“Surveillance Society” – Page 4

Germany Plans Secret Home Raids and Teenage Informants

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency could soon be authorised to secretly alter digital data, hack into private computers and mobile phones, enter homes without occupants’ knowledge, recruit 16- and 17-year-olds as informants, and never inform citizens that they had been subjected to surveillance.

The draft law, prepared by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, would dramatically expand the powers of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.

by Blazingcatfur•July 16, 2026July 15, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Germany, Germany: Not Bombed Enough?

“Financial Surveillance”: EU Parliament Approves Creation of Digital Euro

Europe has just taken a major step toward creating the digital euro, a project that could soon open the door to leaving Europeans’ financial freedom at the mercy of Brussels.

On Thursday, July 9th, the European Parliament’s plenary adopted a text on the creation of the EU’s own CBDC (central bank digital currency), sending the file to the final stage of interinstitutional negotiations before the digital euro’s planned issuance from January 2029.

by Blazingcatfur•July 11, 2026July 11, 2026•0•"Digital Currency", "Surveillance Society"

How can we de-programme the police?

I’m not sure why I started following the photographer Alastair Hilton on X. He’s right-ish politically, so perhaps the algorithm just blew him my way. But through the rising tide of online bilge, I still seek out and enjoy Hilton’s posts, mostly because he talks about pubs and posts pictures of cold pints on hot days.

Hilton has a narrowboat on the Thames in Chiswick and seems to half live in the bars along the river, so he was extremely cross about a recent proposal to remove the tables and chairs from the riverside, especially from his local pub, the Bell and Crown. Last week he posted a video in which he said that the word on the Chiswick street is that getting rid of the outdoor seating was the sneaky pet project of a local Green party councillor, Rick Rowe, who lives Thames-side with his boyfriend and dislikes the noise – though you’d have thought a local councillor would support a struggling pub.

by Blazingcatfur•July 9, 2026July 9, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", UK

Surveillance Disguised as Safety: Cars Sold in EU To Spy on Drivers 24/7

As of Tuesday, July 7th, all new cars sold within the European Union are required by law to include an extra spy gadget, whether you want it or not.

The so-called driver monitoring camera, switched on at all times while the car is running above 20 km/h, and capable of precisely tracking the driver’s eye movements, is part of the now mandatory Advanced Driver Distraction Warning system, or ADDW.

by Blazingcatfur•July 9, 2026July 9, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society"

The Carney government’s expanding power to identify Canadians online, access their data—and punish them

The federal government is assembling more legal tools to identify who Canadians are online, track what they do there, and, in some cases, punish them for what they say than at any point in the country’s history.

That is the picture emerging from a cluster of bills advanced this spring, capped by Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, 2026, which the Liberals pushed through third reading June 18 after invoking a programming motion that curtailed committee study and shut down debate while amendments were forced through without debate—the motion barred any amendment not already submitted by a retroactive Monday deadline. The bill heads to the Senate when Parliament returns Sept. 21, but the manner of its passage has alarmed lawyers, civil liberties groups, technologists, and opposition MPs who say Parliament approved sweeping surveillance powers it never fully examined.

by Blazingcatfur•July 7, 2026July 6, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Six Bills Could Drive Canada Closer to a Surveillance State

Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, is the latest building block to be added to the foundation of Canada’s forthcoming surveillance state.

If Bill C-34 is passed into law, it’s only a matter of time before the federal government knows the location, monitors the movement, and tracks the communications of every Canadian. Bill C-34, together with other federal laws, will provide the government with intimate knowledge of how and when we use social media, AI, and the internet generally.

by Blazingcatfur•July 6, 2026July 5, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Federal memo considers legal action against social media posting false info

A 35-page memo to Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly contemplates “legal action” against Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media it suspects of spreading “false and misleading information.”

However, the memo, obtained under Access To Information, doesn’t explain what action federal lawyers would take, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

by Blazingcatfur•July 4, 2026July 4, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

‘Police state’ row as officers track down man who criticised his local Green councillor over outdoor drinking ban and left him fearing arrest

This is the extraordinary moment two Met police officers tracked down a photographer to a pub over his critical tweets about a local Green councillor – despite admitting he had committed no crime.

Alastair Hilton was having a drink with a friend in Chiswick, west London, on Thursday night when uniformed officers grilled him about his social media posts.

Mr Hilton feared being arrested when he was asked to step outside by two policemen as he celebrated a victory for his community over the Labour-run council and saved outdoor seating outside three much-loved pubs on the Thames.

I am having a drink this evening with a friend in a Chiswick pub. Two policemen have just come into the pub and asked me to step outside. I have stepped outside and they have threatened me because I tweeted about a councillor banning seating outside pubs in Chiswick. They admit… pic.twitter.com/r7MDIIdgvc

— Alastair Hilton (@London_W4) July 2, 2026

by Blazingcatfur•July 3, 2026July 3, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Freedom of speech, UK

Liberals claim to be the party of law and order now. Inside the party’s about-face on crime

After years of criminal justice reform that included a lighter touch for some offenders, the federal Liberal government has done an about-face and enacted stricter policies to tamp down on crime rates that have become a political liability in some vote-rich parts of the country.

While much of the public’s attention has been focused on the U.S. trade dispute and persistent affordability concerns, the Liberal government’s legislative agenda in the most recent parliamentary sitting was heavily weighted toward a crime crackdown.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser restored some mandatory minimum sentences, mostly targeting firearms and child sex crimes, and tightened bail laws designed to keep more repeat, violent offenders locked up for longer.

Law and order? As in a surveillance state with two tiered justice.

by Blazingcatfur•June 27, 2026June 27, 2026•0•"Justice", "Law and Order", "Surveillance Society", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

NEMETH: Shivering in the dark — a ‘virtual power plant’ could decide how much power your home gets this winter

Imagine a bitterly cold, still winter night during a prolonged Dunkelflaute (the German term for “dark doldrums”) when wind turbines stand idle for days, solar output drops near zero, and temperatures plummet. You expect your heat pump and home battery, installed with promises of resilience, to keep your family comfortable and energy secure. Instead, as the calm and cold drags on, your thermostat will not budge, smart devices are curtailed, and your battery drains, not to keep your family safe, but to “help the grid.” A notification flashes on your phone: “Grid Emergency; External Control Activated!” Your household, like thousands aggregated in a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), is conscripted to “stabilize” a system strained by the very energy transition that created the vulnerability. The autonomy you thought you had secured with clean energy investments is suddenly subject to distant commands, precisely when you need it most. This is the engineered reality of Virtual Power Plants.

by Blazingcatfur•June 22, 2026June 21, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society"

Tyrannical legislation drives thousands of Canadians to flee Canada

According to recently released data from Statistics Canada, a record 120,640 Canadians left Canada and emigrated to other countries in 2025, surpassing the previous high from the year prior. Notice a trend? Wonder why?

Possibly because the Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney is desperately attempting to ram through a dystopian internet censorship bill which would demand that people’s data be kept for possible police review.

We may be forced to flee in the near future but currently I think the reason to do so is primarily economic self interest.

by Blazingcatfur•June 22, 2026June 21, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Canada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Mark Carney’s online surveillance state

Mark Carney is building a surveillance state online.

What else can you call a government that’s working to outlaw online anonymity? That plans to ID internet users as if going online is the same as entering a bar? That plans to create the equivalent of a human rights tribunal for offensive speech online?

We will soon mirror the UK. One day you may be thanking Trump.

by Blazingcatfur•June 21, 2026June 21, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Is Canada’s teen social media ban constitutional? It’s complicated

Legal experts say Canada’s proposed social media ban for kids leaves many questions unanswered — including whether it would violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Last week, the federal government tabled Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, which would force social media platforms to restrict accounts for children under 16 unless the platforms can implement adequate safeguards to protect them.

Lawyers and law professors are raising flags about gaps in the legislation that could leave Canada open to legal challenges.

by Blazingcatfur•June 21, 2026June 20, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society"

MACLEOD: Safe Social Media Act isn’t about protecting kids — it’s about government controlling the Internet

There are few easier political arguments than saying we must protect children online. Every serious parent agrees with that. Every responsible adult knows social media can be addictive, manipulative, corrosive, and, at times, deeply harmful. The platforms have designed products that capture attention, reward outrage, promote insecurity, and keep young people scrolling long after common sense says they should be outside, reading a book, playing hockey, or annoying their parents in a healthier way.

by Blazingcatfur•June 19, 2026June 18, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Carney’s Surveillance Push Targets Canadians, Not Politically Connected Narco Kingpins — and Hands Beijing a Gift

In this episode with Jason James, I break down my criticisms of the raft of public-safety and surveillance laws Mark Carney’s manufactured-majority government is attempting to push through Canada’s Parliament before the summer break — a legislative push now drawing serious concern from privacy experts, media lawyers, civil-liberties advocates, and technology leaders including Shopify founder Tobi Lütke.

by Blazingcatfur•June 18, 2026June 17, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government