There’s much to get through in this edition! But I will try - and probably fail - to keep it brief.
What if you don’t like it brief? Well, that’s the kind of thing you could put in the reader survey I set up! It’s ultra-simple and you won’t find any annoying ‘compulsory questions’. Answer as few or as many as you like!
News to get us thinking…
Digital ID is coming for South Africa! While analogue alternatives will surely have to live on in a country where so many live below the poverty line, the plans for a rollout still give us plenty to think about. Dear South Africa raised some commonsense objections during the recent consultation period. Look out for opportunities to raise objections wherever you are in the world!
Digital Courage handed in its terrific petition against digital coercion to the German parliament last month, with 70,000 signatures. More on that here. If you regret not signing it, and happen to be (or know) a UK citizen, remember our similar UK petition! Just click here - signing it is surprisingly easy!
I’m wary of giving you too much doom and gloom, but it does have its place. Sometimes we need a reminder that our fears are founded in reality - especially if we’re not ecucated in tech per se. Are we paranoid to want to keep cash because a cyberattack might cripple the payment systems we take for granted? This piece by CNN makes me think we should rather be safe than sorry.
Spending hours clicking on fire hydrants to prove that we’re human is NOT the dream we were sold when the internet first came into our lives. Artificial Intelligence is just making the whole sorry business more absurd. Check out Melissa Baird’s piece on the subject in Life in Balance.
According to Bits of Freedom boss Evelyn Austin, her Dutch bicycle lockup recently abandoned its automated access system that only worked with a card. After a bunch of costly problems with the system, the gates are now open and there are actual people keeping watch! She wrote this in the resistance organisation’s latest newsletter. Let’s celebrate small wins against automation!
Things I’ve done
I got rid of my two main Google accounts! And I have to say, I feel a lot cleaner with a little less Big Tech in my life. I’ve switched to European providers Posteo and Proton. I plan to write a full post on some of the things I learned from a mid-life change of important email addresses, as well as some musings on how this relates to digital coercion. But for now, I just want to encourage you to join me - it’s not as impossible as you think!
My experiment with a Google-free phone continues. I’m not quite brave enough to ditch my smartphone just yet, but I am investing a lot of time in learning workarounds that may come in handy. Unless you’re into hyper-geeky solutions that require a bit of know-how, the app store (Google Play) is the #1 hurdle to using our Android phones without logging into California. Again, I’ll write more details on this in a separate post, but here’s a quick tip: start using your browser to access accounts rather than dedicated apps. Sure, it can be a little clunkier, but it helps you figure out which apps you really need. Maybe none?
I moaned at the LNER railway company in England, which listed exactly one ‘Delivery Option’ for a train ticket I bought online. They offered only to email it. No postal option. No ‘collect at the station’ option. These are features other UK rail companies manage; features we should not allow to disappear. My grumpy review won’t make a difference on its own, but that’s not the idea. The idea is to inspire a whole bunch more, from everyone in this community. Relentless reviewing and complaining across multiple industries. Together we might get the message across. So here’s your inspiration:
I also wrote some more non-newsletter content for these pages. One is about why two-factor authentication is a key resistance area. The other piece is about why we should get up and leave restaurants with QR code menus (penguin photo alert!).
I’ve spoken to loads of people about digital coercion. And I can tell you, it’s not hard to find folk who share our views on this stuff! The majority of everyday people can see what’s being done to us and agree it’s not cool. It’s a lot harder, however, to find people willing to take action ;) Keep reading…
Things YOU have done
Some folk have sent in some handy links for the newsletter, thank you for those! But I’m hoping for this section to be as juicy and varied as those above and below.
Quick reminder: I cannot resist digital coercion all on my own. If that’s how it’s going to be, I’ll run out of steam sooner rather than later.
For more on what I’m talking about, check out this post.
If nothing specific springs to mind at the moment, you can also let me know about general principles you follow as you protest digital coercion.
What can YOU do?
Send me news! I don’t get time to scroll much. If there are cool new laws about protecting cash or offline rights in your country, for example, please flick me a link. We are all starving for good news in this area - don’t let me miss any of it! (You can also send me scary, bad digital coercion news…)
Write online reviews! Businesses/institutions refusing cash? Forcing you to talk to bots? Demanding an app? Make a noise and send me a screenshot of your noise (see my train ticket complaint above)!
Write something. Offline Rights is open for guest posts! Sadly, they can only be voluntary…unless you’re bringing me a rich patron of course! No inspiration? I have a list of article ideas waiting for me to have time to write them.
See “Things I’ve done” above, as well as my previous updates via the website/archive! These are not meant to be diary entries. They’re meant to be concrete, real-world action ideas you can flagrantly copy.
Make a Substack account and/or get the app! Yeah, I know, big contradiction! And I wholeheartedly share your account/password allergy! But sometimes we have to work within the system to change the system. It starts with your likes, comments and shares. And they only work when you’re logged in. (Also, the content on Substack is a ton more intelligent than your average cat video
platform.)
If you haven’t already subscribed, please do so here. Subscribing doesn’t mean spending money (you can skip the stuff about pledging if it pops up), or even signing up for an account. It just means you get my articles by email.
Send me ideas for The Boycott List and The Good Guys list! Look outside your window, or scan your inbox, and you’ll probably get inspiration right away. Snap a picture if you can. Sending me a message can take mere seconds.
British citizens can sign the UK petition ‘Protect the Right to Live without Digital ID’. Closes July 2!
I've been feeling increasingly uneasy about the ever-growing pressure of living a digital life, but I never even had a word for it. Thank you for opening my eyes to the extent of digital coercion. And I truly appreciate your dedication to this cause, especially since people like me, lulled into convenience by online tax declarations and what not, are only slowly waking up. I'll try to push back wherever I can. Every time I see a business with a "cash only" sign, I smile and think of your initiative. Will send pics.
of course, pneguins