Source: Wired
https://www.bespacific.com/anonymous-phone-carrier-lets-you-sign-up-with-nothing-but-a-zip-code/
Wired – no paywall: “Nicholas Merrill has spent his career fighting government surveillance. But he would really rather you didn’t call what he’s selling now a “burner phone.” Yes, he dreams of a future where anyone in the US can get a working smartphone—complete with cellular coverage and data—without revealing their identity, even to the phone company. But to call such anonymous phones “burners” suggests that they’re for something illegal, shady, or at least subversive. The term calls to mind drug dealers or deep-throat confidential sources in parking garages. With his new startup, Merrill says he instead wants to offer cellular service for your existing phone that makes near-total mobile privacy the permanent, boring default of daily life in the US. “We’re not looking to cater to people doing bad things,” says Merrill. “We’re trying to help people feel more comfortable living their normal lives, where they’re not doing anything wrong, and not feel watched and exploited by giant surveillance and data mining operations. I think it’s not controversial to say the vast majority of people want that.”
—
Subject: Every Legal Team Needs to See This LLM Leak
Source: Brainyacts
https://www.bespacific.com/every-legal-team-needs-to-see-this-llm-leak/
Brainyacts: A user pulled out an internal company document just by prompting. Let that sink in. A determined user was able to extract, through the chat interface, an internal memo that was never meant to be disclosed. Not “state secret” level, but still: a company document that describes how the model is trained and ……
This is way bigger than having a polite “AI usage policy” on your intranet. This is infrastructure-level compliance and governance. And it’s coming for everyone. To make this as practical as possible, I also created a one-page AI Deployment Risk Playbook that you can download and share with your leadership team. It’s a concise PDF designed for GCs, CISOs, CTOs, KM leaders, and anyone responsible for governing AI inside their organization.
Copyright © 2025 beSpacific, All rights reserved.
Subject: U.S. Plans to Scrutinize Foreign Tourists’ Social Media History
Source: New York Times – No Paywall
https://archive.ph/j89ik
Source: PA Attorney General
https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/ag-sunday-leads-coalition-of-42-attorneys-general-in-letter-to-a-i-software-companies-demanding-safeguards-to-protect-vulnerable-residents-from-harmful-interactions-with-bots/
Coalition cites chatbot interactions that led to mental health struggles, incidents of self-harm, violence
HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday is leading a coalition of 42 Attorneys General in sending a letter to OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and other major artificial intelligence software production and distribution companies demanding more quality control and other safeguards over chatbot products.
While recognizing the potential A.I. has to implement and influence positive change, the coalition is demanding the companies take stronger action to protect users who may not realize the dangers they can encounter on platforms where A.I. exists. The coalition points to numerous incidents of harm — particularly affecting vulnerable populations — involving unregulated interactions with chatbots.
[…]
Joining Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and West Virginia in signing the letter are Attorneys General from: Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
Read the letter HERE.
Source: Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/employee-surveillance-how-boss-monitors-your-work-2025-12
- Employers are increasingly using technology to monitor workers’ activity — and even their location.
- Bosses have more power than a few years ago, so workers might have a harder time pushing back.
- Advances in workplace surveillance tech raise privacy and ethical concerns for workers.
Employer surveillance has grown because of the rise of remote work, and because of a proliferation of tools that allow for monitoring, a recent report from the US Government Accountability Office found.
Now, not only has tech improved, say workplace observers, so has the power of many employers over their workers.
[…]
Source: Newser + wire services
https://www.newser.com/story/380204/more-countries-take-up-social-media-bans-for-kids.html
Denmark is planning to follow Australia’s lead and severely restrict social media access for young people, per the AP. The Danish government announced last month that it had secured an agreement by three governing coalition and two opposition parties in parliament to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 15. Such a measure would be the most sweeping step yet by a European Union nation to limit use of social media among teens and children. The Danish government’s plans could become law as soon as mid-2026. The proposed measure would give some parents the right to let their children access social media from age 13, local media reported, but the ministry has not yet fully shared the plans.
Some students in Denmark fear losing touch with their virtual communities. But others acknowledge the negative impacts of social media, from cyberbullying to seeing graphic content. A 14-year-old Copenhagen student tells the AP she saw video of a man being shot because it was “everywhere” on social media. Other countries are making similar moves. Malaysia is expected to ban social media accounts for people under 16 starting at the beginning of next year, and Norway is also taking steps to restrict social media access for children and teens.
Subject: How to break free from smart TV ads and tracking
Source: Ars Technica
https://www.bespacific.com/how-to-break-free-from-smart-tv-ads-and-tracking/