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FSM May 21 - Staying connected with Free Software - Jami and Signal
by PuZZleDucK 10 May '20

10 May '20

The COVID-19 pandemic as upended the lives of billions of people around the world. To prevent transmission of the virus, we have been asked to stay at home, practice social distancing and avoid crowds. As such, 100’s of millions of people have started using chat and conferencing software to see friends, family and conduct business. Unfortunately, many of the popular options in this space are proprietary and most users are unaware of the privacy and security issues that proprietary software brings into our lives. However Free and Open Source software has us covered with many options for communications software. As a part of this year's theme of de-FAANG (removal of predatory big tech companies from your life), we are exploring the world of online communications and presenting Free/Libre and Open Source solutions to keeping in touch and connecting with people. Instead of using proprietary messaging apps on our mobile and PC’s such as WhatsApp, Line and Viber. We will take a look at two great freedom respecting messaging apps, Jami ( https://jami.net) and Signal (https://signal.org/) and how we can use these to keep connected through the crisis. Never has the need for robust, auditable and trusted communication software been more important. Not only for our privacy, but also for the privacy and security of your friends and loved ones. The recent media coverage of privacy and security concerns in conferencing and communications software demonstrates why we need to be able to trust our software with our personal and confidential communications. We’ll be meeting virtually via Jitsi (a freedom respecting video conferencing app we've discussed before) at 6:30pm on Thursday the 21st of May. Details: Thursday 21st May, 6:30-8:00pm Jitsi Meet Room: https://jitsi.puzzleduck.org/FSM Meeting Tips: Please mute your mic when joining and headsets are recommended to reduce feedback.

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FSM Apr 16th — Staying connected with Free Software — Signal and Jitsi
by Michael Verrenkamp 17 Apr '20

17 Apr '20

FSM Apr 16th —Staying connected with Free Software —Signal and Jitsi As COVID-19 has most of us held up in our homes, social distancing and avoiding crowds —never has the need for Free and Open communications with each other been more important. As much as folks may want to rush out and grab a proprietary solution to talk to friends and family. Stop! Don't do it! Not only for the privacy of yourself but for your friends and loved ones. The recent media coverage ofprivacy and security concerns is demonstrating why we need trusted and secure software forour personal and confidential communications. As a part of this year's theme of de-FAANG (removal ofpredatorybig tech companies from your life), we are exploring the world of online communications and presentingsome Free/Libre and Open Source solutions to keeping in touch. Again we'll be meeting via an online video web chat called Jitsi. We will demonstrate some neat alternatives to allow you to communicate with others and respect everyone's freedoms. From text messaging on your phone that is encrypted end-to-end, through to voice and video chat that can allow that ear-to-ear and face-to-face connection that we sometimes need,Free Software has you covered. Event starts at 6:30pm on Thursday 16th April 2020. Details: Thursday 16th April, 6:30-8:00pm Jitsi Meet Room: https://jitsi.puzzleduck.org/FSM Meeting Tips: Mute your mic when joining or not talking

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Proprietary MyGovID app to be the only way to login to ATO Business Portal
by Ben Sturmfels 16 Apr '20

16 Apr '20

Hi Folks, I've just sent a letter to the Commissioner of Taxation about the rollout of MyGovID as the only way to log in to the ATO Business Portal. This is attached in case there are any business owners who I can encourage to also speak out. Essentially the ATO is switching off the nice email/password/SMS-code MyGov login method I use to access the Business Portal to manage tax/GST/PAYG/super. The are replacing this with login via a proprietary mobile app called, confusingly, MyGovID. I'm late to the party, with the changeover due in only a few days time, but better late than not heard at all. I've sent this to the ATO by post and via their complaints form: https://www.ato.gov.au/About-ATO/Contact-us/Complaints,-compliments-and-sug… I've also contacted our Federal MP about the issue. Stay safe! Ben

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Re: [free-software-melb] Proprietary MyGovID app to be the only way to login to ATO Business Portal
by abstractmonkey＠tutanota.com 30 Mar '20

30 Mar '20

I sent an email to DigitalIdentity(a)ato.gov.au , listed at: https://www.mygovid.gov.au/mygovid-terms-of-use-user and CCed relevant ministers from "both sides" of politics: - Claire O'Neil MP (Shadow Minister for Innovation, Technology and the Future of Work): clare.oneil.mp(a)aph.gov.au - Karen Andrews MP (Minister for Industry, Science and Technology): karen.andrews.mp(a)aph.gov.au Issues: - myGovID should not require a recent smartphone - myGovID should not require an Apple or Google account - myGovID should be free software Recommendations: - Make myGovID binaries available for desktop operating systems. - Make myGovID binaries available as a website download and F-Droid (and equivalents). - Make the checksum or cryptographic signature of each myGovID binary available. - Release myGovID as free software. - Make the build of myGovID reproducible: https://reproducible-builds.org/ However, there's potentially a more serious problem with myGovID. I was alerted that myGovID is a backdoor for the "Australia Card". The government has tried to introduce a national ID card system a few times in the past. I see the government has already made most (if not all) their services use myGovID, and maybe its use may become mandated just like what has happened to ATO business portal. Following that, I guess it might spread to banking and other private-sector services. https://privacy.org.au/campaigns/id-cards/ https://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Privacy/accesscard.html For this privacy concern, I was advised to CC the human rights commissioner (https://tech.humanrights.gov.au/) <https://tech.humanrights.gov.au/>. That's Edward Santow, but I can't find his email address, and CCing tech(a)humanrights.gov.au may suffice. Koji

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Ban Facial Recognition Technology in Australia --- petition to the Australian federal parliament
by abstractmonkey＠tutanota.com 28 Mar '20

28 Mar '20

Hey All, There's an online petition to the Australian federal parliament calling for a ban on facial recognition technology. There's only a few days left to sign the petition: Petition EN1352 - Ban Facial Recognition Technology in Australia https://www.aph.gov.au/petition_list?id=EN1352 If you are concerned about facial recognition technology being rolled out in Australia, please do the following by 01 April 2020 (if you haven't done so already): - Sign the online petition. - Tell your family, friends and colleagues about the petition. Thanks!

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FSM Mar 19 - COVID-19 Update - In person meetups suspended
by PuZZleDucK 17 Mar '20

17 Mar '20

Hi Folks, Due to the current Corona virus pandemic we are joining all the other Melbourne meetups in suspending in person meetups until further notice. Due to this we will be delaying the start of the deFANNG campaign. We'd still love to catch up and talk all things Free Software so we're converting this meetup into a virtual meetup on Jitsi Meet: https://meet.jit.si/FSM where we'll try out some FLOSS video conferencing. Updated Details: Thursday 19th March, 6:30-8:00pm Jitsi Meet Room: https://meet.jit.si/FSM Meeting Tips: Mute your mic when not talking and have a tasty beverage at hand

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Free Software Melbourne meeting, 19 March 2020: How to unfriend Facebook
by Les Kitchen 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

Dear Free-Software Friends and Family, The "Big Tech" companies, such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google (FAANG) are familiar brands with worldwide reach in all corners of people’s affairs, from communicating with family, purchasing household goods and reading the news. In recent years, the major negative effects on society have become apparent from the underlying business model of these multinationals, namely targeted advertising — where the more FAANG knows about you, your social connections and preferences, the more valuable you are to them. For example, period tracking apps for the Android OS and iOS share intimate information with Facebook that helps advertisers target women: https://www.privacyinternational.org/long-read/3196/no-bodys-business-mine-… As part of a year-long series on how to De-FAANG your life, we are proud to present the first in the series: How to Unfriend Facebook (True friends don't spy on you!) This talk will cover the negative impacts on people and society by Facebook's walled garden "social"-platform and related proprietary technologies. We will then present a practical and easy-to-follow guide on how to use Free Software to help you leave a bad friend and unfriend Facebook for good! We look forward to seeing you there! — The FSM team. Details: Thursday 19th March, 6:30-8:00pm (door open 6:00pm) Electron Workshop: 31 Arden St, North Melbourne, Victoria, 3051 Map: http://osm.org/go/uG4HWyqEz?m=&node=2556615434 Travel Tips: http://www.electronworkshop.com.au/map/

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Digital Rights Watch campaign addressing facial recognition technologies
by PuZZleDucK 22 Feb '20

22 Feb '20

Hi everyone, Someone got in touch to let me know about a crowdfunding campaign by Digital Rights Watch about automated surveillance using facial recognition technologies. It also mentions a global declaration to protect, promote and monitor residents’ and visitors’ digital rights. I've included the core of the message below for your consideration. ~~ Ben --- I'm deeply concerned about the spread of mass surveillance by facial recognition technology (facial recognition surveillance) in Australia and around the world. I hope to raise awareness and encourage action to put a stop on such mass surveillance. Most notably perhaps, facial recognition surveillance is being routinely and overtly used in China for societal control, but we need no longer look abroad to find its use. In Australia it is already being rolled out in several cities including Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne and Perth; at schools, sports stadiums and other public places. Concerns about facial recognition surveillance include: - It automatically and arbitrarily identifies and tracks innocent people. - It enables conformity, societal control and relentless crackdowns. - It is a serious threat to our dignity, privacy, freedoms and democracy. - It is often being used without our knowledge, or its use is kept secret. - It is being rolled out undemocratically and used without our consent. - It has great potential to be ubiquitous or practically unavoidable. - It exposes people's sensitive data to risks of being hacked or stolen. - It is inaccurate, particularly for women, children and people of colour. - It has no oversight and lacks a legal framework. - It may be abused for nefarious purposes other than its stated purposes. We can still stop this! Some US cities starting with San Francisco have already banned facial recognition, and the European Union is considering a moratorium of up to 5 years. However, it's up to us to build a movement in Australia to stop facial recognition surveillance. Digital Rights Watch is calling for donations to fund a campaign to build a movement in Australia. Any money that you can put towards this campaign would be highly appreciated. If you wish to donate, relevant links are right below: Digital Rights Watch campaign information: https://digitalrightswatch.org.au/stop-the-surveillance/ fundraising: https://chuffed.org/project/stop-facial-recognition Also, I encourage everyone to please take whatever action you can: - Tell people around you about this issue and your concerns. - Demand your parliamentarians, councillors and ministers to ban it. - Social media: #BanFacialRecognition #FacialRecognition #Surveillance - Anything else you can come up with: gatherings, petitions, writings, ... More about this issue: (US) https://www.banfacialrecognition.com/ ---

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FSM Feb 20th - Favourite Free Android Games Night and DEFANG Preparations
by Les Kitchen 11 Feb '20

11 Feb '20

Title: FSM Feb 20th - Favourite Free Android Games Night and DEFANG Preparations Hey freedom lovers, Almost all of us are guilty of playing games on our phones at some time (even if it was just snake), so this month at Free Software Melbourne we're going to be talking about the state of mobile gaming in free software. Over the past few years there have been some amazing advances in the quality of free software games available and there is even a new open source app store where you can get your games which we'll take a look at. We will also have a talk about preparations for a DEFANG campaign. What is DEFANG you ask? It is the act of extracting oneself from the massive influence and surveillance of large corporate entities like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google.What can we do about it as a group? What alternatives can we suggest for people? With who and should we be talking? and How can we best frame the message? So come along to discuss DEFANGing and mobile games. After the meeting we will continue our discussions over dinner in North Melbourne a short walk away and all are welcome to join us. Thanks to Electron Workshop for hosting FreeSoftware Melbourne. Details Thursday 20th Febuary, 6:30-8:00pm Electron Workshop: 31 Arden St, North Melbourne, Victoria, 3051 Map: http://osm.org/go/uG4HWyqEz?m=&node=2556615434 Travel Tips: http://www.electronworkshop.com.au/map/

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Inclusion Policy update proposal and FSM for 2020
by PuZZleDucK 27 Jan '20

27 Jan '20

Hey Folks, Although many people might consider the topic of Inclusion Policies to be a bit dry, I found this months meetup interesting and learned something from most of the examples we looked at. In particular I would recommend checking out the Atlassian playbook and the concepts of team health as a foundation on which values like inclusivity and diversity can be built ( https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/health-monitor) As always the presentation slides are available online if you want to check out any of the resources: https://free-software-melbourne.github.io/Inclusivity-2020-January/ For our own short to mid term needs I have proposed updating our Code of Conduct to better line up with the Linux Conf Au and Linux Users of Victoria policies. I see this as having the immediate benefit of updating and modernising our language and guidelines. I also think it will better harmonise our policies with the groups we are likely to run events with like Software Freedom Day. I also think it would be a good idea to provide specialist contact details in the form of BeyondBlue and/or HeadSpace for people with serious concerns or ongoing issues. Please provide any feedback to the mailing list (or myself at puzzleduck(a)gmail.com) over the next week and after any feedback or revisions we'll update the Free Software website with the new policies. The other major topic of discussion was getting involved with other groups and promoting the group to a broader audience. In particular we should start using libre platforms like LibrePlanet, Mastodon and Diaspora to get our message out there. Also this year we will make an effort to get involved in community events like Melbourne Knowledge Week and we will also propose a session for Linux Conf Au discussing FLOSS licencing. ~~ Ben

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