The Big Government Database

Good Monday Morning

It’s July 28th. On Friday, the U.S. will levy a 30 percent tariff on imports from most countries unless separate trade deals are finalized. Although American importers are legally on the hook for these duties, countless studies show that the extra costs almost always get passed through to consumers.

Today’s Spotlight is 888 words, about 4 minutes to read.

3 Headlines to Know: The “Google Has a Bad Month” Edition

Jury Slams Google With $314 M Verdict for Siphoning Android User’s Phones

Fourteen million Californians could get paid after a jury ruled Google misused their phone data.

Publishers File EU Antitrust Complaint Over Google’s AI Overviews

A coalition of indie news groups says Google scraped their content for AI summaries without consent and wants it stopped immediately.

Pixel 10 Leaks Force Google to Preview Phone a Month Before Launch

With renders and specs spilling everywhere, Google dropped its own teaser ahead of the August 20 event.

By The Numbers

George’s Data Take

Social media users don’t necessarily trust news more, but a majority of them now get their news online.

Facebook has lost some luster and users, but still receives 26% of all that attention. Combined with its Instagram and WhatsApp siblings, Meta has 57% market share of social media news.

Treasury Got Hacked Again. Banks Are Livid

Running Your Business

Two of three hacks against the Treasury Dept. have been made known since December according to a lengthy Bloomberg expose.

Silver Beacon Behind the Scenes

You could make the argument that outside of safety, no systems deserve better protection than the ones governing our financial systems.

Treasury’s cybersecurity budget is $1 billion. Expect regulators and Congress to demand to know what protection that buys.

Surveillance tech first deployed on immigrants is now fueling a broader infrastructure to monitor all Americans, with private‑sector firms and government agencies weaving data into ever‑larger centralized systems.

Immigration Surveillance

Private prison contractor Geo Group has become a Trump administration favorite, securing 87 new federal contracts in the final year of his first term. It has forced phone check‑ins, GPS ankle monitors, smart watches and facial‑recognition apps on immigrants as part of its “Alternatives to Detention” program

Judicial Oversight

Last month a federal judge denied a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) founded by Elon Musk from accessing Labor, HHS and CFPB records, ruling that unions failed to prove “irreparable harm.” The court nonetheless warned of “grave” privacy concerns.

Even Libraries?

A nonprofit named SPARC has warned that major scholarly publishers like LexisNexis and Thomson‑Reuters are building “oceanic” security systems that track students, researchers and patrons with contracts that now include ICE and law enforcement agencies.

Dual-Use Threat

A USA Today op‑ed last week by technologist Peyton Hornberger highlights how Palantir and OpenAI are poised to take immigration‑justified surveillance tools and repurpose them for monitoring every citizen. He notes the long Musk‑Thiel alliance from their days as early PayPal executives to Thiel becoming the first outside investor in SpaceX.

Hornberger isn’t alone. The database has been reported on by multiple media organizations including The New York Times and Wired.

Citizen Toolkit

Wired offers a Guide to Protecting Yourself From Government Surveillance, filled with concrete defenses against this surveillance onslaught. Topics include device locks, anonymous browsing, and encrypting your communications. It’s a great read that tells you why and then how.

Warning

Surveillance built for immigrants is coming for everyone. If this is important to you, you should lock down your data now because once these systems are in place, there’s no un‑ringing that bell.

AI Driven Referrals to Websites Jump 357 Percent in a Year

Practical AI

Platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity sent over a billion visits in June as publishers brace for “Google Zero,” the moment search engines answer questions without sending users to other sites.

Instagram Now Lets You Reset Its Algorithm Without Nuking Your Account

Protip

You can now wipe your suggested content and rebuild a smarter, more relevant experience from scratch.

Sen. Mike Lee Pushes Fake Powell Resignation Letter Ahead of Fed Meeting

Debunking Junk

The forged doc claiming Jerome Powell stepped down under Trump pressure spread fast online after it was amplified by Sen. Lee just days before the FOMC meets.

Company Employing Kisscam Couple Hires Coldplay Singer’s Ex for Commercial

Screening Room

Buddhist Prayer Scroll Virtually Unrolled Using X-Rays and AI

Science Fiction World

Scientists in Germany used tomography and AI to digitally unfurl an ancient silk-wrapped scripture from a Mongolian shrine, revealing the mantra “Om mani padme hum” without damaging the relic.

Internet Archive Becomes Official Federal Library for Government Documents

Tech For Good

The digital nonprofit will now serve as a full depository for federal publications—giving public access to primary sources even as the Trump admin erases data elsewhere.

Can You Tell Which AI Fake is Real?

Coffee Break

The NYT tested readers with AI-generated video that fakes news anchors, riots, and even influencers. It’s disturbingly good. Here is a free link to test yourself.