Privacy & Digital Freedom News — 2026-08-23

The daily reading list for people who care about digital privacy — curated headlines with links to the original reporting. Why we track this: every new SIM-registration law, data-broker leak, and surveillance expansion is a reason anonymous connectivity exists.

EFF Deeplinks

• EFF and Civil Society Groups Call on Nottinghamshire Police to Halt Live Face Recognition — <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p><span>This week, EFF, along with Big Brother Watch, Defend Digital Me, Libe…
• Intermediary Liability in Brazil: The Intricate Path Ahead — <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p><span data-contrast="none">Brazil's new internet intermediary liability reg…
• Some Tech Companies Have Privately Pushed Back on ICE Subpoenas. They Should All Do More. — <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>In a handful of known cases, large social media companies have privately pu…
• 📍 The Sneaky Code Tracking App Users | EFFector 38.15 — <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Your location isn't just a pin on a map—it can expose some of the most inti…

Hacker News (privacy)

• The privacy problems hidden in your period tracker
• Flock Defense "No Expectation of Privacy in Public" Is Wrong
• An American Privacy Emergency — Recent and related: Noise infusion banned from statistical products published by Census Bureau - - June 2026 (604 comments)…
• Opening up 'Zero-Knowledge Proof' technology to promote privacy in age assurance

Hacker News (eSIM)

• eSIM was supposed to replace SIM cards, but carriers turned it into a trap
• Cheapest way to keep a UK mobile number using an eSIM
• Implementing automatic eSIM installation on Android
• Been using this Tourist eSIM while traveling, super cheap unlimited data

Schneier on Security

• Friday Squid Blogging: Neon Flying Squid — The neon flying squid can fly in formation. The shoal of about 100 squid rose unexpectedly from a patch of the Pacific Ocean around 370 miles from Tokyo and glided near the boat for about 30 metres. The astonished resear…
• AI Is Learning to Write Genetic Code — This sort of research is both exciting and terrifying: The two models in question were told to generate complete genomes for a viable bacteriophage&#8212;a type of virus able to infect and replicate itself inside bacteri…
• More Incidents of AIs Going Rogue in Cybersecurity Challenges — The AI Security Institute has a new report of AI systems engaging in &#8220;unsanctioned behavior&#8221;&#8212;what I have been calling &#8220; genie behavior &#8212;while being tested on their cybersecurity capabilities…
• Detailed Timeline of OpenAI’s Cyberattack on Hugging Face — OpenAI presented details of its AI&#8217;s model&#8217;s cyberattack on Hugging Face at Black Hat last week. Simon Willison details the timeline. It&#8217;s really interesting to read through&#8212;and really impressive …

Stay connected without the paper trail

PRIVASIM sells eSIMs for 190+ countries with no email, no account, no KYC — pay with Monero, Ethereum, USDT or 100+ other coins. Browse plans →

This roundup is generated automatically every day from public feeds. All headlines link to and credit their original sources.