TLGs take on the week’s biggest national and global stories.
‘I could tell you my adventures—beginning from this morning,’ said Alice a little timidly: ‘but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.’ – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll.
Israel to proceed with full military occupation of Gaza
Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City, prompting widespread international condemnation and warnings of severe humanitarian consequences. The move, announced on Friday a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intended to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip, was expected to deepen the enclave’s humanitarian crisis and trigger further mass displacement amid widespread hunger.
European leaders and many foreign ministers condemned the decision. European Council president António Costa said it must have consequences for EU-Israel relations; European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen urged reconsideration. A joint statement from Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the UK warned the plan risked violating international humanitarian law and endangering hostages.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany would suspend military exports to Israel until further notice. France, China, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Pakistan issued sharp condemnations or cautioned against escalation. Domestically, opposition leader Yair Lapid called the move disastrous, while Defence Minister Israel Katz insisted international criticism would not weaken Israel’s resolve. Amnesty International described the plan as “utterly outrageous”, warning it would precipitate further mass atrocities.
Court of Appeal says anti-fluoride action is ‘special private interest’
The New Zealand Court of Appeal delivered a significant setback to public health advocacy by ruling that NZDSOS and Fluoride Action Network (NZ) did not represent the public interest in challenging mass water fluoridation without informed consent. The three-judge panel dismissed their appeal regarding Crown costs, describing their efforts to protect children from neurotoxic fluoride as “special private interests” rather than actions serving the public good.
Advocates warned that the decision set a troubling precedent, effectively placing constitutional rights beyond the scope of public-interest litigation. They noted that a judge and lawyer involved in a related fluoridation case had remarked that upholding the Bill of Rights Act is considered “tedious” by government officials—highlighting an alarming attitude toward fundamental rights.
Despite mounting international research linking fluoride exposure to adverse neuro-developmental outcomes in children, the court upheld that challenging such mass medication did not constitute the public interest. NZDSOS condemned the ruling as indicative of a broader dismissal of citizens’ rights to question state-imposed health measures.
“The courts have acknowledged that fluoridation constitutes mass medication and triggers Bill of Rights protections. Yet they ruled there’s no public interest in challenging this forced medical intervention…If we can secure a strong legal declaration stopping mass medication without consent, the entire Covid jab house of cards collapses. They know this – we posit that’s why they’re fighting so desperately to retain water fluoridation,” NZDSOS stated on their website.
New Biometrics Code for New Zealand
The Government has introduced new privacy rules governing businesses and organisations that handle biometric data, with the Biometric Processing Privacy Code now law under the Privacy Act. The Code takes effect on November 3, with compliance required by August 3, 2026.
The rules apply to all organisations – including companies, government agencies and NGOs – that collect biometric information for processing. They must assess whether using biometrics is necessary and proportionate, adopt safeguards to reduce privacy risks, and inform people when such systems are in use. The Code places special emphasis on protecting children’s biometric data.
Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster says the framework balances innovation with safety. The law limits intrusive uses such as emotion prediction or inferring sensitive traits, but unlike the EU’s AI Act, does not ban real-time biometric identification or untargeted scraping of images and CCTV footage.
The move follows public concern over retail and police biometric use, including a Foodstuffs trial scanning 225.9 million faces. While deemed compliant under existing law, Webster warns some systems will need reassessment.
The Code includes exemptions for health and intelligence agencies in certain situations. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner will enforce the rules and investigate complaints.
Police yet to delete unlawfully gathered photos
Four years after being ordered to delete tens of thousands of unlawfully collected photographs, New Zealand Police admitted it had again missed its extended deadline.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority and Office of the Privacy Commissioner began investigating the practice in 2021, after finding police had routinely photographed young people, including Māori, and stored duplicate fingerprints and images longer than legally allowed. The agencies ruled the practice breached privacy laws and ordered the deletion of all non-compliant material.
The deadline, extended to June 30, was missed after police told the Privacy Commissioner in March that no “viable manual or technology solution” existed to complete the task. The force was also required to block access to the unlawful images but acknowledged there was no way to reliably control or restrict viewing. Many of the photos were scattered across multiple systems and work phones, often unlabeled and without metadata.
Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster said his office was considering next steps, warning the police had not fully complied with the deletion notice.
Police said they were working on the M365 Workspace Initiative to improve information management. The admission came as New Zealand introduced a new Biometric Processing Privacy Code, effective November 3, with stricter protections for children’s data.
According to the new Biometric Processing Privacy Code, special attention must be given in circumstances in which biometric information is being collected from children.
UK Police used passport database for hundreds of facial recognition searches
Police conducted hundreds of facial recognition searches on Britain’s passport photo database in what The Telegraph revealed as an “historic breach of the right to privacy.”
Campaigners reported a sharp rise in police requests to access passport and immigration photos for identifying suspects, despite growing civil liberties concerns. Dozens of police forces used retrospective facial recognition technology to match suspects from CCTV or doorbell cameras without leaving their desks.
Traditionally, searches were limited to police mugshot databases, but increasingly officers accessed the Home Office’s repository of over 50 million passport photos. Passport holders were never informed when their images were searched, raising warnings from the UK’s former biometrics watchdog about risks to public trust and disproportionality.
Freedom of information data obtained by Big Brother Watch showed passport photo searches increased from two in 2020 to 417 in 2023, with 377 more in the first 10 months of 2024. Immigration database searches also rose sevenfold to 102 in 2023.
Campaigners threatened legal action against the Government, accusing it of creating a secret, Orwellian police database without public consent or parliamentary oversight. The Home Office defended the use, citing national security and crime prevention.
European Commission pushes to ban private messaging
The European Union remains deeply divided over a controversial proposal to mandate chat scanning across private messaging platforms. For over three years, member states have failed to agree on whether tech providers must scan all user messages for illegal content and report findings to authorities.
The European Commission has pushed for universal scanning, while the European Parliament has insisted checks should only apply to unencrypted messages from individuals already under suspicion. Denmark, taking over the EU Council presidency in July, has mades the file a top legislative priority, tabling a new draft on day one.
Leaked documents show Denmark’s proposal mirrors earlier drafts from Belgium and Hungary, offering no exemptions for encrypted chats. A milder Polish version allowing voluntary scanning has been abandoned.
Of 27 member states, 20 raised strong objections in the July talks, with Germany describing a “familiar mood” of resistance. Austria, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Poland remained firmly opposed, citing encryption and human rights concerns. France, once cautious, signaled support—potentially tipping the balance.
The Council’s legal service called client-side scanning a clear human rights violation.
The next round of talks is set for September 12. If France and Germany back Denmark, sweeping surveillance could become EU law by October.
UK watchdog’s new guidance bans trans women from female single-sex spaces
UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has unveiled new guidance that bars transgender women from using single-sex public spaces, following a Supreme Court ruling that trans women are not legally considered women under the Equality Act.
Women’s rights groups and supporters are labelling it a victory for common sense.
The guidance, submitted to ministers for review in early August, largely mirrors interim measures introduced after the ruling. It extends to all public service providers, including schools, hospitals and prisons and prohibits trans women from using women’s toilets and changing rooms.
Private organisations offering public services are also bound by the rules, which reportedly allow for exclusion from single-sex sporting events.
Trans rights groups, including Stonewall, condemned the guidance for its exclusionary stance. Legal challenges to the EHRC’s stance are already underway.
YouTube age verification beats the regulators
YouTube has rolled out artificial intelligence in the US to estimate users’ real ages and detect false birthdates, as global age verification laws tightened.
The system, part of YouTube’s 2025 roadmap, aimed to create a “more age-appropriate” experience for teens by removing personalised ads, limiting repeat views of sensitive content, and adding screen-time and bedtime reminders.
Previously, such restrictions only applied to users who confirmed their age. Those who lied about or skipped the step were often treated as adults. The new machine learning model analysed behavioural and contextual signals to infer age, though it occasionally misidentified adults as teens. In such cases, users were asked to verify age with a credit card, government ID or selfie.
The update came amid political pressure in the US and Europe to protect minors online. The UK’s Online Safety Act, effective from July 25, required “highly effective” age checks for adult content, prompting sites like Pornhub, Reddit, and Discord to adopt facial scans or ID verification. Several US states introduced similar laws, sparking privacy concerns and workarounds such as VPN use and fake IDs. Critics doubted the effectiveness of such measures, with some users already bypassing verification through creative exploits.
TLGs suggested links:
Solari Report: The Fast-Approaching Digital Control Grid: A Checklist of Trump Administration Actions to Date
Trish Wood is Critical: Dr Izzeldein Abuelaish & Catherine Austin Fitts (why we are all Gaza)
Peak Prosperity: CBDCs, Control and Crumbling Fiat Currencies (parts 1 & 2)
That’s all for this week. Stay curious.