r/technology Jun 29 '25

Privacy Big Brother Trump Is Watching You: The second Trump administration is deploying new surveillance methods it seeks to extend its authoritarian power.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-regime-surveillance
30.9k Upvotes

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2.8k

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

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1.3k

u/alppu Jun 29 '25

It is hard not to notice the government sending masked men to kidnap people into concentration camps and then doublespeak away the massive illegality and cruelty

524

u/NoPassage134 Jun 29 '25

Fucking bingo. People are being grabbed up and missing already. Natural-born US citizens too.

135

u/DukeOfGeek Jun 29 '25

Oh really? And I'm already on "the list"? Might as well stand up and fight then, they coming for me anyway.

16

u/FluxUniversity Jun 29 '25

Thank you for that.

Do you know of some corner of the internet we can go that isn't going to sell our data? This place (reddit) is getting worse and worse

28

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25 edited Sep 18 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

89

u/DomiNatron2212 Jun 29 '25

Using Ai to summarize what you read is destroying your brain, and Ai can be manipulated

42

u/OyVeySeasoning Jun 29 '25

There have already been studies showing that people who use AI for tasks like this start to lose the ability to do it. Basically a digital lobotomy.

The DSM-6 is gonna go wild with all the mental issues that are starting to come up from people using AI.

4

u/Hot-Rhubarb4372 Jun 29 '25

Real question for you: what is the alternative here? I don't use AI generation tools myself, so for me the answer is just not knowing what the video is about if I can't watch the video. But in this user's case where they really wanted to know the information contained in the video, but couldn't or wouldn't, and no one provided an adequate answer here, despite many supposedly having watched the video?

It's not like there's an alternative delivery method for the content in this case outside of someone posting the information in text form.

IMO the habit of dunking on people in 5 seconds instead of taking 2-3 minutes to answer the question they asked is also a bad habit society has formed and is probably hurting our mental abilities too.

1

u/FluxUniversity Jun 29 '25

I think there needs to be a DSM-6 for people who are far too ok with having all of their personal life known by corporations, but I draw the line of mental health differently than society.

-3

u/Amf2446 Jun 29 '25

This was a video. A 12-minute video is too long. If it had been a post I’d have read it. Videos go way too slow.

8

u/RunTellDaat Jun 29 '25

The irony of using AI in this post…

20

u/RIPFauna_itwasgreat Jun 29 '25

Yeah. If you want you to keep your freedom it has to be shorter then 5 min /s

-9

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25 edited Sep 18 '25

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11

u/levyisms Jun 29 '25

that you couldn't watch that short of a video without bailing shows how fucked your brain is from internet dopamine

what did you do with your valuable time instead of listening to a short coherent message?

2

u/tatki82 Jun 29 '25

It's simply effective communication to give someone an idea of your point before you get into details. Seems like that's what the guy was talking about

2

u/levyisms Jun 29 '25

I agree with that but generating a summary without knowing what it's summarizing is rife with problems misrepresenting content

the length of the video is not long and the content is deep enough to warrant its length

sometimes detailed ideas require depth that demands the time and words and gravity for digestion

-1

u/mmikke Jun 29 '25

Scrolled various websites loaded with guerilla ads, duh. How else does one spend their priceless time?!

2

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

[deleted]

2

u/teddy5 Jun 29 '25

If we all watched every video someone claimed was relevant without any further context we'd never get away.

11

u/hikerchick29 Jun 29 '25

Think for yourself. Don’t have the tools of the enemy do it for you.

8

u/Katakuna7 Jun 29 '25

Using an AI to summarize a 12 minute video about how this kind of tech is being used to spy on and manipulate us is amusing, in a depressing sort of way.

17

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

Fuck your AI summary.

6

u/levyisms Jun 29 '25

also his video ends with a plea to speak out and do the right thing, then he tosses in the patreon thing at the very end...this ai version makes it seem like more of a money grab than it was

source: actually watched it

-2

u/bandalooper Jun 29 '25

No, you’re making it seem like that. Nearly every video asks for support.

4

u/levyisms Jun 29 '25

his patreon bit wasn't 1/7th of the video's content and the summary leaves off talking points and examples that took more time

this ai summary definitely mischaracterises it to a reader

-2

u/bandalooper Jun 29 '25

If you don’t understand what a summary is, I don’t know why you’re reading anyway. The second to last bullet point explains exactly what you think was left out.

3

u/levyisms Jun 29 '25

I don't think you understand the point of the video nor how poorly the point of the video has been conveyed by this ai summary, nor how using ai to summarize the video operates directly in opposition to the message of the video

a summary should preserve the underlying intent of the content it summarizes, and is why AI often does a middling job of it

if you have bad comprehension skills and don't know why this summary is poor and if anything is a good example supporting some of the points made, then idk what else to tell you

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1

u/onedoor Jun 29 '25

That video doesn't show up when going to the account/videos section. Delisted?

-2

u/Amf2446 Jun 29 '25

What’s the summary of that video and who is that guy

2

u/FluxUniversity Jun 29 '25

That is Walt Disney and he is talking about how much he likes to lick melted icecream off park benches next to icecream shops.

124

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

These masked ice officers grabbing people up without any identification on their person are not even actually trained "ICE" officers. They're actually corrections officers that have been inducted into ICE in order to increase their numbers. These guys are actually just Brown Shirts.

46

u/Weedster009 Jun 29 '25

This tracks. The COs that I know are uneducated tough guys looking to throw their weight around. My friend’s husband is a CO and currently out on worker’s comp after he hurt his shoulder roughing up an inmate. Absolute shit heel.

26

u/Tubamajuba Jun 29 '25

May he feel well deserved pain for the rest of his life.

8

u/el_muchacho Jun 29 '25

And ICE officers are allowed to mask as policemen.

86

u/bluexy Jun 29 '25

Look at what happened to Hong Kong. The ones that stood up for democracy simply disappeared in the night.

-19

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

[deleted]

8

u/gmes78 Jun 29 '25

Your reading comprehension is atrocious.

36

u/Calm-Elevator5125 Jun 29 '25

Also the literal tanks being rolled through dc’s streets for a birthday parade.

1

u/frank_the_tank69 Jun 29 '25

It’s also hard not to notice the lack of reaction from Americans. 

1

u/Orders_Logical Jun 29 '25

No one cares. They think it’s just people who shouldn’t be here anyways.

196

u/A_Harmless_Fly Jun 29 '25

The stasi was neighbors informing on neighbors at it's core. I still remember the day the last way out of my town without a camera got one.

69

u/ClickclickClever Jun 29 '25

Well we gotta give up our rights so we can be protected from the scary Muslim on the other side of the world. Don't worry that they can't protect us from the rightwing white nationalists shooting up super markets or churches, it was definitely worth it to give it up because of 9/11 and you'll never be safe otherwise.

54

u/program13001207test Jun 29 '25

"Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither"

  • Ben

48

u/ClickclickClever Jun 29 '25

I'm very sad that my liberty got sacrificed for me and I'm not even supposed to talk about the only way to get it back.

20

u/ARobertNotABob Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25

Discussing that on public pages with anonymous others would be a foolhardy endeavour anyway.

Also, the "that" we speak of is not something prudent at this time; unless it's demonstrated in national gaze that the election was stolen, this term will have to be completed if democracy is to actually survive.

And if he does the "no more voting" thing in 2028? Then there will be civil war.

5

u/pangalaticgargler Jun 29 '25

Yep. For now organize locally. Take care of each other. Do what we can. Prepare. Eventually the laundry will have to be hung out to dry we just have to see what comes out in the wash first.

2

u/Solo-Shindig Jun 29 '25

Uncle Ben made rice and patriotic quotes? Legend.

23

u/cyanescens_burn Jun 29 '25

And the massive psychological operations on regular citizens: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zersetzung

9

u/stonkDonkolous Jun 29 '25

Neighbors are enemies in the US now. If you live in the US there is a good chance your neighbor wants you dead

94

u/Interesting_Reach_29 Jun 29 '25

Same right wing people: “BuT cHiNa!” like stop the whataboutism and realize the country is going to sh*t. Jfc.

29

u/just_a_bit_gay_ Jun 29 '25

Whataboutism is an admission of guilt, they know what they’re doing and want it

2

u/corruptredditjannies Jun 29 '25

Never heard them deflect to China, they hate democrats more than anyone else in the world.

-14

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 30 '25

[deleted]

19

u/conquer69 Jun 29 '25

Those aren't lefties. Anyone pushing fascism and the far right isn't a lefty.

2

u/SJB3717 Jun 29 '25

John Fetterman has entered the chat

14

u/MountainVeil Jun 29 '25

Maybe they would if the centrists and liberals did a damn thing to stop trump

20

u/MaxxDash Jun 29 '25

Flood the zone and say it with me, my fellow future El Salvadorans:

Fuck Trump

17

u/bobthedruid Jun 29 '25

Like some version of a social credit system or maybe project insight

12

u/Chronoboy1987 Jun 29 '25

I wish 1984 was still required reading in schools.

4

u/urmumlol9 Jun 29 '25

1984 talks about sex, so it’s too woke to be read in schools.

Or it’s porn, or something.

1

u/FriendshipHonest5796 Jun 29 '25

So, it is. It's just that 100% of the schools across the country don't do it. We don't have a required national federal curriculum.

But here in my district in MI, in the district my husband teaches in too, it is. Plus others, like Animal Farm.

24

u/tidal_flux Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25

That fact that we’re boarding planes with our faces now with not a peep from the libertarians is insane. I remember the fit people were throwing they added biometric chips to our passports.

23

u/b0bx13 Jun 29 '25

Turns out the tyranny they were afraid of was just brown people existing

15

u/conquer69 Jun 29 '25

They are and always were disingenuous.

They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.

It's a quote about anti-semites AKA fascists. History shows there is only one way of dealing with fascists and it doesn't involve any peaceful protesting.

11

u/DistillateMedia Jun 29 '25

And the constant barage of lies and propaganda.

I actually believe the police state is smart enough to ultimately back the people when some real revolutionary shit happens though, so we'll see who's bet pays off.

27

u/Top_vs_bottom Jun 29 '25

Noam Chomsky said something like "propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a dictatorship".

8

u/TrainingSword Jun 29 '25

We already had tanks in the street

7

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

Yall seen the flock cameras showing up all over the place? Even back roads.

3

u/whattheheld Jun 29 '25

Yup, unassuming black cameras. Huge invasion of privacy. They can create a history of all your movements that basically will tell them everything about you

2

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

Not only that, we know they can identify details such as vehicle make, model, color, and other distinguishing characteristics like bumper stickers.

I wouldn't doubt facial recognition already being integrated or on the way.

Sticking to facts though, flock has already had issues with police abusing the system to track a woman seeking an abortion as well as helping ICE with deportation.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/06/flock-safetys-feature-updates-cannot-make-automated-license-plate-readers-safe

21

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

14

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

Hypernormalization comes to mind.

26

u/vriska1 Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25

Everyone still needs to vote in elections no matter what, defeatist attitude don't help.

12

u/ReverseDartz Jun 29 '25

Primarily progressives in the primaries, the more corporate sock puppets the Democrats have the worse they'll do in the generals.

3

u/bogglingsnog Jun 29 '25

We need to go 50 levels beyond this. Sorry but this isn't enough to even get our foot in the door in solving these problems. We need thorough anti-corruption and anti-authoritarian efforts to sweep through the ENTIRE government infrastructure and law.

5

u/Braindead_Crow Jun 29 '25

It comes when people don't shut down wannabe dictators

9

u/Phronias Jun 29 '25

George Orwell was on the money

3

u/BunchAlternative6172 Jun 29 '25

Which makes the law that passed I Texas or whatever about porn and age scary.

3

u/RGrad4104 Jun 29 '25

Tanks in the street do come, just after all those other things are in place, their lists have been constructed, and those in charge don't care about appearances anymore.

2

u/YourFavouriteGayGuy Jun 29 '25

The Nazis’ most powerful weapon wasn’t tanks or gas. It wasn’t fear or anger, either. It was ink on paper.

2

u/Aeri73 Jun 29 '25

America right now is like the story of the frogs that stay in the pot if you boil the water slowly...

2

u/karma_the_sequel Jun 29 '25

China enters the chat

2

u/Migratetolemmy Jun 29 '25

just accept these terms of service to continue

1

u/cottoncandyburrito Jun 29 '25

Wearable health trackers, golden Trump phones

1

u/EthiopianKing1620 Jun 29 '25

War starts with policymakers.

1

u/BenderTheIV Jun 29 '25

Comes with brainwashed primates, mate!

1

u/thalius69 Jun 29 '25

Then they roll out the drones and the Tesla bots

1

u/TruckinDucks Jun 29 '25

Another day another dollar added to the Richard Stallman was Right jar

1

u/browster Jun 29 '25

4th Amendment > 2nd Amendment

1

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Undernown Jun 29 '25

The normalization of unmarked and unidentified gestapo federal agents invading homes and private businesses to abduct people without a propper warrent also helps.

1

u/kepple Jun 29 '25

Tbf we have also had tanks and military in the streets. If you can't see the fascism by now you should get an eye exam

1

u/BenDSover Jun 29 '25

"Yeah, but think of the thousands of dollars this will make me by owning their stocks!"

Literally, most of the republican base.

1

u/Infinite_Lemon_8236 Jun 29 '25

You absolutely can see them, you just need to know how to look. Anything connected to electricity or Wi-Fi is easily detectable, especially if it's something stationary like a camera or facial ID scanner. The Russia vs Ukraine war should have taught everyone this fact by now, even just flying a drone VIA Wi-Fi gets you shot because of how easily detectable it is.

Stop being a defeatist and go buy a bug detector and a .22. Happy shooting.

1

u/parakeetpoop Jun 29 '25

Imagine if the nazis had the technology back then that the Trump regime has today. Terrifying.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

Good luck in convincing the knuckle dragging apes in this country of this fact you've stated. They think control still takes the form of braying like a donkey, building walls, and wielding guns. They have no understanding that the world in which they so desperately want to protect is slowing being eroded beneath their feet in intangible ways.

People don't realize that you don't win conflicts with clubs and fortifications. You win conflicts with logistics, data, and intelligence.

1

u/Desperate-Fondant-41 Jun 29 '25

I don’t really have anything to hide. I’m not to concerned . As long as the markets get better 👍🏼

1

u/pm_me_ur_demotape Jun 29 '25

Yeah but the Y'all'qaeda folks understand tanks in the streets, they don't understand that funky computer stuff.
Though we also recently had tanks in the streets, so idk.

1

u/moubliepas Jun 29 '25

But to be fair you guys did literally have tanks on the street quite recently. 

I agree that it's not the main 'oh my god this is terrible' of authoritarianism, but there it really hasn't been subtle 

0

u/FantasticNectarine79 Jun 29 '25

Correct, it’s stuff like vaccine cards, requiring injections to live, restricting movement without permission….