this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2026
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Privacy

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theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/23/cop-city-protester-phone

consumerrights.wiki/w/Common_Questions,Arguments,&_Responses_when_discussing_Flock_Surveillance

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[–] f3nyx@lemmy.ml 84 points 1 week ago (3 children)

something I feel is important to note: they added CSAM to the list of things they were searching for in order to gain access to his phone.

when the phone was clean (due to the wipe), they did not follow up on that charge

if they truly believed this person to be in possession of CSAM, a warrant should've been issued by now to follow up on that very serious accusation. instead, they go after the destruction of evidence.

because they have nothing on this man, and it was a fabricated excuse to gain access to his phone.

There never was any actual suspicion of CSAM. I assume its what they tell you to get you to let your guard down or make you more inclined to comply.

"Well, I don't have any CSAM, so it'll be a quick search and they'll let me go"

I have heard of another instance where customs claimed they wanted to search a phone for CSAM despite actually wanting to find something else. It worked in that instance.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

They're doubly mad because they were trying to plant the CSAM

[–] CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Yeah this thing is almost always followed up by a raid on their homes, their work computers etc.

[–] Hakuso@scribe.disroot.org 68 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Meanwhile they keep covering up that ranch in New Meico and hiding the list of all the murdering pedophile rapists.

They use CSAM as an excuse to attack the innocent, while protecting the people who are actually involved in it.

[–] CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

DARVO, the rot of narcissism runs our country now

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

more evidence that we really should be finding more effective ways to fight back. nazis like karp and thiel are already openly saying they want to enforce control and fascism globally. this is only going to get worse.

what would get people en masse into open alternatives? massive smear campaigns? massive ddos campaigns? is their own enshitification and endless profit seeking the key to bring people over?

we need our heads together, this is gonna be another front in the class war and we cannot let them build 1984 unchallenged in front of our eyes.

[–] impairedimperator@lemmy.zip 12 points 1 week ago (8 children)

Simple tutorials.

I know that a decent chunk of the privacy/Linux folk have that same "I had to suffer and you should too" boomer mindset, and that's like 80% of the reason I haven't stopped using Google and Microsoft.

I'm not a software dev, but I do have a job and a life and shit. There is only so much time I can spend trying to figure that shit out before I decide it's not worth it.

[–] ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I've been using Linux for 20 years. I need a lot of help and I've never had any people be dicks about it or seen anyone else do it to others.

[–] Doublenut@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You know that XKCD comic about the assumpitions of experts? Thats what you sound like.

You may not be an expert in your eyes but compared to that commenter, you are, and when you speak to actual experts to find help you are already able to use the language that opens the door to that help. While to others its akin to searching for something when you don't have the key words or phrase that will lead to the appropriate results and you just get nothing.

This person wants things like an info-graphic to help them get to where youbare or somewhere close.

Point taken.

Maybe this will help: https://f-droid.org/packages/com.inspiredandroid.linuxcommandbibliotheca

It's an Android tool and has a tldr section in case you don't want to read everything about a command. Sometimes I get bored and read through it just to brush up.

Send an IM if you need anything specific.

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

the internet is full of them already though. lemmy frontpage is sometimes full of them.

[–] impairedimperator@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You're not wrong.

But I'd like to point out that I said "I'm struggling to find a decent tutorial that works for me" and your response was "skill issue lol".

Do you actually want people to switch to linux and graphene, or do you wanna laugh at incompetent normies?

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

you are taking offense for something i didn't say.

what i mean is in a world with tech controlled by oligarchs who actively make it as hard as possible to get rid of them, you will have to somewhat know what you are doing. i see no way around this, but hope one exists.

furthermore, i can't guess the unique way a given individual uses computers or their needs, and few people will ever tell me when they hit a snag. you are even one step further than most people who choose not to care.

as for me, keeping tech "private" is a chore and i do know it's even worse for newbies but we also have a life and a demanding job.

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Honestly tutorials and documentation are a major positive for Linux over Windows in my experience. The handful of "just works" Linux distros are a great entry point because 1) they do often just work for basic needs, and 2) they often have forums with new users asking newb questions that you might also have, i.e. they are likely speaking a language you might understand (unlike relative gibberish you might read on Arch forums). When I have Windows issues, I've most often landed on a Microsoft forum with some bot asking if I've turned it off and on again, and never reaching a resolution.

I do agree that toxic Linux users/commentors are a problem for the community, and I don't subscribe to the notion that the new generation has to experience 'pain' that I did. But there's also no getting around the discomfort of having to learn something new, even when it works 100% as intended. You will have to put time and effort into it, and you will have frustrations. Personally, I've crested the hill where I have less frustrations on Linux than Windows, and I'm glad I put that time in because I've got a lot of years left in me to enjoy the lower stress and greater freedom.

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[–] deathmetaldawgy@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Enshitification has done enough to get me off Reddit, I personally think very simple entry level tutorials on how to best personally disconnect from the surveillance apparatus, myself I am not computer savvy at all whatsoever so I have a long road ahead of me, too. I’m young but still old school, I like printing zines and putting them out into the world physically, maybe something easily printable telling people

  1. What the problem is

  2. How to solve it themselves

  3. How to help others become aware subsequently help them.

Of course, online messaging will work too, just needs to be very very wide spread.

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[–] artyom@piefed.social 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

The US Department of Justice is attempting to prosecute an Atlanta resident in connection with the movement against the police training center known as Cop City because he had GrapheneOS on his phone

Experts said it may be the first time the law has been aimed at the operating system

What clown wrote this? It has nothing to do with GOS specifically, it has to do with destruction of evidence. Not trying to suggest that this person is guilty at all, it's just very strange phrasing. I guess "Protestor charged with destruction of evidence for deleting phone contents" gets less clicks than "protestor charged with running iLlEgAl operating system!".

The case, which had its first hearing on Monday, centers on a little-known US federal statute that makes it a crime to destroy property in an effort to prevent it from being seized.

Is it really "little known" that destroying evidence is illegal?

[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 32 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (32 children)

Is it really "little known" that destroying evidence is illegal?

I suspect you are attacking the article’s lack of awareness and precision, but I applaud them for not echoing the fascist government’s carefully crafted and fictitious propaganda narrative.

The government attempted to illegally and unconstitutionally search a person’s personal property. They had no cause, no suspicion, and no warrant. There was no evidence to begin with and no evidence to delete. What a person does with their own property and data is not the business of the government outside of due process. No evidence was deleted because nothing was evidence. The accusation is a work of fiction meant to punish someone for exercising their rights in the face of abuse.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

Or to put it simply. The Government can't blanket search your property for a crime. They need a specific crime and probable cause. Not just, "We don't like you. Let me see your phone so I can find something illegal."

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[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

No. They can't charge him with data destruction because it was the officer that destroyed the data.

You're right, they will not be able to charge him with anything. This is an excellent case to set a precedent that this tech is totally legal.

[–] artyom@piefed.social 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

That's not correct, according to the first sentence of the article.

The U.S. government has charged Samuel Tunick with allegedly typing in a passcode to wipe his phone

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[–] gary_host_laptop@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 week ago

in the burgerreich, when you complain about the government, you get accused of child abuse

Double standards much?

Release the Epstine files.

[–] dasrael@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 week ago

Apple IOS user accused of chil..... Google Android user accused of chi......

fuck off.

[–] Juice@midwest.social 5 points 1 week ago

My boy is a hero for not allowing his contacts to become states evidence

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

They better have proof or bring lots of money to the defamation lawsuit.

[–] CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

They can just manufacture proof, that’s the real risk here

[–] biofaust@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Freaked out when I realized I had the exact same YouTube recommendations as Louis 2 hours ago.

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