Privacy Digest 19/22
Your router is collecting data. Here's what to know, and how to protect your privacy
Wi-Fi router companies say they don't track the websites you visit, but all of them collect and share some user data.
cnet.com
Snowflake by Tor makes it easy for anyone to fight censorship
Tor, the onion router, remains one of the most effective censorship circumvention technologies. Millions of people use the Tor network every day to access the internet without fear of surveillance and censorship.Most people get on the Tor network by downloading the Tor Browser and connecting to a relay. But some countries, such as Iran and Russia, block direct access to the Tor network. In those countries people have to use what are known as “Tor Bridges” to circumvent national firewalls. Tens of thousands of people use bridges regularly to circumvent censorship and national or regional restrictions.
eff.org
VPN providers flee India as a new data law takes hold
Many companies have pulled physical servers from the country as a mandate to collect customer data goes into effect.
wired.com
A Conversation with Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen
We are now in social media's Big Tobacco moment. And that’s largely thanks to the courage of one woman: Frances Haugen. Frances is a specialist in algorithmic product management. She worked at Google, Pinterest, and Yelp before joining Facebook — first as a Product Manager on Civic Misinformation, and then on the Counter-Espionage team. But what she saw at Facebook was that the company consistently and knowingly prioritized profits over public safety. So Frances made the courageous decision to blow the whistle — which resulted in the biggest disclosure in the history of Facebook, and in the history of social media.
humanetech.com
How YouTube created the attention economy
“Like, Comment, Subscribe,” a new history of the platform by Mark Bergen, makes the case that YouTube cracked the code for turning the desire to watch and be watched into money.
newyorker.com