1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:05,840 Speaker 1: There Are No Girls on the Internet. As a production 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio and unbost Creative. I'm Bridget Todd and this 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 1: is there are No Girls on the Internet. Is WhatsApp 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: reading your private encrypted messages? This is what US authorities 5 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: are looking into this week. Now, this comes after a 6 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: lawsuit filed last week which claims that Meta, the company 7 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: that owns WhatsApp, can access virtually all of WhatsApp users 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: purportedly private communications. Now, according to the Guardian, the firm 9 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 1: that filed the lawsuit against Meta attributes this allegation to 10 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: unnamed courageous whistleblowers from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa. 11 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 1: But Meta Surprise Surprise, is denying the allegations, calling the 12 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: lawsuits claim categorically false and absurd, and suggesting that the 13 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: claim was a tactic to support the NSO Group, an 14 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: Israeli cyber intelligence firm primarily known for its proprietary spyware 15 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: called Pegasus, which can turn pretty much any smartphone into 16 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:12,919 Speaker 1: a surveillance device remotely. It's been used against activists and journalists, 17 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: and recently lost a lawsuit brought by WhatsApp. So what 18 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: does all of this mean for you. Well, meta is 19 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 1: all about the idea that WhatsApp is a secure, encrypted, 20 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: private platform, to the point where my friend Annie, one 21 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: of the hosts of the podcast Stuff Mom Ever told You, 22 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: saw commercials suggesting that WhatsApp is a safe place to 23 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:37,759 Speaker 1: have conversations about topics as sensitive as your reproductive care, which, 24 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: to be clear, is not something I would recommend anybody do. 25 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: And right now the Trump administration is using every tool 26 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: they have to force tech companies to turn over people's 27 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: personal communications. In fact, just this morning, the Washington Post 28 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: published an exclusive investigative report about how DHS is using 29 00:01:55,400 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: subpoenas to quietly surveil and silence their political enemies. Means 30 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: that protecting your digital privacy is more important than ever, 31 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: not just for you, but anyone in your network who 32 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: might be more vulnerable than you are. Your friend who 33 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: overstayed their visa, your cousin who got an add of 34 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: date abortion. Their safety depends on you. I broke down 35 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: all of this earlier this winter with my friend Samantha 36 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,640 Speaker 1: and Annie over at the podcast stuff Mom Never Told You. 37 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 2: I feel a little bit guilty about this one, Bridget, 38 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 2: because it was a big topic that I was like, 39 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 2: you know what, I would really love to discuss this, 40 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 2: and it's just a huge, spiraling thing, complicated, but I 41 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 2: really appreciate you bringing it, and I think it's really 42 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 2: important and I'm excited to talk about it and to 43 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 2: learn more. So what are we discussing today? 44 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: Today? We are diving into the wide world of privacy, 45 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: specifically whether or not messaging apps like WhatsApp actually are private. 46 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: And I know I can already hear somebody in their 47 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:11,920 Speaker 1: car or washing their dishes right now thinking snooze. Privacy 48 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: has nothing to do with me. I don't break the law, 49 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: I have nothing to hide. Whatever they have on me, 50 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: they already have it. Who cares? That is actually a 51 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: very common attitude called privacy nihilism, where you just are like, 52 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: the government has all that they're going to have on me, 53 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: it doesn't matter. And honestly, I get it. Most of 54 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: us probably don't really think twice before you hit send 55 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: on a message, right, but what is hitting sen could 56 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: put you at risk? And the truth is, in twenty 57 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 1: twenty five, it literally can. Whether you're texting about abortion 58 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: or a protest or whatever, your messages could be watched, blagged, 59 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: or even used against you, privacy isn't just for people 60 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: with something to hide, It is for people with something 61 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: to lose. And right now in twenty twenty five, given 62 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: everything that is going on, that is all of us. 63 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 2: Yes, and we're going to get into this more. But 64 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 2: it seemed that companies at least have tapped into this, 65 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 2: this worry, this concern, and they're competing with each other 66 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 2: in ad campaigns. 67 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,919 Speaker 1: Well, Annie, you sent me this ad from WhatsApp that, 68 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 1: in my opinion, heavily implied that WhatsApp is meant to 69 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: be like a private, secure messaging platform and that one 70 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: could even trust it for a private conversation about healthcare, 71 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 1: like maybe if one was trying to pursue an abortion, 72 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: this would be a platform that you could do that securely. 73 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:35,040 Speaker 1: You were also telling me about another ad from Apple 74 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: where it was like camera birds being launched at people 75 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: or something. 76 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 2: Yes, yes, that ad is very frightening everyone. It reminds 77 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 2: me of the Black Mirror episode with like the robot dogs. 78 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, army robot dog. That's like like it's like 79 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: the post apocalyptic army robot killer dog. Oh my god. 80 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 2: Yes, but there's just these like cameras that have bird 81 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 2: wings and they have this screeching sound they make, and 82 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 2: they fly after people on the street who are looking 83 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 2: at their phone, implying that like they're watching you if 84 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 2: you're on your phone or on your laptop, and they're 85 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 2: like crash into windows and this is a really piercing sound. 86 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 2: It's really disturbing. And then it's an ad for Safari 87 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 2: that's saying, like, other browsers watch you, Safari doesn't. 88 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: Definitely, they got their finger on the pulse, and the 89 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: pulse of the moment is concern about our vast surveillance state. 90 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: That much is clear. I think people are worried about it, 91 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: and these I think these companies are like, oh, let's 92 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: tap into people's understandable concern about the surveillance state right now. 93 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 2: It's so odd, though, because like when I sent you 94 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 2: that the WhatsApp campaign, it's it's strange to me in 95 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 2: a way that we're living in such a dystopian world 96 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 2: where there are ads that are like, you don't want 97 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 2: anyone to know about your medical you don't want this 98 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:09,840 Speaker 2: vibe of overall it's probably not safe for people to 99 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 2: know about these things. I don't know which is true, 100 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 2: it's absolutely true, but it's strange that it's in an 101 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 2: ad campaign. 102 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: It's weird to get reminded of it while you're watching 103 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: Bob's Burgers. Like, I totally understand the like it does 104 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:31,359 Speaker 1: feel rather dystopy, and I totally get it. Yes, And 105 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: I should say right off the top that I'm not 106 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,279 Speaker 1: like an online privacy expert. I don't work in it. 107 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: I would more call myself a privacy enthusiast. One of 108 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: the projects that I work on, in addition to my 109 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: own podcast or own Our Girls on the Internet, is 110 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:46,919 Speaker 1: a podcast that I make with the Mozilla Foundations, the 111 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: makers of the browser Firefox, called IRL, and it's a 112 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: podcast all about technology, AI, ethics, and of course privacy. 113 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: We actually just launched our brand new season a few 114 00:06:56,839 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: weeks ago, so folks should check it out. But what's 115 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: interesting about the show, I think, is that we're really 116 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: trying to make these conversations that might feel wonky or 117 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: inaccessible accessible for everybody. And I think that it's important 118 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: for folks like me, who aren't necessarily privacy experts or 119 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: don't work in it, to have a sense of the 120 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: privacy of the technology and the platforms that we do 121 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: use every day, Like we shouldn't treat those as conversations 122 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:23,559 Speaker 1: that are just for experts, and especially in twenty twenty 123 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: five when as we were just discussing the vibes it's 124 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: giving nineteen eighty four. At times, it's giving dystopian, it's giving, 125 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: you know, something out of a scary novel, only it's real. 126 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: That's I mean, I don't know if that's how you 127 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: all are feeling, but that's how I'm feeling. And so, yeah, 128 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: privacy and the privacy around the apps that we use 129 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: every single day becomes even more important. 130 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 2: Yes, and I know we're going to talk about it, 131 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 2: but we've seen instances of these apps turning over data 132 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 2: that people thought was private. We'ren't thinking that it was 133 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 2: going to be shared in this way. So, and you know, 134 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 2: I have to say, WhatsApp is a app that I 135 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 2: only have experienced generally with my international friends, but I 136 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 2: did always get this vibe that it was more secure 137 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 2: thame other other apps. So when I saw this ad campaign, 138 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 2: what set me off was not WhatsApp. It's when I 139 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 2: saw meta at. 140 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:27,240 Speaker 1: The bottom of yeah, and I was. 141 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 2: Like, okay, wait, now I have a lot of concerns. 142 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 2: Now I have a lot of concerns. So yeah, that's 143 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 2: what's going on with WhatsApp here. 144 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: So let's get into it. For folks who maybe don't 145 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:43,320 Speaker 1: know about WhatsApp, it is a free global messaging platform 146 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 1: that was losted in two thousand and nine, and it 147 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: allows folks to send texts, voice messages, video messages, make 148 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: voice and video calls, share images, documents, user locations, and 149 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: other content. It has over two billion billion with a 150 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: B users. There are like eight billion people on planet Earth, 151 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: so like, that is a lot of users. And in 152 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: twenty sixteen it became the number one messaging platform in 153 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,199 Speaker 1: the world. And Annie, you were just talking about how 154 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:10,959 Speaker 1: you associate it with like international folks, and that is 155 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: absolutely true because it is particularly important for global communication. 156 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: If you have aunties or cousins in another country, odds 157 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 1: are you've probably used WhatsApp to stay in touch. And 158 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: by twenty sixteen, it was the primary means of internet 159 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,440 Speaker 1: communication and regions including the Americas, the Indian subcontinent, and 160 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: large parts of Europe and Africa. So yeah, it is 161 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:37,800 Speaker 1: a very very popular messaging platform. In twenty fourteen, it 162 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: was bought by Meta, the company that runs Facebook, but 163 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: back then it was still just called Facebook. Listeners have 164 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: rightly called me out for sometimes mixing up those two names. 165 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:49,439 Speaker 1: Facebook was Facebook in twenty fourteen, they changed their name 166 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,960 Speaker 1: to Meta to sort of avoid some scandals. But Facebook 167 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 1: and Meta for the most part, or like you can 168 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: think of them as interchangeable for the most part. And 169 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,560 Speaker 1: so they bought WhatsApp in twenty fourteen. And that means 170 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: that like the same way that for me, getting online 171 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 1: when I was a kid meant America Online, like America 172 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:11,440 Speaker 1: Online functionally was the Internet for me, Facebook is essentially 173 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:15,320 Speaker 1: the Internet for a whole a whole big swatch of 174 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: people all over the world, right, And this is all 175 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 1: controlled by one person and one company, Mark Zuckerberg. And 176 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:25,760 Speaker 1: so really think about that, this one private company basically 177 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,679 Speaker 1: has total control of the main method of how people 178 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 1: get information and communicate with each other. So that gives him, specifically, 179 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: like an incredible amount of power, power that I would 180 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 1: argue has not always been used ethically or responsibly and 181 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:42,680 Speaker 1: not always done in a way that keeps what's best 182 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: for people at the forefront. So if you're asking the 183 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 1: big question of like whether or not you would trust 184 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: WhatsApp run by Meta at their word, that they are private. 185 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:56,319 Speaker 1: I mean, it really comes down to the fact, like 186 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: do you trust Facebook, do you trust Mark Zuckerberg, Because 187 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: that's really what it comes down to. How Facebook and 188 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: Zuckerberg define what privacy is, like what is private and 189 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:08,920 Speaker 1: what is what is not private, and like what that means. 190 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: And so this is where it gets a little bit confusing. 191 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: WhatsApp's messages are and to ed encrypted by default, so 192 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: you don't have to turn anything on to message in 193 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 1: that way, both for messages and for calls. And bottom 194 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 1: line is like that is very good for privacy. So 195 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: I want to be clear that I'm not saying that 196 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 1: WhatsApp specifically is bad for privacy. However, the way that 197 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 1: Meta operates as a company is what, in my opinion, 198 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:40,199 Speaker 1: makes things a little bit murky. Mozilla's privacy not included. 199 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 1: Blog put it like this, WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, 200 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:46,760 Speaker 1: which means Facebook can access some data WhatsApp collects on 201 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:50,319 Speaker 1: you for specified purposes, which may be bad for privacy. 202 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: So this means WhatsApp might be collecting data on you 203 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,440 Speaker 1: when you use it, and we actually sort of know 204 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: this is the case. As of September twenty twenty one, 205 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: it is known that WhatsApp makes extensive use of outside 206 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 1: contractors and AI systems to examine certain messages, images and 207 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 1: videos that have been flagged by users as possibly abusive, 208 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:12,319 Speaker 1: and it turns over to law enforcement metadata, including critical 209 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 1: account and location information. So again it really comes down 210 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 1: to whether or not you consider that to be private. 211 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, and also, given like a lot of other news 212 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:29,359 Speaker 2: that's happened with Meta and Mark Zuckerberg, that just reverses 213 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,880 Speaker 2: everything that they said they were going to do. So 214 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 2: it's also I feel an extension of that is do 215 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 2: I believe they're actually going to stick with this thing? 216 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 2: Are they just going to change it? 217 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 1: I mean, I think it's reasonable to look at how 218 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 1: companies historically have moved when they say things. When they 219 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: say one thing and then do the opposite, I think 220 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,360 Speaker 1: all of that plays into the question of, like whether 221 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: or not you're comfortable with them having information about you 222 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: that kept the actually wind you in jail. This is 223 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: not a hypothetical. We'll talk more about this in a moment, 224 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: but like that has happened. Conversations people had on Facebook 225 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 1: platforms have led to them being in prison. So like 226 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: that's a in my book, that's like a you're you're 227 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: giving quite a bit of trust to these platforms. And 228 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:21,560 Speaker 1: you know, as I said, Meta owns Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram 229 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:24,680 Speaker 1: and also works with a sprawling network of third parties 230 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 1: and contractors, sometimes in like very opaque ways. And so 231 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: my sense is that Meta is like, oh, well, WhatsApp 232 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 1: itself is encrypted, so that means it's private, and then 233 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: conveniently leave out that users who are concerned about their 234 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: privacy might also be concerned about how and what data 235 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: is then being shared with third parties. Like I think 236 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,800 Speaker 1: that Facebook is like, well, we're encrypted, so that's private, 237 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 1: and how Facebook and other companies access data, it's still private. 238 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:58,079 Speaker 1: I think that's the that's their their their play there. 239 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:03,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, and it does very like I don't know, kind 240 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 2: of shuffling at like even going back to that ad, 241 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:09,200 Speaker 2: the Meta symbols very small and that AD, I have 242 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,320 Speaker 2: to say, I think they were like, we know people 243 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 2: know that we've gone through these scandals, but also kind 244 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 2: of shuffling it off to the user of you should 245 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 2: figure out this was on you. If you were worried 246 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 2: about privacy, then I don't know why you didn't take 247 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 2: whatever step. 248 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 3: Yeah. 249 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 4: I remember when WhatsApp was bought out, and everybody was 250 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 4: really upset because I think at that point a lot 251 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 4: of protests and like a lot of gatherings had happened 252 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:51,200 Speaker 4: through different messengers like what'sapp because it were supposed to 253 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 4: be encrypted. And then at Facebook bottom out and everybody 254 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 4: lost it. I remember people talking about what to do next, 255 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 4: and that's when Signal kind of got its big boost 256 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 4: if I remember correctly. I mean, they've always been pretty big, 257 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 4: but it got the bigger boosts because of WhatsApp. It 258 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 4: eventually became known as now it can be Facebook, and 259 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:08,200 Speaker 4: then they were real quiet about it. They made sure 260 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 4: not to change the brand or the logo, and then 261 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,960 Speaker 4: they were just I think, really hoping people would forget 262 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 4: who owned WhatsApp. And I feel like the same way 263 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 4: like you were talking about, when people start clicking on 264 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 4: doing the messengers and you get the little you have 265 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 4: to read this, this is our terms of service, and 266 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 4: no one reads that. Let's look at real honest, it's 267 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 4: hard to even decipher. I actually had a similar incident 268 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 4: with my loans and when everything was popping off about 269 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 4: doge or doge uh doing those weird things, and looking 270 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 4: at the loans and everybody's coming out with a that's illegal. 271 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 4: Y'all told us if it gets breached by organizations like this, 272 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 4: then our loans has to be forgiven. My specific loan 273 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 4: site came back with a whole agreement that it tells 274 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 4: me by the way a third party can get access 275 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:55,760 Speaker 4: if given permission by blah blah blah. If you agree 276 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,160 Speaker 4: to this, you can log in. If you don't, you 277 00:15:58,240 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 4: can't log in period. 278 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: What like, let's like be so for real, why would 279 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:06,120 Speaker 1: you have like read with a fun First of all, 280 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: you're not an attorney, you're not a lawyer, you're not 281 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: a contract expert. You don't have all day to read 282 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,480 Speaker 1: sometimes what it's like thirty pages of fine print. Like 283 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 1: literally there are artists and activists who have printed out 284 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,560 Speaker 1: the terms of service that you have to like, you know, 285 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 1: agree to and it'll be pages and pages and pages long. 286 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 1: And that's not a reasonable. It's not reasonable to expect 287 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,240 Speaker 1: you to be able to read and understand all of 288 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:33,760 Speaker 1: that just to get information about your loone. So like, 289 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 1: let's be let's like be for real. 290 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 4: They're literally holding your stuff hus hostage. I feel like 291 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 4: that's also I feel like this was a thing with Facebook, 292 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 4: especially when they started changing terms and like, yeah, we 293 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:46,560 Speaker 4: have if you want to log in, you can, but 294 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 4: you have to give us access to your computer, your information. 295 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:52,280 Speaker 4: We have we have ownership of all your pictures that 296 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 4: you're posting, Like, I feel like they were kind of 297 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 4: the beginning of that as well. 298 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: So it's so funny that you say this because in 299 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:00,880 Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, and this also came to a head 300 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 1: when Apple and Facebook kind of had a dispute about 301 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 1: this very thing, right, So Apple made this update to 302 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,320 Speaker 1: their app store which gave users privacy labels that showed 303 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: all the different data that that app will link to you. 304 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: So when what'sapp owned by Meta was in the app store, 305 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 1: Apple published this information that's like, oh, here's the data 306 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,919 Speaker 1: that this app will link to you, and people were like, uh, 307 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 1: wait a minute. I was told this was private, Like 308 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: why are you linking so much data to me? So 309 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: then after that, WhatsApp updated their privacy policy, which inadvertently 310 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 1: highlighted they're years old policy of sharing certain user data 311 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:42,719 Speaker 1: like phone numbers with Facebook. So people who were concerned 312 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:47,400 Speaker 1: about their privacy obviously freaked out. And then Ireland hit 313 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: WhatsApp with a record two hundred and sixty six million 314 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 1: dollars fine for an alleged lack of transparency over how 315 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:58,359 Speaker 1: it shares data with Facebook. So when Apple actually gave 316 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 1: users the tool to be like like, oh, I can 317 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: make an informed decision transparently about how my data is 318 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,359 Speaker 1: shared on this app, people were like, nah, I don't 319 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: actually like that. Like it really revealed that perhaps WhatsApp 320 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:15,080 Speaker 1: is not as private as some of these ads would 321 00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:15,879 Speaker 1: have us believe. 322 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:21,399 Speaker 2: Yes, And so going back to the ad where I 323 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 2: was like, bridget, I would love if we could talk 324 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:27,639 Speaker 2: about this. It's a what'sapp ad, and I thought it 325 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,360 Speaker 2: was about abortion, but I've seen it since and now 326 00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 2: I'm like, Okay, it's just the medical situation. It's never 327 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:38,439 Speaker 2: clearly stated it's an abortion or anything like that. But 328 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:42,440 Speaker 2: the fact that my mind immediately went to, oh, this 329 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:47,600 Speaker 2: is they're talking about abortion or like kind of implying abortion, 330 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:54,439 Speaker 2: and I was I recoiled so viscerally because I was 331 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 2: just like, no, that's that's terrible, Like we can't be 332 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 2: telling people this. And they have like a nice little 333 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,840 Speaker 2: they show people typing and the all the letters get 334 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 2: all mixed up with numbers and stuff like that. So 335 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 2: you can't see what they're typing. But I think that 336 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 2: goes to show the concerns a lot of us have 337 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 2: of this technology that's telling you're like, oh no it's private, 338 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:25,680 Speaker 2: you can do this thing that has unfortunately become dangerous 339 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:29,160 Speaker 2: are risky for a lot of people. And my mind 340 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:31,920 Speaker 2: immediately was like abortion, No, that's bad. 341 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, I saw the ad to I also. I mean, 342 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: I think they were trying to like you're not seeing things, 343 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: like they don't come out and say it. But I 344 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,160 Speaker 1: had the same interpretation of that ad as you did. 345 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,359 Speaker 1: And I think it's just I think people should just 346 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,680 Speaker 1: know what's up about what's app like, they should understand 347 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: like what is actually happening. Because if I were to 348 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:54,440 Speaker 1: use any analogy to explain on it, I would say, 349 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,679 Speaker 1: there's private in that you told your good girlfriend something 350 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 1: and she took it to her grave that she never 351 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 1: told a soul. And then there's private like that you 352 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,119 Speaker 1: told your good girlfriend something and she shared it with 353 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:08,560 Speaker 1: her husband. And it's one thing. When we're talking about 354 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: like a juicy secret, it's another and we're talking about 355 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,199 Speaker 1: something that unfortunately like could get you locked up. And 356 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,720 Speaker 1: you know, when it comes to abortion, we know that 357 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: Facebook does have a bit of a track record with this. 358 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:24,960 Speaker 1: So Facebook turned over the chads of a mother and 359 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: daughter to Nebraska police after they were served with a 360 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,760 Speaker 1: warrant as part of an investigation into an illegal abortion, 361 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 1: so they notably, these two women were not using WhatsApp, 362 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 1: they were using Facebook Messenger. But I do think it 363 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: shows some insight into how this all works because, as 364 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,199 Speaker 1: I said, it's all the same umbrella company Meta. So 365 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 1: in June, before Roe was overturned, Facebook gave the police 366 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:52,360 Speaker 1: department in Norfolk, Nebraska, access to their private messages that 367 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: Jessica Burgess and her then seventeen year old daughter shared 368 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 1: about how to obtain abortion bills. Burgess ended up getting 369 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,160 Speaker 1: sentenced to two years in prison and her daughter got 370 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,640 Speaker 1: ninety days. The platform that they were using to communicate, 371 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: Facebook Messenger does offer and the ed encryption just like 372 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 1: WhatsApp does, meaning that the chats between the two women 373 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,239 Speaker 1: were only visible to them on their phones and not 374 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:17,240 Speaker 1: readable by Facebook or any government entity that makes a 375 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:21,560 Speaker 1: legal request to the company. But that option is really 376 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: only available to folks who are using Facebook Messenger on 377 00:21:25,359 --> 00:21:27,760 Speaker 1: the app on a mobile device, not like on desktop 378 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:30,560 Speaker 1: or on a laptop or something, and the messages are 379 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: only encrypted after users selects the option to mark those 380 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,920 Speaker 1: chats as secret. So you can see how that's less 381 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:40,159 Speaker 1: secure than WhatsApp that has that as a default setting, 382 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: if you have to go in and click secret on 383 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:46,560 Speaker 1: mobile to get that end to en encryption. And what's 384 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 1: worse is that Facebook just immediately complied by giving these 385 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: chats over to the police, which they really don't have 386 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,200 Speaker 1: to do. Legal experts told The Guardian that Facebook could 387 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: have thought the warrant in court in their other instances 388 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 1: where tech companies have refused to comply with government demands. 389 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:06,040 Speaker 1: Apple refused to comply with federal law enforcement's request to 390 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 1: break into an iPhone involving the San Bernardino shooting back 391 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:12,680 Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen, and Facebook itself successfully refused to comply 392 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 1: with a wire tapping request for messenger calls back in 393 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen. So they don't have to give this information 394 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,199 Speaker 1: over to police, but they do, and they're able to 395 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: have it. 396 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:29,360 Speaker 2: And that's that's the frightening thing. Because we use, all 397 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:34,160 Speaker 2: of us use this stuff in some way or another, 398 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 2: maybe not Facebook Messenger or maybe not what'sapp, but it's 399 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,600 Speaker 2: just a concern with all of these platforms of you 400 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:47,919 Speaker 2: know what, I thought this was a something that was private. Yeah, 401 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 2: I'm going to jail, or it's been turned over. 402 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:52,160 Speaker 4: We can talk about the fact that they have been 403 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,480 Speaker 4: hacked so many What my WhatsApp has been hacked so 404 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,119 Speaker 4: many times. My messenger has been hacked so much. I 405 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,480 Speaker 4: was like, as this, I'm not doing this anymore, and 406 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,920 Speaker 4: I completely refuse to use it except anytime anyone sends 407 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:05,600 Speaker 4: me a message, whether it's my partner or someone. 408 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: You have to download it. 409 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 4: If you're not on the laptop, and even on the laptop, 410 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 4: you can't get it unless you do. You download the 411 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 4: app and get another code, which is like, what you're 412 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:17,040 Speaker 4: making me do this? 413 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,880 Speaker 1: So I actually included all the different instances of WhatsApp 414 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:26,120 Speaker 1: being hacked. There are many, there's a there's many, many 415 00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: and many. At the last minute, I was like, well, 416 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: hacking is different than I again, it's not different than privacy. 417 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: I made a game day decision to be like, let's 418 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,480 Speaker 1: let's exclude hacking from the conversation. But I won't like you, 419 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,680 Speaker 1: what's that been getting hacked? Like it's a real thing. 420 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 4: I mean, if they want to say, be you know, 421 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:46,199 Speaker 4: like it's secure and private and all these things, but 422 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:48,160 Speaker 4: like one goes in hand in hand. How'm I gonna 423 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:50,159 Speaker 4: trust you if every other day I get a message 424 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:52,280 Speaker 4: from this person that's saying, hey, did you send me 425 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,199 Speaker 4: these things? Just because I opened an app? And it 426 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 4: turns out that someone has hacked into my account, Like, obviously, 427 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 4: if you can't even get like the security to keep 428 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 4: my stuff okay, how do you have the ability to 429 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 4: keep it private? 430 00:24:06,359 --> 00:24:09,880 Speaker 1: Exactly? Just and just to be super clear, even if 431 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:13,480 Speaker 1: WhatsApp their encryption means that they cannot hand the content 432 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 1: of your messages over to the police, if the police 433 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,320 Speaker 1: were trying to build a case against you that relied 434 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:22,719 Speaker 1: on location data, like say did you travel to xyz 435 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:25,639 Speaker 1: location to obtain an abortion and you live in a 436 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 1: place where you were not legally permitted to travel across 437 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:30,800 Speaker 1: state lines to do so, or like were you at 438 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:35,119 Speaker 1: xyz protest? WhatsApp has metadata, So even if they can't 439 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:38,600 Speaker 1: give you get the actual messages, they're fine giving metadata, 440 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,800 Speaker 1: which includes things like your location, your contact, who you 441 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,080 Speaker 1: were messaging. They're fine to give that information over and 442 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 1: so and they have that information. And so it's really 443 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,760 Speaker 1: about understanding privacy in a more holistic way that it's 444 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:53,919 Speaker 1: not just about the content of your messages. It's about 445 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,879 Speaker 1: how secure is its platform, Like is it easily hacked? 446 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 1: Is it hackable? Does it have a history of being hacked? 447 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:01,880 Speaker 1: You know, what kind of metadata are they collecting? How 448 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:04,320 Speaker 1: do they use that metadata? It's really about asking all 449 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:07,440 Speaker 1: of these background questions in addition to just like how 450 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,920 Speaker 1: do they keep my content safe? 451 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:15,160 Speaker 2: Right? And on top of that, it's also there are 452 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 2: some things some walls that we have that sort of 453 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 2: allow for them to be like, yeah, we can track you, right. 454 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,439 Speaker 1: Yeah. So I learned this in doing the research for 455 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:31,440 Speaker 1: this episode that thanks to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 456 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,240 Speaker 1: they're basically able to track users without probable cause. In 457 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:38,919 Speaker 1: January twenty twenty two, an unsealed surveillance application revealed that 458 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 1: WhatsApp started tracking seven users from China in November twenty 459 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:46,240 Speaker 1: twenty one, based on a request from USDA investigators. The 460 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:49,000 Speaker 1: app plected data on who the user's contacted and how 461 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:51,480 Speaker 1: often and when and how they were using the app. 462 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:55,679 Speaker 1: And this is reportedly not an isolated thing, as federal 463 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,440 Speaker 1: agencies can use the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to covertly 464 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,879 Speaker 1: track user without submitting any probable cause or linking a 465 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,280 Speaker 1: user's number to their identity. And I should just add 466 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: a sort of global note about this whole thing is 467 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: that WhatsApp has two different platforms, regular WhatsApp and then 468 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: WhatsApp Business that's meant for small businesses to communicate. That 469 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,000 Speaker 1: was rolled out in twenty eighteen. Everything that I've said 470 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:22,080 Speaker 1: so far is really about regular WhatsApp, and that's because 471 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 1: WhatsApp Business platform is actually less private. So yeah, don't 472 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: use that to talk about anything that was going to go. 473 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:34,400 Speaker 3: Well. 474 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:36,119 Speaker 1: I mean, it kind of makes sense because like if 475 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:39,439 Speaker 1: you're if you're a business entity, you're communicating with so 476 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 1: many different people in such a different way. But like 477 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:43,720 Speaker 1: I kind of get where they're coming from there. But 478 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:46,240 Speaker 1: I just wanted to say that in case someone's like, oh, 479 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: I have WhatsApp Business, like, let me use it the 480 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,280 Speaker 1: way that Bridget told me I should be using it. 481 00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 1: Like that's a whole different beast. 482 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:53,840 Speaker 3: Yeah. 483 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 4: I thought that was gonna be an upgrade, noting downgrade. 484 00:26:58,480 --> 00:26:59,719 Speaker 2: It's not business class. 485 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:04,920 Speaker 1: No, it's on a plane. It's like better, but if 486 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:06,680 Speaker 1: it's worse, not this much. 487 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 2: Okay, Okay, well, we have been, you know, focusing on 488 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 2: WhatsApp and surely all of the all of these applications 489 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:35,760 Speaker 2: we could talk about, but you know, what'sapp in particular, 490 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 2: how's it doing with privacy? When it comes to privacy. 491 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,920 Speaker 1: So, as I said, ultimately what's app, I would say 492 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 1: it is like pretty private, like good for privacy. Here's 493 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:53,480 Speaker 1: how Mozilla's privacy experts put it from a technical perspective. No, 494 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,439 Speaker 1: WhatsApp itself is not really bad for privacy. WhatsApp use 495 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,320 Speaker 1: this strong end to end encryption for all texts, chats, 496 00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:03,640 Speaker 1: and video calls. This is great. WhatsApp cannot read your 497 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,440 Speaker 1: messages or see your call. The flip side of this 498 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,960 Speaker 1: is Facebook, a company infamous for its vast and questionably 499 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,680 Speaker 1: ethical collection of so much data, owns WhatsApp. This means 500 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:17,760 Speaker 1: that lots of metadata things like purchase history, location, device 501 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:20,880 Speaker 1: idea and more, can be captured and shared with businesses 502 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:25,000 Speaker 1: advertising on WhatsApp. So people looking for a true privacy 503 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: centered messaging app can find much better options. 504 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,159 Speaker 2: Yes, and speaking of. 505 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: Peeing me up beautifully to talk about one of my 506 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 1: favorite apps, and that is Signal. I am such a 507 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:42,600 Speaker 1: signal fangirl. I have been a fangirl of Signal for 508 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:45,000 Speaker 1: a very long time. I remember the very first time 509 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:49,160 Speaker 1: I encountered Signal, I was like trying to date somebody, 510 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 1: and this person eventually became a very good friend of mine, 511 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 1: but initially I was like, Oh, what's this platform? And 512 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,400 Speaker 1: I was telling a friend like, oh, I met this 513 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,320 Speaker 1: this person and they didn't give me their number, and 514 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:02,800 Speaker 1: they were like, here's my signal. And my friend I 515 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:05,840 Speaker 1: was telling this too, was like, are they an eco terrorist? 516 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,959 Speaker 1: Because back then the only person who you would have 517 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: Signal on their phone was an eco terrorist. Like that 518 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: is how long I've been with Signal. But Signal is amazing. 519 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: It is free. Everyone listening should download Signal right now. 520 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 1: And it is run by an incredible nonprofit that is 521 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 1: helmed by this woman, Meredith Whittaker, who is this bad 522 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 1: woman in technology who does a lot of interesting writing 523 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 1: on surveillance. I genuinely, like deeply, deeply admire her. If 524 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:34,520 Speaker 1: you ever want to be really challenged in a good way, 525 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:37,959 Speaker 1: like watch up videos of her lectures. She's just a 526 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: fascinating human being. And so Signal is generally considered to 527 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 1: be more secure in privates than WhatsApp due to its 528 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 1: just general commitment to user privacy as a nonprofit and 529 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: its open source nature. While WhatsApp uses end to end encryption, 530 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 1: Signal goes further by not collecting any user metadata and 531 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:01,160 Speaker 1: being backed by this nonprofit organization, which really does minimize 532 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:03,680 Speaker 1: the potential for that kind of data exploitation, right. And so, 533 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:08,880 Speaker 1: whereas they're both using end to end encryption, WhatsApp does 534 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:12,840 Speaker 1: collect and share metadata, Signal does not. They don't collect 535 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:16,960 Speaker 1: any of that. So that is definitely the better platform 536 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,600 Speaker 1: if you're talking about anything at all sensitive And honestly, 537 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:23,600 Speaker 1: it's just a platform that I use, like as like, 538 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:26,280 Speaker 1: most of my conversations are happening on Signal. 539 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,080 Speaker 4: I'm gonna start this joke here, unless you're dumb enough 540 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:33,720 Speaker 4: to send messages to the people you're not supposed to 541 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:37,120 Speaker 4: be sending, like, you know, to information to journalists. 542 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: If you're just seeing Pete headsaff, we're talking about you. 543 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 1: You know what makes me mad about that is that 544 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 1: that was the probably for a lot of Americans, that 545 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:50,480 Speaker 1: was probably the first time they had ever heard about Signal, 546 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: and Signal is so awesome, it's so great, they have 547 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:57,240 Speaker 1: such a great like mission, and it made me sad 548 00:30:57,360 --> 00:30:59,960 Speaker 1: that the first encounter that a lot of people were 549 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 1: having was with Pete Hegsath like completely misusing it, and 550 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,680 Speaker 1: even in some of the reporting about that, they were 551 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: sort of trying to make it signals like like oh like, 552 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:14,760 Speaker 1: oh like, what is this shadowy app that they were 553 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: using and how could this happen? And it's like, no, 554 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:18,880 Speaker 1: Signal didn't do anything wrong. 555 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 4: It was user error, right, Honestly, I was really shocked 556 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:26,200 Speaker 4: that they use such a public like platform that is free. 557 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:29,160 Speaker 4: I'm like, you're a government, don't you have your own 558 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:34,000 Speaker 4: kind of like chat applications that you used within your 559 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,720 Speaker 4: own people Like I don't this. There's a lot I 560 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:38,480 Speaker 4: have questions about In this moment, I. 561 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,120 Speaker 1: Can answer that question for you. The answer is absolutely, 562 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 1: the United States government has spends lots and lots and 563 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 1: lots of money to develop and use super secure messaging apparatus. Yeah, 564 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,000 Speaker 1: Signal is not the use case for this. If you're 565 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:56,080 Speaker 1: if you're talking about like secret military plans, I do 566 00:31:56,040 --> 00:32:00,200 Speaker 1: do love Like I read the different conversations that were happening. 567 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:02,160 Speaker 1: I can't remember who it was. It might have been 568 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:04,479 Speaker 1: jad Vance. Don't quote me on that. Who is like 569 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:09,440 Speaker 1: only responding in thumbs up emojis. It's one of them 570 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: that it's like, just stick a thumbs up there and 571 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 1: they'll get the gist. Like I don't want to be 572 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,560 Speaker 1: in print on this one, which looking back was probably 573 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:20,000 Speaker 1: a smart idea. Yeah. 574 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:22,680 Speaker 4: The little level of like comedy here is just like 575 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:26,160 Speaker 4: what is going on, but it feels right. It feels 576 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:29,280 Speaker 4: about right, the disaster and doom and like a comedic 577 00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 4: form like yeah, okay, that's where we are. 578 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,560 Speaker 1: Sometimes you gotta laugh to keep from crying. Am I right? 579 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:39,320 Speaker 2: It's true. I have to admit to you all. I 580 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,440 Speaker 2: wrote in a fan fiction lately. I had a plot 581 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:46,720 Speaker 2: point about this whole thing, because yes, because I'm trying 582 00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:50,120 Speaker 2: to figure out how to make something that was incredibly 583 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:53,120 Speaker 2: stupid happen in the government. And I was like, well, 584 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:56,280 Speaker 2: it already happened, so I can point to real life 585 00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,800 Speaker 2: evidence and be like, you know what I would have 586 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:04,600 Speaker 2: it was too too stupid. Oh, but it did happen. 587 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:06,000 Speaker 2: So I just wrote it in and it kind of 588 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,880 Speaker 2: saved me a whole headache of figuring out that next. 589 00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:11,480 Speaker 4: I think it's true, like all of the things that 590 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:14,400 Speaker 4: they have predicted, this level of stupidity, it's no longer 591 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:18,160 Speaker 4: funny because it's like right on, yeah, like this should not. 592 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:18,840 Speaker 3: Be this real. 593 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,520 Speaker 1: You know, stuff is bad when like if you were 594 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:25,200 Speaker 1: writing a fictional work about it and you were be like, oh, 595 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:28,840 Speaker 1: that's too on the nose, nobody's going to buy that 596 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:31,720 Speaker 1: from the headlines, you're good. 597 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:34,520 Speaker 4: Well. 598 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:36,600 Speaker 1: You know one thing. 599 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:41,280 Speaker 2: That has one of the reasons I really wanted to 600 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:44,120 Speaker 2: talk about this bridge it is that. 601 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:44,960 Speaker 1: I was so. 602 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:48,960 Speaker 2: When I saw that commercial. 603 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:50,520 Speaker 1: I was so. 604 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,719 Speaker 2: Worried about people believing it, Like you know, like I 605 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:59,479 Speaker 2: was really concerned that people would be like, oh, this 606 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:03,880 Speaker 2: is a this is a secure interface that I can 607 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:09,839 Speaker 2: use and getting in trouble or having this really terrible experience. 608 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:14,880 Speaker 2: And I do know what you were talking about earlier 609 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:16,680 Speaker 2: that a lot of people do have that sort of 610 00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:20,719 Speaker 2: burnout of like, you know what, they already know, they 611 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:27,520 Speaker 2: already have it, what's even worth trying? But it really 612 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:33,160 Speaker 2: it really worried me when I saw it, and I 613 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:41,160 Speaker 2: think given the environment we live in now, that it 614 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:43,840 Speaker 2: is something that we need to talk about and be 615 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:45,319 Speaker 2: aware of and be educated on. 616 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:52,000 Speaker 1: Absolutely, I'm glad that you're bringing it to the Seminty 617 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:55,560 Speaker 1: listeners because it is important and it can always be 618 00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:59,400 Speaker 1: really hard to tell marketing from reality, especially with this 619 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:02,480 Speaker 1: because it is little bit murky. But I guess I 620 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:06,160 Speaker 1: would just offer, like, the reality is is that we're 621 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:08,239 Speaker 1: in a world where our rights are being rolled back, 622 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:12,480 Speaker 1: where protest is criminalized, healthcare is criminalized. In a world 623 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:17,000 Speaker 1: like that, privacy and security it's not just a tech issue. 624 00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 1: It is a survival issue, and we have to protect 625 00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:23,080 Speaker 1: our data and our conversations the way that we also 626 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:26,680 Speaker 1: protect each other. I know that someone listening out there 627 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:29,399 Speaker 1: is like, Bridget you sound paranoid. It is not about 628 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:33,239 Speaker 1: being paranoid. It's about being prepared and being cognizant of 629 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 1: like the reality that we are in today. And so 630 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 1: if using signal over WhatsApp and getting into the habit 631 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:44,200 Speaker 1: of doing that, if that could potentially save somebody listening 632 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:48,560 Speaker 1: a whole lot of stress, I want to offer that, like, 633 00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:52,160 Speaker 1: there are small, meaningful changes that we can make to 634 00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:55,600 Speaker 1: keep things more secure and private that don't cost us 635 00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:57,560 Speaker 1: anything that we should be doing. And I honestly think, 636 00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:00,640 Speaker 1: like if you are someone who is I don't even 637 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,360 Speaker 1: know how to put this, Like I am like prepper 638 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:05,680 Speaker 1: minded a little bit right, Like I'm like, oh, the 639 00:36:05,719 --> 00:36:08,560 Speaker 1: vibes are bad, the vibes are weird. Like, better get prepared. 640 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:12,759 Speaker 1: I think right now the big thing we should be 641 00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:16,640 Speaker 1: preparing for is cyber security, and like like like, I 642 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:18,960 Speaker 1: think that it's probably more likely that we are going 643 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:22,799 Speaker 1: to see digital attacks and cyber attacks, probably more so 644 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:24,560 Speaker 1: than other kinds of things you could be prepping for. 645 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:28,000 Speaker 1: And so preparing and getting yourself situated for those kinds 646 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,839 Speaker 1: of attacks is easy and free. It doesn't take a lot, 647 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:33,520 Speaker 1: And so I would say, if you're feeling unnerved and 648 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:36,520 Speaker 1: uncertain in these times, start there, like that is something 649 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:38,680 Speaker 1: that you can manage. It does not take a lot 650 00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:40,840 Speaker 1: to get yourself in a good protected place. 651 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:44,520 Speaker 2: Yes, and you over on your podcast There Are No 652 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,759 Speaker 2: Girls on the Internet and other episodes on spinty, You've 653 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:49,799 Speaker 2: done a lot of a lot of episodes about that, 654 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:52,319 Speaker 2: about how that can look and what you can do. 655 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,280 Speaker 2: So thank you as. 656 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:58,840 Speaker 1: Always, Oh my gosh, thanks for having me, my pleasure. 657 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:01,800 Speaker 1: And if you want more conversations about tech and privacy, 658 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:05,480 Speaker 1: check out the newest season of Mozilla's IRL podcast all 659 00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:06,760 Speaker 1: about those very topics. 660 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:11,839 Speaker 2: Yes, yes, and thank you. We always love having you on. 661 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:17,480 Speaker 2: Thank you for taking this topic. Suggestion but yes, where 662 00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:19,200 Speaker 2: can the good listeners find you? 663 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:21,880 Speaker 1: You can find me at the IRL podcast, on my 664 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:24,719 Speaker 1: podcast or girls on the Internet and on Instagram at 665 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:25,680 Speaker 1: Bridget Marie in DC. 666 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:31,280 Speaker 2: Yes, well, looking forward to next time Bridget. In the meantime, 667 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:33,120 Speaker 2: if you would like to contact us listeners, you can. 668 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:35,600 Speaker 2: You can email us at hello at Stuffomenevertold You dot com. 669 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:37,520 Speaker 2: You can find us on blue Sky, it Moms a podcast, 670 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:39,440 Speaker 2: or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I Never Told 671 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:40,960 Speaker 2: You for us on YouTube, and we have a book 672 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:42,920 Speaker 2: you can get wherever you get your books. Thanks as 673 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,759 Speaker 2: always too our super producer Christina, Executive Duer, my anti 674 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:48,360 Speaker 2: contributor Joey, Thank you and thanks to you for listening 675 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:50,200 Speaker 2: Stuff I Never Told You in spection of my Heart Radio. 676 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:51,799 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, you can check 677 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:53,640 Speaker 2: out the heart Radio app Apple Podcasts, or if you 678 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:55,120 Speaker 2: listen to your favorite shows,