Pluralistic: Cindy Cohn's "Privacy's Defender" (09 Apr 2026)

Today's links

Cindy Cohn's "Privacy's Defender": The history of digital rights, from the very beginning to this very moment.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Tariffs and monopolies; Paperclip dodecahedron; Class war comix; Glenn Beck's brain; Iceland v Pirates; Dashers v apps; Leaked NYPD goon squad manual.
Upcoming appearances: Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The internet was made for privacy: And unmade by regulators.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Materialist conspiratorialism; TSA ball-fondlers; Anonymous to dox 1,000 Klansmen; Amazon hates private property; The Great Firewall of Cameron.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Apple's encryption capitulation: They put the gun on the mantelpiece in Act One, they don't get to be surprised now.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Every internet fight is a speech fight: And every internet fight is a sovereignty fight.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Joseph Cox's "Dark Wire": A true-crime technothriller about the biggest sting operation in world history.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Revenge of the Linkdumps: Something for the weekend, sir?
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

How to be safer while using Telegram in Russia and Ukraine: A guide from EFF's Eva Galperin.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2007, 2012
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Descartes' God has failed and Thompson's Satan rules our computers: Computers, trust, and the knowability of the universe.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Surveillance electoralism: Comparing the surveillance of the Biden and Trump apps.
Blueleaks: Dox the police.
Virtual Ignite talks: Weds at 6PM.
Congress wants to read all your DMs: The EARN-IT Act doesn't mention encryption, but it still bans encryption.
Privacy in tracing tokens: Bunnie Huang's parameters for a privacy-respecting contact-tracing system.
A/B Seattle: Design your own urban grid.
Against AI phrenology: Stop publishing machine-learning "race science."
This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Dems can and MUST fight police violence: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil…
Save Uncle Hugo's: Crowdfunding for Minneapolis's beloved, torched science fiction bookstore.
Ella Jones is Ferguson's new mayor: The city's first Black mayor.
Why protests become violent: Cops keep mashing the "be violent" button.
PPE vs riot gear: Revealed preference, revealed.
Zoom wants to help the FBI spy on you: Encryption is a luxury good.
Trivial-to-spoof UK contact tracing: A gift to identity thieves and fraudsters.
AT&T; will punish Disney+ viewers: Can you hear me now?
K-pop fandom pivots to human rights hacktivism: Flooding the zone with fancams.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading