⚡️Google's Default Bullying & The Antitrust Decision

Back in 2021, U.S. attorney generals sued Google for strong-arming competitors to stay the default—paying up to $10B a year in partner deals. Whether bribes, threats, or coercion, Google crushed rivals in search, app stores, assistants, and more.

Examples? Google pressured Samsung over its Galaxy Store, killed Epic Games’ OnePlus deal, blocked Amazon’s store, and locked smart speakers into Google Search & Assistant.

The court’s decision: Google can’t force all-or-nothing bundles or multi-year contracts. Rivals must get access to search index data. But Google can still pay for defaults and exclusivity.

And the kicker? Nobody’s talking about their newest move: banning alternative app stores entirely.

🪧 Read the full article on Substack
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⚡️Well I'll Be Dammed

In Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains, one of the driest parts of the U.S., scientists are reviving desert marshes eroded by cattle farming. 🌵

Their tool? Nature’s blueprint. Instead of high-tech fixes, they’re building rock-and-wire “beaver-style” dams—known as NIDS (Natural Infrastructure in Dryland Streams). These gully plugs and gabions slow water by half, letting it soak into the soil, recharge aquifers, and support plant life.

A 12-year study near the U.S.–Mexico border showed treated waterways kept vegetation alive through drought, while untreated areas dried up.

Sometimes the smartest solutions are the simplest ones—copying nature itself.

🪧 Read the full article on Substack
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🗺️How to Overthrow Google Maps

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You can find StreetComplete on FDroid and start contributing today—one quest at a time.

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Why digital ID is such a bad idea:
https://reclaimthenet.org/pakistan-data-breach-exposes-risks-of-biometric-digital-id-systems

For those who dont know Pakistan has one of the oldest digital ID systems in the world, launched in 2001. Its not in an app form quite yet, but at this latest breach goes to show - all information is connected to it.

It also shows that corrupt officials (Pakistan is notorious for this) can abuse its digital welfare programs to steal from the poor.

⚡️AnonAddy Demo

I was recently on The Corbett Report’s Solutions Watch to show how easy it is to set up an email alias with AnonAddy. It’s open source, affordable, self-hostable, and gives you a layer of protection when signing up for new services.

In this clip, I walk through exactly how it works — from creating an alias to receiving forwarded mail — so you can see just how simple it is to keep your real email private.

🎥 Watch the full interview here

✨ Explore conscious technology solutions at Above Phone

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#TBOT 14: China’s AI+ Plan Goes All In, MIT’s AlterEgo Reads Your Lips Without Speaking, 1,500 Engineers Have Access To WhatsApp Data, StackWallet - Private and Easy Multi-coin Wallet

Watch on Substack

Here are this week’s stories:

China’s AI+ Plan Goes All In: China outlined its 10-year plan to integrate the entire country with AI across all sectors. I read their report to find out what’s planned for the second most populous country in the world.

MIT AlterEgo Reads Your Lips: New MIT Media Lab startup attempts to let you communicate without speaking with their Silent Sense tech. How does it work? Find out.

Insider Look at WhatsApp’s Security: WhatsApp’s head of security sues Meta for alleged retaliation after he called out WhatsApp for not knowing how much data it collected and who had access to it.

StackWallet—Private and Easy Multi-coin Wallet: I recently talked with the founder of StackWallet, and now I’m convinced it’s the best wallet out there. Find out why.

🪄 We aim for our show to be well-researched, well-informed and focused on the most impactful stories while being concise

Full articles soon.

Join the Digital ID Report Waitlist

StackWallet

Share this post with your crew. 🚢

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⚡️MIT Media Lab Lets You Talk Without Speaking with AlterEgo

MIT Media Lab unveiled a new demo of AlterEgo, a wearable device that lets you communicate without opening your mouth.

It doesn’t read your mind—AlterEgo detects subtle electrical signals in your jaw triggered by your “inner voice.” With 7 skin electrodes and AI models, it can turn silent speech into words, numbers, or even commands for apps.

The device is aimed at people with speech impairments, but it also pushes us closer to transhumanist territory—where even face-to-face communication may run through machines.

Is this assistive tech… or a step toward merging with AI?

🪧 Read the full article on Substack

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⚡️China’s 10-Year Plan for AI Dystopia

China’s State Council has unveiled AI+, a sweeping initiative to saturate every layer of society with artificial intelligence. By 2027, they want 70% penetration of “intelligent terminals”—devices with universal connectivity across vehicles, phones, homes, robots, and wearables. If successful, the next phase pushes toward 90%, moving the nation into what they call an “intelligent economy.”

This isn’t just about technology. The plan calls for AI to dominate scientific discovery, industrial production, consumer behavior, education, and even governance. Public security systems will monitor natural persons, digital identities, and robots alike. AI-driven disaster response, welfare management, and social experiments are all on the table.

China isn’t experimenting—they’re engineering a future where AI is everywhere, all at once.

🪧 Read the full article on Substack
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Anonmail Demo

During my chat on The Corbett Report’s Solutions Watch, I gave a sneak peek at our very own aliasing tool: AnonMail. It’s part of the Above Suite — bundled with privacy essentials like CryptoChat, Internet Phone, VPN, secure calendar, file sharing, and more.

In this clip, I walk through how it works, show how easy it is to spin up a random alias, and even test it by signing up for dozens of lists. The result? Not a single piece of spam made it through.

🎥 Watch the full interview here
💻 All your tools for digital freedom ➡️ Above Suite
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#TBOT is now part of GeopoliticsLive, a collection of channels covering geopolitics, politics, global news, economy, and more. All English speaking! Stay informed.

Whether you're seeking in-depth analysis, breaking news, or expert insights, our catalog has got you covered.

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A Recent Report Revealed That Appcloud, An Israeli Application Developed By Ironsource, Comes Pre-Installed On Certain Samsung Devices, Particularly Galaxy A And Galaxy M Models, And Cannot Be Fully Removed. The App Automatically Collects User Data, Including Location, Device Fingerprints, And IP Addresses.

🔗SOURCE ➡️ Quds News Network

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Follow ➡️ @PsyopDaily

⚡️WhatsApp Head of Security Fired After Raising Privacy Concerns

The former Head of Security for WhatsApp, Attaullah Baig, has filed a retaliation lawsuit against Meta for firing him after he tried to improve security at WhatsApp.

Baig discovered through red-teaming that 1,500 engineers at Meta had production access to WhatsApp user data, including address books and contact information of friends. Even as Head of Security, he was blocked from logging access to data, creating an inventory of what was stored, or mapping the infrastructure.

When he warned leadership that WhatsApp may be in violation of its FTC order, he was met with retaliation until he was forced out. Inside WhatsApp, leadership downplayed issues and dismissed privacy concerns.

Once again, we see that user growth and profits came first—while protecting people’s privacy never seemed to matter.

🪧 Read the full article on Substack
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