Although classes ended last April, my dissertation was submitted in September, and my MSc was confirmed in December, the nature of the university graduation queue meant that I didn’t get my actual degree until last week.
And there it is. Read More
Development is political
If I was still in my conference speaking era (ha), I’d say this:
Testing your inputs can be an act of resistance.
Not testing your inputs can be an act of collaboration.
I, Sisyphus
Banning children from VPNs and social media will erode adults’ privacy
I spoke with New Scientist about a handful of clauses in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is currently reaching the finish line of the Parliamentary process. These clauses are resurrecting several incredibly bad ideas which were debated out of the Online Safety Act, a good four or five years ago.
There are very good reasons that those clauses, and their unintended consequences, were taken out of the then-Bill.
But here we are, all these years later, seeing those bad ideas smashed with brute force into a completely separate bill.
The Prince, The Paedo, The Palace, and the “Safety Tech” app
I have two skills in my professional locker which are both very useful and which also cause me a lot of trouble.
One of those skills is a photographic memory, which I’ve had since primary school. If I am scratching away at a policy question, I can remember a verbatim passage from a book I read years ago, and I can also remember that it was on the top half of a left hand page. I don’t understand it. It just is.
The other skill is an uncanny inner radar for charlatans, chancers, shysters, grifters, hustlers, and (as per previous blog entries…) actual criminal predators. Even when it’s years before The Stories come out or The Revelations are revealed, I will find myself looking at the centre of attention, being the only person in the room who not is applauding them like a seal, because I’m thinking to myself what’s your story, morning glory. I don’t understand it. It just is.
What I do understand is why these skills are why I have spent my adult professional life being labelled “difficult”, often at the cost of the professional work itself. Over time you come to learn that “difficult” means “person who remembers everything and sees right through your bullshit”. Which is why I tend to wear “difficult” as a badge of pride.
Well.
In light of various dramatic news events this week, I must report that once again, without even trying or knowing The Stories, I spotted one from hundreds of miles away, and I remembered where I kept the receipts.
the other Turing test
A few months ago I wrote a blog post which, as they do, went to the top of Hacker News. When this happens, I tend to ignore the commentary for my own sanity, but with that recent post, there was one observation a few people made which made me quite happy.
At last, a wonderful day in Parliament.
What an absolute honour and privilege it was to spend Wednesday morning in the House of Commons, alongside dissidents from Russia, Afghanistan, and China, speaking to Parliamentarians about the importance of end-to-end encryption.
The event, organised by Index on Censorship, was the most amazing, inspiring, and – here is the important point – politically effective gathering I’ve ever attended in the building. Hats off to Index for pulling it together.
Their campaign materials are excellent resources for further advocacy.
I have endured some right miserable days in the palace, so leaving with a smile on my face, knowing that good things had been done, felt amazing. But it wasn’t about me, of course. The three dissidents, who were so generous with their time and their words, are why we do this. It was humbling just to talk to them. This is why the work matters. This is what it’s all about.
Extra special thanks to Olga from Pussy Riot for doing me a massive favour. It was very much appreciated, by both the sender and the recipient. On an end-to-end encrypted app, of course.
I took this photo, I’m not in it!
Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, America
As I mentioned in my 2025 reading roundup, I spent some time last year immersed in studying the international protocols which have been devised to collect, categorise, and preserve digital evidence of war crimes, and crimes against humanity, for use in future tribunals.
These are the standards which allow human rights defenders to ensure that the video of something horrible which somebody filmed on their phone – perhaps while they were just walking along, minding their own business – meets the standards needed for submission as legal evidence for the next Nurembergs, whilst being safely preserved long enough to make it there.
The result of this research, a final paper for one of my MSc courses, was the only essay I’ve ever written for which I needed to add a content warning, because rape is a weapon of war.
Although my research focused on Ukraine, I made the point that these protocols have been used in Syria, Sudan, and Yemen.
I now make the point that they also need to be used in America.
The Darnella test of social media and smartphone regulation
There’s a lot happening this week, very fast, in the political sphere, about banning social media for teenagers, or banning them from smartphones. I have plenty to say about that, but right now I want you all to focus on this part.
This is my personal touchstone for evaluating proposed regulation about social media, and/or smartphones, where teenagers are concerned. I call it the Darnella test.
Ok, so who’s Darnella?
She’s a fucking hero.
The worst fucking app idea ever
The tricky thing about my MPhil project is that I am researching a moving target. I am attempting to take current political affairs, which are unfolding very very fast, and translate them into normative legal shapes. This requires keeping an eye on many issues, as they unfold, to see whether they evolve into main characters or wither into side quests.
Here is an example of one of the issues I’m tracking. What it is, in the long term, remains to be seen. But I thought it was a good example of how many arms and legs this project has grown.
As you will be aware, or at least you should be, one of the overt goals of the US Christian Nationalist movement is pronatalism. My interest in this issue (or any given issue) starts at the point where it becomes a matter of technology, regulation, or technology regulation. Which it did.
Resistance honeypots
On page 248 of my book on practical privacy for web developers, I gently implored my readers not to be That Person. By that, I mean, That Person who slags off a well-written news article about privacy because of the adtech on the page which delivers the article; after all, the person who wrote the article had no choice in the matter.
Yeah, so, about that.
Forget that I ever said it.
Here’s why.
2025’s best reads
And here we are again: another year, another list. Previous years are in the category tag.
My top achievement for 2025
‘Tis the season where we look back on our professional achievements for the past twelve months, and for 2025, only one incident stands out. It was unexpected, it was chaos, it was drama, and it was, in a perverse way, quite funny.
Yes, you all know what I’m talking about.