the bottom of whether his order was violated.
BOASBERG vows to get to the bottom of whether his order was violated.
March 21, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Holy cow❗
People apparently _returned_ from El Salvador for mistaken identity etc. in Alien Enemies Act deportations.
This new development appears to show that the Trump administration's claim that they know all detainees sent to El Salvador prison were properly vetted may be dangerously false.⬇️
People apparently _returned_ from El Salvador for mistaken identity etc. in Alien Enemies Act deportations.
This new development appears to show that the Trump administration's claim that they know all detainees sent to El Salvador prison were properly vetted may be dangerously false.⬇️
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
This will be a test of the new, close relationships tech has been building with Trump.
If tech calls Congress’ bluff and Trump so much as lifts a finger, lawmakers’ only play will be to roll over or to push the big red button that blows up the internet, even as they admit that’s not the goal.
If tech calls Congress’ bluff and Trump so much as lifts a finger, lawmakers’ only play will be to roll over or to push the big red button that blows up the internet, even as they admit that’s not the goal.
Ostensibly, the point of the repeal bill isn't to repeal Section 230, lawmakers say
Instead they want to use the threat of a repeal—which would devastate speech online—to force tech companies to engage in reform discussions, which they've long been reluctant to do
theinformation.com/go/40d1940ea6
Instead they want to use the threat of a repeal—which would devastate speech online—to force tech companies to engage in reform discussions, which they've long been reluctant to do
theinformation.com/go/40d1940ea6
March 21, 2025 at 9:02 PM
This will be a test of the new, close relationships tech has been building with Trump.
If tech calls Congress’ bluff and Trump so much as lifts a finger, lawmakers’ only play will be to roll over or to push the big red button that blows up the internet, even as they admit that’s not the goal.
If tech calls Congress’ bluff and Trump so much as lifts a finger, lawmakers’ only play will be to roll over or to push the big red button that blows up the internet, even as they admit that’s not the goal.
Reposted by Timothy Edgar
The authoritative Sam Bray weighs in with terrific points about the current universal injunction spats, in part in response to what I wrote this morning.
blog.dividedargument.com/p/whats-new-...
blog.dividedargument.com/p/whats-new-...
What's New and What's Not New with Universal Injunctions
Notes on Jack Goldsmith's "Problems with Universal Injunctions Against Trump’s Program?"
blog.dividedargument.com
March 21, 2025 at 9:04 PM
The authoritative Sam Bray weighs in with terrific points about the current universal injunction spats, in part in response to what I wrote this morning.
blog.dividedargument.com/p/whats-new-...
blog.dividedargument.com/p/whats-new-...