Introducing MTEC

After being aware of the worrying direction tech, digital privacy, and consumer rights were heading, 2025 was the year that the headlines really caught Joseph’s attention. Some of the headlines related to age verification, for example, the UK’s online safety act, government surveillance cameras in the US, Chat Control in the EU, and more. While he knew about these worrying threats to privacy around the world, he didn’t know that in Florida - the state he lives - a social media ban had already been passed, which requires age verification.

Motivated by these things and knowing he could no longer do nothing, he decided to take action and to form The Miami Tech Enthusiast Club.

MTEC is a local club based in the Miami area. It’s a space for locals within Miami to get together and discuss technology, and as a club, it also has aims to spread awareness and advocate digital privacy, security, and consumer rights. As Joseph explains, the organization’s online presence has grown along with its mission:

“MTEC’s website which was initially just for a club, is now also a blog where we can talk about upcoming issues and dive deeper into things that people in our community may not fully understand. So between all of those things, it’s wanting to develop community and advocacy, and then also at some point expanding into serving the community more generally. We don’t want to focus only on the legal aspect of technology. We also want to focus on a positive vision of technology where technology works for you rather than you work for the technology. So if we can help our community better understand how the technologies were working for them and what they can adjust to improve that, then that’s something we want to explore.”

A mission to educate, inform, & bring positive changes locally

Upon creating MTEC, Joseph also realized the lack of local organizations – especially in Miami - focusing on educating and spreading awareness about local regulation and news relating to tech and consumer rights. He describes a broader goal for MTEC:

“There aren’t organizations that fill the gap at the local level, and so I’m hoping that as we take the first steps in developing this, we can be involved for other organizations to look at. My goal is that you see several outposts of advocacy across the nation, and really anywhere else in the world, where we have people at the national level that can give direction, and then to have people at the local level communicating with their communities, having a deeper effect, and fostering a deeper understanding. I think that’s a component that’s missing today that, hopefully, we can model here in Miami.”

One of the more pressing issues MTEC is currently advocating against is Florida’s AI age verification bill.

Helping people realize better tech is available

MTEC’s mission also includes showing people that privacy-respecting technologies, like Tuta Mail, already exist and can be adopted easily. Unfortunately, a lot of the time this is a message that becomes most urgent when people start feeling the consequences of tech that doesn’t fully protect them.

”When people start feeling the pain is when they start adjusting. There has been an increase in people exploring privacy-conscious tools, whether it’s Signal or a VPN. Because of age verification, when you’re in the UK or Australia, you’re feeling it. Unfortunately, if you’re living as an immigrant community in the U.S., you’re feeling it too. Before, who cared that the government knew where you were? But now it matters.”

He also notes that this is pushing people toward alternatives.

”This is making people look to other tools, but thankfully in some cases the defaults are protecting them and in other cases, tools are available. Companies that have been concerned about this, Tuta, especially, are available and prepared to help people transition to something safer and thank goodness for that.”

Tuta Mail provides a strong, private foundation for the club’s communication

Joseph mentioned a few key reasons he chose Tuta Mail to secure MTECS’s email communications.

For Joseph, choosing the right tools for MTEC was just as important as the club’s mission itself. He wanted email and communication platforms that respected privacy, ensured trust, allowed compartmentalization, and avoided unnecessary data collection.

”I want the tools to respect my privacy, and I appreciate something like Tuta Mail because I can compartmentalize. You’re not asked for all this information. Signing up for one account allows me to do so much and yet that one account will unlock being able to make so many more. All of it can be contained in a way that I really couldn’t do if I had to use Gmail, I’d have to give them my phone number and other personal details. That part was really important to me.”

In addition to the easy functionality, Tuta provides value and credibility.

”I wanted to make sure that when I talk about digital rights activism, I’m taken seriously. Using an @tutamail.com address communicates that I’m aware and knowledgeable about digital privacy. It’s even fun when emails automatically encrypt because the other person is using Tuta, too. Also, if something sensitive does come up, I know that there’s not a risk and I’m not concerned about the platform that we shared this on. With Tuta, I know that we’re safe from the get-go.”

Joseph also emphasized choosing Tuta Mail for its usability and trust.

”I really appreciate that it is a private and secure platform. To have a company that has been around for so long, and that has helped with advocacy around digital freedom, all comes together to make me trust the platform I’m using. Tuta also has a very capable client, I’m not making sacrifices when using it. I can send emails, set up my signature, and manage calendar invites. It’s very practical, and I know exactly what’s there. I can trust Tuta as a provider, whereas I can’t do that with other mainstream email providers. That’s a big load off."

"The design is really good, the app works great, and in some respects, I can see how things work. Even small things, like how the web app auto-refreshes when sending an encrypted blog, communicate that the system is functioning properly. All of these details give me confidence that the secure system is working as intended.”

Together we can bring change

It was a pleasure to chat with Joseph, and inspiring to learn about MTEC. Often, it feels like we can’t make a difference in the world, but sometimes we just need to begin somewhere - which is what Joseph is doing. At Tuta, we’re also glad we can contribute by enabling MTEC to secure their email communications with end-to-end encryption.

If you’re in the Miami area and want to get involved, check out MTEC’s website.