The Calyx Institute

08/21/2026

The LAPD recently ended its three-year partnership with Flock over privacy concerns. "Just knowing that there's cameras watching your every move -- I mean, even if I'm out walking my dog or anything, I think it's just a privacy issue," said Burbank resident Kimberly Forbes.

Flock bills itself as a public safety technology company, using license plate reading cameras to help law enforcement investigate crimes and locate missing people. But critics see something else.

08/20/2026

New to the digital rights and internet freedom world? Want to learn more and join the movement? Let's explore this amazing global community space organized by Team CommUNITY! This month's Sepal Fund Grantee Spotlight focuses on Team CommUNITY's work and their theory of change to grow communities of activists, journalists, and rights defenders with great care.
https://calyx.org/news/2026/sepal-fund-grantee-spotlight-team-community

08/19/2026

The Indian home ministry directed Github, a developer platform, to remove repositories hosting Bitchat, a Bluetooth-based messaging app developed by X founder Jack Dorsey.“The government of India does not like technologies like bitchat and wants it taken down,” Dorsey wrote in a post on X, attaching screenshots of the communication received from the ministry’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).

Bitchat is a Bluetooth mesh messaging app that can function in situations where access to mobile internet and cellular service is restricted.

08/17/2026

The OpenAI agent that broke into tech firm Hugging Face went on a days-long hacking spree that OpenAI didn't notice until well after the threat was contained and the FBI was alerted, according to people familiar with the investigation.

OpenAI noticed after the threat was contained and the FBI was alerted, people familiar with the investigation say.

08/14/2026

Every new car and van sold across the European Union will watch its driver from July 7, when an infrared camera aimed at the person behind the wheel becomes a legal condition of sale.

Surveillance just became a factory-fitted option you can't decline.

08/12/2026

A Florida man is staging a protest against the surveillance of Flock cameras in his neighborhood by holding a sign in front of one of the cameras reading: “DOWN WITH FLOCK CAMERAS.”

Carl Gunn in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 25, 2026. Photo by Valerie Smith. Carl Gunn, 77, was concerned for his privacy when he spotted a camera

08/10/2026

We love our members, and we love it when our members

08/07/2026

The Calyx Membership program helps with everyone's connectivity and privacy needs. Want to know more about how? Talk to us in person at ! https://defcon.org/html/defcon-34/dc-34-vendors.html

Plus, become a member today with the code , get one extra month for your first year of membership!

08/07/2026

Police departments across the country are lining up to launch drone-as-first-responder (DFR) programs, and hundreds have cleared a necessary hurdle toward making deployment a reality, expanding aerial surveillance and data collection even in areas patrol officers typically can't reach.

Police departments across the country are lining up to launch drone-as-first-responder (DFR) programs, and hundreds have cleared a necessary hurdle toward making deployment a reality, expanding aerial surveillance and data collection even in areas patrol officers typically can't reach.As of...

08/06/2026

Are you coming to tomorrow? We are in the Vendor Area waiting to show you phones running the latest version of the privacy-respecting CalyxOS and all our membership options.