Blueprint for Free Speech

Mozambican journalist Estacio Valoi continues to endure judicial harassment & intimidation simply for doing his job as an environmental reporter. Valoi received a summons to appear at a criminal defamation hearing today. Criminal defamation has no place on Mozambique's statute books. buff.ly/eH3DYM1

Tech lobbyists may have found an ally in the battle to greenwash the carbon footprint of data centres. @FT reports Tim Mohin, CEO of the global carbon accounting watchdog, tried to block stricter limits on big tech’s green claims, sparking “corporate capture” warnings www.ft.com/content/054c...

Meta gears up for another battle that could end up in the courts over its latest attempt to pillage the intellectual property of journalists and writers to develop products that will compete for readers and advertisers. Who will blink first? @newsmediaalliance.bsky.social buff.ly/c61o6jw

Australia has banned KPMG from bidding for public contracts until at least Feb 2027. A Finance Department review released today says the firm “mishandled the whistleblower matter” and wants funding taps closed until promised reforms are verified. #KPMG #Australia www.afr.com/companies/pr...

We need stronger protections for those who blow the whistle on professional malpractice at universities. Varsity whistleblowers report being bullied, isolated, and left without support from colleagues. Many opt to leave. #Whistleblowing buff.ly/mvHr0In

Meta appears hell bent on granting itself sweeping powers to suck content from news sites and use it to train its AI products. New service terms from 30 Oct allow it to scrape websites “associated with” business accounts. No option to opt out. #Meta #Scraping buff.ly/ByhIcB2 via @niemanlab.org

Citizen Lab researchers have released technical evidence for the first time of how spyware silently infects devices using targeted digital ads in zero-click attacks. The results are frightening. #Spyware #AdFection buff.ly/sZJ4jBr

The police raid and takeover of Halk TV, Turkey’s most-watched news channel, poses a grave threat to press freedom amid an intensifying clampdown on government critics. #MediaFreedom #Turkey @rsf.org @efjeurope.bsky.social For more: buff.ly/XszjzpZ

More than 30 journalists, including those wearing press credentials, were detained while covering police crackdowns on youth protests in India. These actions raise troubling questions about the commitment of the authorities to press freedom in India. #PressFreedom #India buff.ly/WcC7wAm

SA produces 80% of the world’s Fairtrade wine - but workers say the system meant to protect them is failing. Read the full story: bit.ly/4qoZfAn 🤝 @journalismfund.bsky.social ✍️ @rossimarcello.bsky.social & Stephan Hofstatter

ICYMI: #MineAlert ⚠️ Families in SA's Kalahari say blasting shakes their houses. Livestock are dying. Jobs and development promised by the manganese mines driving the global green economy rarely materialise. As demand for battery minerals surges, these voices risk being ignored ➡️ bit.ly/3RUMrpA

The UK’s Serious Fraud Office wants to offer US-style financial rewards for whistleblowers who report economic crimes. But critics warn a bounty system risks creating a “moral hazard” that sits awkwardly with the public interest aspect of whistleblowing #Whistleblower www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Turns out it was wishful thinking that Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s data centres disabled bot farms spewing pro-Kremlin, MAGA and German ultra-right disinformation. Researchers found no evidence to support the rumour. #RussianBotFarms #Disinformation buff.ly/ufWNwhd

The police raid and takeover of Halk TV, Turkey’s most-watched news channel, poses a grave threat to press freedom amid an intensifying clampdown on government critics. #MediaFreedom #Turkey @rsf.org @efjeurope.bsky.social For more: buff.ly/XszjzpZ

1/ NEW REPORT: Our latest research shows how data fueling the online advertising ecosystem is being used to profile millions of users and silently infect targets with zero-click mercenary spyware, a novel attack technique we call "Adfection." Read the report: citizenlab.ca/research/how...

Anthropic announced its agents could be months away from self-replicating on consumer devices ranging from smart ovens and TVs to security systems – and they’d be almost powerless to stop it. “Pacing the frontier” is sounding increasingly hollow. #AISafety #Anthropic www.ft.com/content/64aa...

AI-created deepfakes used to attack political opponents are flooding the airwaves in the run-up to the US mid-terms. Some depict candidates doing or saying things they did not say or do. The good news is that most voters are turned off by them. #DeepFakes #AIDeepFakes www.ft.com/content/42fe...

Yet another reason why we should view the safety pledges being made by tech giants with scepticism. #AISafety #OpenAI 👇 x.com/tomekkorbak/...

Whistleblower Simon Andriesz spent years asking the FCA to investigate his concerns, and for protection against retaliation. After his death, the regulator faces calls for an external inquiry – and for its chair to resign. #Whistleblowing #Whistleblowers buff.ly/ksnCidI

Bulgaria’s new anti-SLAPP law goes beyond the EU directive against abusive cross-border lawsuits used to silence the media, offering protection in domestic cases too. The law has been welcomed as a major step forward in a country ranked low in press freedom. @rsf-interfr.bsky.social buff.ly/MI6oTZy

Germany’s former foreign intelligence chief August Hanning has been arrested on suspicion of treason. He is suspected of selling state secrets to a foreign power. #Germany #Espionage buff.ly/DDk8GH9 @dwnews

Simon Andriesz gave the FCA evidence of Lutnick–Epstein business links. MPs say his death raises “deeply troubling questions” about how the regulator treats whistleblowers, and want an external inquiry. #Whistleblower #WhistleblowerProtection buff.ly/olsCHEv

Newly unredacted court filings reveal astonishing admissions by tech executives about the impact their wholesale pillage of proprietary content is having on original content creation. The illusion that AI companies can be trusted to act in good faith has been decisively shattered. buff.ly/pE1jEpt

Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI fired 3 researchers for allegedly sharing data with an AI safety group. One was a member of its safety team, the others in alignment. Raises more questions about tech giants being allowed to police themselves. #AISafety #OpenAI www.wsj.com/tech/ai/open...

The fallout from KPMG Australia's whistleblower scandal continues, with the departure of its global general counsel Anne Collins & longstanding client ANZ Bank. Collins came under fire for the way she handled the whistleblower allegations. #KPMG #Australia buff.ly/OhbBqke

US tech giants splurge on lobbying in Brussels to water down the EU’s digital rule book – including by making it easier for AI companies to harvest personal data for model training. #TechLobbying #AISafety www.ft.com/content/817f... via @ft

OpenAI & Anthropic are investigating tens of thousands of cases when their frontier models went rogue. @axios reports that agents bypassed guardrails and escaped sandboxes, created message boards, hijacked websites, self-prompted & tried to skirt monitors. Many are still under wraps. buff.ly/89ODnAc

Joburg City Power manager fired after blowing the whistle on an illegal plan to cede procurement & privatise assets worth R1 billion. The city is plagued by regular power cuts amid allegations of financial mismanagement, corruption & governance failures. #SouthAfrica #Whistleblowing buff.ly/WVudRrI

Meta granted unions direct access to UK staff for the first time, ahead of labour law reforms to improve worker rights – an early example of organised labour building a stronger presence in the tech sector, where unions have historically been largely absent #TechUnions www.ft.com/content/f9dd...

Speak to the UN, and risk being surveilled, smeared, beaten, even stabbed – increasingly far from home. A new UN report records alleged reprisals in 32 states against people who cooperated with it. @un-spexperts.bsky.social #HumanRights #TransnationalRepression For more 👇️ buff.ly/i7Tkzif

New investigation by @theguardian.com uncovers strong links between Saudi government – a top oil producer – and the IPCC. At least a dozen IPCC lead authors are employed by or tied to Saudi oil and gas interests. Experts describe conflict of interest policy as "not fit for purpose". buff.ly/bFb6e3N

OpenAI found out about Australian medicare hack in August. It told Canberra on 10 Sept, via a generic inbox. @australian says it was lobbying to weaken copyright law in between. Banks next? www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/opena...

US district judge Tim Kelly – a Trump appointee – has ordered the Trump administration to immediately restore White House access to several media outlets, saying the ban was probably unconstitutional. #MediaFreedom #TrumpMediaBan buff.ly/HE3wuNN

Former Blueprint Whistleblowing Prize winner Sarika Lakraj-Naidoo was featured on South Africa's prominent investigative journalism show, Carte Blanche. The episode detailed her role in exposing industrial scale looting – at immense personal cost. Whistleblowers deserve better. buff.ly/esqVCda

Prince Michael of Liechtenstein opposes plans to link up national beneficial ownership registers in EU & European Economic Area. He reckons the drive to expose origins of hidden wealth & combat money laundering makes the principality a target for hackers. shorturl.at/gKSKQ via @ft

Review at KPMG calls for appointment of an independent whistleblower protection officer, an in-house integrity office, and public advocacy for legislative reforms to improve whistleblower protection. New management supports all six recommendations #KPMG 👇 shorturl.at/xtpc1

OpenAI released its “model misalignment” framework – when it’s AI systems aren’t functioning in line with human values & intentions. Model failures cited were pretty shocking: writing themselves free of oversight, publishing files for fictitious citation, faking data with citations. buff.ly/GZL6uQv

Welcome news that a Mozambican court has ordered the return of investigative journalist Estacio Valoi’s devices – not so good that he’s being made to jump through hoops to collect them. @globalfreemedia.bsky.social @clidef.bsky.social #SLAPPS #PressFreedom 👇️ buff.ly/JcMChTI buff.ly/uqxlNJb

China’s Ministry of State Security has issued its first public statement on AI risks, warning LLMs used to wage “cognitive warfare against China” posed a direct threat to national security. It fell short of asking Chinese companies to heed calls to “pace the frontier”. #AISafety shorturl.at/O6dUw

The number of journalists being murdered in Mexico is on the rise again. Seven were killed this year – six in the last three months alone. The chilling nexus between organised crime syndicates and public officials is creating “zones of silence”. #MediaFreedom buff.ly/fhNaOxi via @iMEdD_org

@gabyhinsliff.bsky.social on why we should take tech whistleblowers seriously. Jacob Coxon’s sudden resignation via an X post was a game changer, with his chilling portrayal of an industry “now practically begging to be saved from itself”. #AIwhistleblowers buff.ly/3WnOyUw via @theguardian.com

Calls for review of all security clearances & defence work awarded to KPMG Australia. The Australian reports partners still hold clearance for top-secret nuclear projects, despite the company being implicated in major breaches of client confidentiality. #KPMG #Australia For more: shorturl.at/OSrua

Anthropic has released its most candid threat intelligence report to date. It provides 5 examples of how Claude users tried to deploy it for cyberattacks, influence ops, surveillance & creating bioweapons & software for conventional weapons. For more: buff.ly/HmnX9DE Full report: buff.ly/XWQDVSI

As another AI researcher quits, warning of an existential risk to humanity, industry insiders demand enforceable treaties and a global licensing regime for superintelligence – before it’s too late. #AISafety For more 👇️ buff.ly/LANNX6F

Republican governors – including presidential nomination contender Ron DeSantis – rail against the dangers of “a digital AI surveillance state” as public opposition to the party’s Silicon Valley backers grows over civil liberties concerns. www.ft.com/content/b207...

EU defence officials and military contractors warn using inferior European technology would leave the continent vulnerable to attack. The strongest resistance to imposing strict sovereignty rules apparently comes from eastern and Nordic EU members. www.ft.com/content/0e9d... via@ft

Health safety experts have raised the alarm over India’s new food labelling plans. They say the proposed warnings on products high in added salt, sugar and saturated fat will be meaningless, and allow dangerous items to escape scrutiny. A ruling is expected next week. #FoodSafety shorturl.at/bknZu

Uber – notorious for its poor record of protecting the rights of workers and skirting labour regulations – backs drivers’ unions in their efforts to slow down the rollout of robotaxis. The unions remain wary of Uber’s motives. www.ft.com/content/8417... via @ft

Whistleblower Tumiso Mphuthi exposed corruption, was vindicated by subsequent investigations, then fired anyway. South Africa’s protections for whistleblowers remain “performative political theatre”. #whistleblowers #whistleblowing @SundayTimesZA For more 👇️ buff.ly/xy5D74g

White House sides with OpenAI in a landmark copyright battle with the New York Times, which accuses the tech giant of ripping off its work to train chatbots. DoJ reckons preventing OpenAI from using the articles for training would hinder “American prosperity & economic mobility”. shorturl.at/3GAJ3