Free Republic

On Sept. 11, Michigan representatives proposed an internet content ban bill unlike any of the others we've seen: This particularly far-reaching legislation would ban not only many types of online content, but also the ability to legally use any VPN. The bill, called the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act and advanced by six Republican representatives, would ban a wide variety of adult content online, ranging from ASMR and adult manga to AI content and any depiction of transgender people. It also seeks to ban all use of VPNs, foreign or US-produced. VPNs (virtual private networks) are suites of software often...

Soon, the EU may have access to every photo, message and video on your phone or computer. After Germany dropped its long-standing opposition to EU chat control, leading encrypted messenger Signal issued a dire warning about privacy in Europe, with the post going viral. However, now European parties such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) have joined in the criticism, with the party warning just before the EU Council vote that so-called “chat control” could end privacy entirely in Europe. The protest from the AfD comes after Signal threatened to pull out entirely from Europe if the EU implements its...

A serving Metropolitan Police officer has been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice over an allegation linked to a BBC Panorama investigation. The officer is a sergeant based at Charing Cross police station and was arrested in relation to an incident that took place on Thursday, a statement from the Met said. They have since been bailed and suspended from duty. The arrest follows a Panorama undercover investigation that revealed serving Metropolitan Police officers at the central London station called for immigrants to be shot, revelled in the use of force and were dismissive of rape claims....

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce plans for a compulsory UK-wide digital ID scheme in a speech on Friday. The prime minister believes it would help crack down on illegal working and modernise the state, according to senior figures in government. The practicalities of the scheme will be subject to a consultation, which will also look at how to make it work for those without a smartphone or passport. The previous Labour government's attempt to introduce ID cards was ultimately blocked by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. But earlier this month, Sir Keir said in an interview he thought the...

There’s a reason why the J6 Committee deleted the records of their activity, an angle missed by most. When you understand what they hid and why they did it, you then understand why current Speaker of The House Mike Johnson will not go near the subject. The J6 Committee used interfaces with the NSA database and pre-existing portals with aligned DHS Social Media databases (including Twitter, see prior “Twitter Files”), as research and evidence gathering mechanisms for their investigations. The J6 targets were identified through a collaboration between the legislative research group and the FBI. [That’s unlawful by the way...

I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly “Inaccurate,” Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election. We are now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting. All others gave it up because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED. WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT, WHICH WILL BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY THE DEMOCRATS BECAUSE...

President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is activating National Guard troops and is taking over the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle crime in Washington, after beefing up federal law enforcement presence in the nation's capital Saturday. "I'm deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC," Trump told reporters at a Monday press conference. "And they're going to be allowed to do their job properly." Trump also said that he would federalize the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington to respond to crime, placing it under the authority of Attorney General Pam Bondi. National...

We’re having a News Conference tomorrow in the White House. I’m going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before. The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong. It’s all going to happen very fast, just like the Border. We went from millions pouring in, to ZERO in the last few months. This will be easier — Be prepared! There will be no “MR. NICE GUY.”...

President Trump is holding a press conference this morning, where he is expected to make a major announcement on his plans to end violent crime and homelessness in Washington, DC. As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump announced over the weekend that he will hold a press conference this morning, and it will “essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, D.C.” ”It has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World. It will soon be one of the safest!!!” the President said. .... Snip.... The President is expected to begin his press conference in the White House briefing...

Ursula's new "European Media Freedom Act" permits the arrest of journalists if it is in the "public interest." ... The act also allows surveillance software to be deployed on devices used by media service providers, editorial staff, or related persons in the “public interest. Who decides the “public interest?” Sophie ... The new law also contains numerous provisions that call for action against alleged "disinformation." Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President ... "national lists" are to be created listing the owners and addresses of media outlets, as stipulated in Article 6. Despite its intent to strengthen media freedom, critics...

A shady government outfit in the UK that was previously tasked with identifying and monitoring COVID lockdown dissenters has been repurposed to spy on critics of mass migration and so called ‘asylum’ hotels, the Telegraph reports. The body, now known as the National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT) has been lobbying social media companies such as TikTok to take action against users who post what it describes as “concerning narratives” about immigration and ‘two tier policing’. The unit operates within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and was previously known as the ‘Counter Disinformation Unit’ during the pandemic....

YouTube on Tuesday announced it’s beginning to roll out age-estimation technology in the U.S. to identify teen users in order to provide a more age-appropriate experience. The company says it will use a variety of signals to determine the users’ possible age, regardless of what the user entered as their birthday when they signed up for an account. When YouTube identifies a user as a teen, it introduces new protections and experiences, which include disabling personalized advertising, safeguards that limit repetitive viewing of certain types of content, and enabling digital well-being tools such as screen time and bedtime reminders, among...

If you have any doubt that the European Union is devolving into a soft totalitarian state, think again. I have been sounding the alarm bells about the developments in Europe for as long as I have been writing at Hot Air, and some of you may have thought me an alarmist engaged in hyperbole. I am alarmed, of course, but by real threats to freedom. The latest assault on freedom--not just in Europe, because the EU and Great Britain are using their criminal and regulatory powers to suppress speech in the US as well as other countries--comes with the breaking...

US Attorney General Pam Bondi promptly fired Alina Habba’s replacement after a group of district court judges voted to oust Habba as interim US Attorney of New Jersey. A group of federal judges on Tuesday declined to extend Alina Habba’s term as interim US Attorney of New Jersey after Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries launched a pressure campaign to oust her. Alina Habba’s term as interim US Attorney expires on Friday at 11:59 pm. Hakeem Jeffries called on federal district court judges appointed by Obama and Biden to remove Alina Habba over her decision to indict Rep. LaMonica McIver. On...

Woke Canada keeps descending into pure madness, led by the Globalist Liberal party. Justin Trudeau is out, Mark Carney is in, but the dystopian developments continue unabated. For the canucks in power, it is progressive to defend mass migration, abortion and euthanasia, transgender dysphoria, ‘net zero’ and the church of climate change… the list is endless. But, of course, the majority of normal people in Canada need to be kept in check by their Liberal overlords, so common, ordinary behavior needs to be vilified. So now, warnings by Canadian Police arise that ‘people with traditional values could be extremists’. The...

New York City mayoral candidate Scott Stringer has unveiled a proposal to partner with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in utilizing advanced technology to monitor social media platforms for potential antisemitic threats. the New York Post reported. The initiative aims to identify and prevent violent incidents before they occur, particularly during periods of heightened international tensions involving Israel or Jewish institutions. Speaking at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Stringer emphasized the importance of proactive measures in safeguarding the Jewish community. He highlighted that Jewish New Yorkers, who comprise approximately 10% of the city's population, have been the targets...

Have you ever just had a family dinner conversation over a group holiday or spoken with friends about going to Ibiza to party, and minutes later, relevant ads appear on Facebook or other applications or websites? More than likely you answered yes, and that’s simply because all smart devices are permanently listening in on everything you say and keep track of everything you do. They are constantly gathering behavioural data, mostly for commercial and marketing purposes. In the case of vehicles with built-in smart devices, including sensors, they build complete profiles of the drivers and their passengers. They map their...

Two police officers walked into a doughnut shop. It’s not the opening line of a joke; it’s what I saw as I was working on an early draft of this story in March at the Staunton Dunkin’, about a quarter mile from where my vehicle was captured on a Flock camera in January and February coming back from my trips to Cardinal’s Roanoke office. Their eyes may have strayed to the racks of Boston creme, lemon-filled and coconut-covered doughnuts as they strode to the counter with purpose, but they were here for something else. Surveillance footage. The research for State...

Woke capitalism is alive and well. Don’t be fooled by American companies’ public statements suggesting they’re abandoning identity-based diversity, equity and inclusion policies in favor of merit and diversity of thought. I’m here to prove it: I’ve been canceled. Again. This time, bounced from a conference boasting a theme of “breaking down walls.” Five months ago, Peer 150, a networking group for top human resources executives, asked me to speak at one of its events. I was pleasantly surprised: I’m pretty well known at this point as being aggressively non-woke. In 2020, I was the only C-suite executive in a...

In 2006, a retired AT&T engineer knocked on the door of the EFF's office in a rundown part of San Francisco's Mission district and asked, "Do you folks care about privacy?" With him he carried schematics exposing the largest US government domestic spying operation since Watergate.That person was Mark Klein, who died on March 8 this year from cancer. He was 79.After a life working in telecoms, Klein realized he had helped the NSA wire up a listening station in AT&T's San Francisco switching facility - the infamous Room 641A - that was being used to illegally spy on Americans.The...