Meredith Whittaker (@mer_

Meredith Whittaker

13.1K posts

Meredith Whittaker

@mer__edith

President of @signalapp, Chief Advisor to @ainowinstitute (Also on Mastodon @[email protected], also on bsky @meredithmeredith.bsky.social)

Joined May 2014

Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Jul 21, 2023
This is the real, human cost of mass surveillance of everyone's private digital communications. If we actually care about keeping people safe, we need more end-to-end encryption not less.
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
May 24, 2024
Shoving a confidently wrong chatbot trained on Reddit into a service marketed for decades as a portal to the world’s knowledge is reckless and legitimately dangerous.
Melanie Mitchell
@MelMitchell1
May 23, 2024
Google, FFS.
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Jul 13, 2024
When we talk about the manifold global dangers of concentrated power in tech, it's not abstract.
James Rosen-Birch ⚖️🕊️
@provisionalidea
Jul 11, 2024
Microsoft is shutting down Palestinian email and Skype accounts — BBC
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Apr 2, 2024
It's stunning to me that this administration in particular, the US gov in general, "the West" by extension, doesn't seem to understand that the credibility they've torched cannot be regained.
Moshe Schwartz
@YWNReporter
Apr 2, 2024
NSC Spokesperson John Kirby: There is no evidence that Israel deliberately struck and killed WCK aid workers in Gaza. Kirby adds that to date, the US has found no instances where Israel has violated international humanitarian law in their war with Hamas.
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Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Jan 9, 2023
Anyway,,,,
$A screenshot of a tweet that says “a client informed me that he will no longer pay me to write content for his website because AI can write it for free, but he wants to pay me a fraction of my usual rate to rewrite it in different words so it can pass Google’s AI detection screening.$
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Jan 5, 2023
“AI” will not replace you. A person making half what you do with no benefits whose job is the same as yours was but now includes babysitting “AI” will.
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Jun 17, 2024
📣Official statement: the new EU chat controls proposal for mass scanning is the same old surveillance with new branding. Whether you call it a backdoor, a front door, or “upload moderation” it undermines encryption & creates significant vulnerabilities signal.org/blog/pdfs/uplo…
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
May 15, 2024
This is incredibly dangerous. It lays the path for centralized, device-level client side scanning. From detecting 'scams' it's a short step to "detecting patterns commonly associated w/ seeking reproductive care" or "commonly associated w/ providing LGBTQ resources" or
Made by Google
@madebygoogle
May 14, 2024
We're testing a new feature that uses Gemini Nano to provide real-time alerts during a call if it detects conversation patterns commonly associated with scams. This protection all happens on-device so your conversation stays private to you. More to come later this year! #GoogleIO
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Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Feb 24, 2023
"Perfect your memories" is perhaps the most haunted phrase I've ever read.
Google Photos
@googlephotos
Feb 23, 2023
Starting to roll out today, #GoogleOne members — on Android and iOS — will be able to enjoy #MagicEraser, a new HDR video effect, free shipping on select print store orders and more so you can easily perfect all of your memories in Google Photos. goo.gle/3IR7Hp6
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Apr 16, 2024
This is a historic tech action. A long proud tradition. From Polaroid workers rejecting their work contributing to S Africa's passbooks, to the MIT research strike where scientists refused to work for warfare; to Geoff Hinton relocating to Canada to avoid building US weapons.
No Tech For Apartheid
@NoTechApartheid
Apr 16, 2024
BREAKING—DOZENS OF @Google WORKERS LEAD HISTORIC COAST TO COAST-INS AT @googlecloud CEO THOMAS KURIAN’S OFFICE IN SUNNYVALE & @Google’s NYC 10TH FLOOR COMMONS. They refuse to leave until @Google stops powering the genocide in Gaza LIVESTREAM: twitch.tv/notech4aparthe…
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Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Apr 20, 2024
This is fucked. Please take a moment to consider what's happening here. Abuse of surveillance powers is about to be enshrined in US law at the same time that a bill to force TikTok to sell to US buyer or be banned is moving forward, justified in part via "data privacy".
Elizabeth Goitein
@LizaGoitein
Apr 20, 2024
It’s over (for now). A majority of senators caved to the fearmongering and bush league tactics of the administration and surveillance hawks in Congress, and they sold out Americans’ civil liberties. Section 702 has been reauthorized, not just without any meaningful reforms… 1/10
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Jun 20, 2024
Respectfully, your proposal does break encryption. I am happy to spend as much time as you need reviewing in as much detail as you are comfortable with exactly how it breaks encryption, and why this is so dangerous.
Věra Jourová
@VeraJourova
Jun 20, 2024
Let me clarify one thing about our draft law to detect online child sexual abuse #CSAM. Our proposal is not breaking encryption. Our proposal preserves privacy and any measures taken need to be in line with EU privacy laws.
Readers added context
The proposal to scan all digital communication of all EU citizens is not privacy preserving. It is condemned by academics, privacy regulators, and the internal legal experts at the Council of the European Union for its gross violation of privacy. docs.google.com/document/d/13A… edri.org/our-work/open-… edpb.europa.eu/our-work-tools… netzpolitik.org/2023/juristisc… theguardian.com/world/2023/may…
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
May 31, 2024
Signal strongly opposes this proposal. Let there be no doubt: we will leave the EU market rather than undermine our privacy guarantees. This proposal--if passed and enforced against us--would require us to make this choice. It's surveillance wine in safety bottles.
Patrick Breyer #JoinMastodon
@echo_pbreyer
May 31, 2024
Replying to @echo_pbreyer
🇬🇧🚨Beware: The #ChatControl proposal which has been stalling could be adopted by EU governments after all. France is considerung to give up its resistance. The "compromise": Either you agree to have your chats scanned or you can no longer share&receive pictures/videos and
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
May 7, 2024
Hi, hello, we don’t have evidence of extant vulnerabilities, and haven’t been notified of anything. We follow responsible disclosure practices, and closely monitor [email protected] + respond & fix any valid issues quickly. So if you do have more info hit us up! But beyond
Elon Musk
@elonmusk
May 6, 2024
Replying to @christopherrufo
There are known vulnerabilities with Signal that are not being addressed. Seems odd …
Readers added context
Signal makes it extremely easy to verify this claim. If there were known vulnerabilities, they could be enumerated. There are none for current versions. x.com/mer__edith/sta… cvedetails.com/vulnerability-…
Meredith Whittaker
@mer__edith
Oct 19, 2023
That fear? That knot in your stomach when you realize the potential loss of cultural capital, employment, belonging that you could face if you speak + act to challenge consensus atrocity? That is the full answer to the question of how good and normal people "let it happen"