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Briar keeps Iran connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when the internet goes dark

briarproject.org

211–220 of 390 posts

Re: Briar keeps Iran connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when the internet goes dark

#211
post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given the recent threats from Cloudflare against Italy and siding with Vance, Musk and co., this is definitely not a far-fetched reality. Big Tech has demonstrated which side they are going with.

Not really, you are framing this issue and dropping key words to make it political, are you a bot farming for engagement, please stop.

There were strong signals from the CF CEO that they align with the Trump administration.

They threatened to pull the plug on all Italian customers.

This is relevant to this conversation: CF recently acted in a way that makes some people think it might cut its services to people for political reasons.

I don't find your comment particularly well articulated or continaing anything besides name calling (the "bot farming"). Can you articulate your opinion on the matter?

Re: Briar keeps Iran connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when the internet goes dark

#212

Take heed, Americaneez -- and prepare, because this may be in your future sooner than prediction markets would have you believe [1]. LoRa mesh networking seems like the runner-up, but vague reports indicate (Meshtastic) doesn't handle crowds well. I think Bitchat can use Meshtastic, so a LoRa radio paired with a phone could be a base for not just texting individuals, but community messaging. 1: https://polymarket.com…

Is market manipulation or insider trading even regulated on polymarket?

There is no insider trading on a bet, it's kind of the point.

Would you bet a large amount of money without some insider information?

Re: Briar keeps Iran connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when the internet goes dark

#213

This should be a lesson for all of us. We should start building and maintaining lightweight mesh networks, just in case. We shouldn't take the world of cooperating ISPs and Meta and Cloudflare and Google and AWS for granted.

How is Ukraine doing this? I suppose Starlink isn't available to everyone.

Ukraine is being assisted by NATO and commercial corporations based in US and Europe, that would not be a DIY start-from-nearly-nothing example which would be relevant to popular protest movements.

Re: Briar keeps Iran connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when the internet goes dark

#214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reminds me the way the software was distributed in eastern countries when there was no internet. People went to market to meet other people, and they were peddling/colporting (look up the term in French) cassettes with the software. The same can happen now - people would walk down the streets to certain places, to become hubs of information, but with no physical contact. Of course those places would be were the…

To save others the search: Colportage is the distribution of publications, books, and religious tracts by carriers called "colporteurs" or "colporters"

"Colporter" is not an especially fancy word, it just means "to peddle" in English.

Re: Briar keeps Iran connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when the internet goes dark

#215
post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When did CF do this?

A week ago. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/01/cloudflare-may-p...

How much of internet can Cloudflare turn off in italy? They picked a fight with the cloud gorilla.

Re: Briar keeps Iran connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when the internet goes dark

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reminds me the way the software was distributed in eastern countries when there was no internet. People went to market to meet other people, and they were peddling/colporting (look up the term in French) cassettes with the software. The same can happen now - people would walk down the streets to certain places, to become hubs of information, but with no physical contact. Of course those places would be were the…

> look up the term in French Wasn't that also called SneakerNet, back in the time? We used it in western Europe as well (both term and distribution method)

Also, amusingly, France is most definitively in Western Europe, so I’m a bit confused about GP’s link between Eastern Europe and “go look up this French word”.

Re: Briar keeps Iran connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when the internet goes dark

#219
post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any source for this?

> Any source for this? Ever heard about Chat Control and CSAM?

Chat Control and CSAM will not ban E2E messengers

Mandatory client-side scanning of encrypted messages has been removed from the proposal following opposition from the European Parliament and several member states, preserving E2EE integrity

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/12/after-years-controvers...

Re: Briar keeps Iran connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when the internet goes dark

#220

This should be a lesson for all of us. We should start building and maintaining lightweight mesh networks, just in case. We shouldn't take the world of cooperating ISPs and Meta and Cloudflare and Google and AWS for granted.

Except people also forget the part state police, and collaborators, play on running such meshes.

It isn't without peril for the admins and users.

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