Join us 2025-12-19T22:00:00Z for This Week in Privacy #32, to catch up on the latest Privacy Guides updates and to discuss trending news in the privacy space.
During the livesteam we’ll answer viewer questions. If you have a question for us, please leave a comment in this forum thread or the YouTube chat.
Members please leave your questions for us and we will try to get them answered first during the livestream
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Rest assured, once these are implemented in the West and the kinks are ironed out, this is coming all over the world. It’s important to not forget this.
Nipping it in the bud is the best option so we must keep fighting!
We’re already slipping. We’re now on the slope trying to grab onto something from stopping the slippage and others from following the same course.
People think nothing can be done now because so much in this space is happening that it’s just inevitable and their efforts will only postpone the terrible consequences.
But that’s not the case. The governments are counting on your apathy and busyness to not do much. Don’t let them win by letting them convince you you’ve already lost.
Please bring this to the people’s attention about what Apple’s been doing so they can act on it in any way they can. It’s an important story that should be talked about more.
When did you decide you wanted to film yourself as part of your advocacy work? What thoughts went into that decision? What did you do before and after you started showing yourself to protect your privacy?
How do you do the subtitles on your shorts? Are you uploading the script or using an automated tool?
PrivacyGuides (back when it was PrivacyTools) used to have a list of questions they would ask service providers to get additional first hand information about the organisation behind the service. There used to be a bit of emphasis on transparency of ownership and public accountability.
As more governments and governing bodies around the world become increasingly hostile to Privacy-Enhancing Technologies do you think a similar list of questions from Privacy Guides would favour projects with a decentralised/multinational, pseudonymous and directorial/plural leadership?
If not, how long do you think organisations like Proton AG (Switzerland) or GrapheneOS (France) could potentially last playing jurisdictional cat-and-mouse?
You missed my 2 other questions last week because you thought Jonah answered them all, Nate. No problem though.
3 questions:
Is there any way to keep control of passwords and secrets while still being able to give up control of them to a trust family member or friend when you die (e.g. You get hit by a bus tomorrow)?
If age verification laws passed all across the world tomorrow, what would you do? Ultimately, I would be using the internet less. I am already doing this, with the enshittification of the internet. I find going back to analog devices really helps keeps me sane (eg. reading more books, journaling).
I recently started self-hosting my email using Stalwart. Is it possible to see the domains associated with that mailserver? I know it is possible to see what mailserver a domain uses by checking the MX records, but I wonder if it possible to build a profile of someone by checking a domain pointed to the mailserver.
Listening back to the episode - great thoughts at the start on how people can engage! Calling your representatives really is the base from which you can have immense impact. I don’t know how I could quantify it, but it would definitely be a sizeable chunk of what you can do to affect change through your privacy advocacy.
If you’re thinking that maybe calling your reps is something you suspect you will have to do a lot in 2026, there are ways to get more juice out of calling. In the case of these internet bills, you could identify however many bills you want to call for - maybe all 18 - and then you can call each day about each specific bill. You have a valid reason to do that because there are all separate bills that each can be criticized. Under normal circumstances doing that to someone is not great, but when it comes to calling your congressional representatives, this is about applying pressure. When you call more, you are showing how much this matters to you, how much you are following the proceedings, and how informed you are. As more people do the same, that becomes harder to ignore,
Fight for the Future actually did a livestream for the second hearing that happened around these privacy-invasive bills. I haven’t had a chance to listen to it, but I’m sure it is as informative as the first one. They explain what’s going on in plain terms which helps to see the reality of how these bills will play out and can cut through the drama. Unfortunately, these are dramatic times, but they keep a level head while still pushing hard for action. That’s what it takes.
Just my two cents… I am not a huge fan of using the “slippery slope” argument when negating a potential law or policy. Back when people were objecting to gay marriage, people often used the slippery slope argument. “What’s next, people will want to marry a horse?”
We need to fight the law not based on what future laws or changes may come, but based on the current laws in front of us.
Just for the record, I am NOT a fan of these privacy-busting laws. However, I do think we need to come up with a better argument for fighting them other than they are a “slippery slope.”
@jordan Why are you linking this to YouTube versus your Neat.Tube channel? Just curious why PG would ever link to YT when there are privacy-focused platforms?
Sorry, I wasn’t referring to the live stream (as in where it can be viewed live). I was only referring to the post at the top of this thread directing to the video after the live stream is over. Whenever I receive the email notification of the video from previous weeks, it is a link to Neat.Tube. Was just curious as to what not link to that site from this thread instead of the YT platform.
Let’s gooooooo! I agree, you can do that as well. Really, calling every day about a single issue is totally valid and needed when dangerous bills are being considered! I was taking it more from the perspective of someone who hasn’t called their reps before and doesn’t know how to settle into frequent calls, but I would love it if more people had the attitude you expressed of applying adamant and persistent pressure. We have civic muscles that need to get put to work!
