FYI: If you are not a Tolkien fan, you might not recognize the name “Palantír.” A palantir is a magical orb or “seeing stone” that, in The Lord Of The Rings, allows the malevolent being Sauron to gaze into the minds and souls of anyone who dares to look into it. I’m not saying founder Peter Thiel or CEO Alex Karp are the functional equivalent of Sauron. But I am implying it. And alluding to it. And strongly suggesting it. - jp
How the US is turning into a mass techno-surveillance state
https://english.elpais.com/usa/2025-06-05/how-the-us-is-turning-into-a-mass-techno-surveillance-state.html
Trump teams up with Big Tech to build database on all Americans. Here's what we know now.
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/politics/2025/06/03/privacy-at-risk-as-trump-expands-surveillance-heres-what-we-know/84020219007/
How much does the government know about you? Likely more than ever.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/04/trump-surveillance-state-federal-data/83924420007/
DHS Collecting DNA as Part of Larger 'Massive Surveillance' Effort: Lawsuit
https://www.newsweek.com/dhs-cbp-ice-lawsuit-dna-surveillance-2080048
MAGA base rocked by Trump's 'unnerving' citizen database sparking surveillance fears
https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/maga-base-rocked-trumps-unnerving-35332539
Trump’s Palantir-Powered Surveillance Is Turning America Into a Digital Prison
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/06/04/trumps-palantir-powered-surveillance-is-turning-america-into-a-digital-prison/
Built to Dominate: Palantir is designing the infrastructure of repression—and telling us why.
https://inthesetimes.com/article/palantir-designs-infrastructure-of-repression
Palantir Shares Tumble 5% Despite CEO Pushes Back on Surveillance Allegations
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/palantir-shares-tumble-5-despite-181349012.html
Palantir Stock Falls As GOP Lawmakers Push Back On Government Surveillance Deal
https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/movers/25/06/45801143/palantir-stock-falls-as-gop-lawmakers-push-back-on-government-surveillance-deal
PLTR stock under fire as WikiLeaks accuses it of expanding the “American surveillance state”
https://investorsobserver.com/news/stock-update/pltr-stock-under-fire-as-wikileaks-accuses-data-company-of-expanding-the-american-surveillance-state/
Palantir’s Collection of Disease Data at C.D.C. Stirs Privacy Concerns
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/health/cdc-data-privacy-palantir.html
Snowden surveillance revelations take on added urgency 12 years later
https://freedom.press/the-classifieds/snowden-surveillance-revelations-take-on-added-urgency-12-years-later/
Trump admin axes 'Quiet Skies' traveler surveillance program — which 'failed to stop a single terrorist attack'
https://nypost.com/2025/06/05/us-news/trump-administration-shuts-down-quiet-skies-traveler-surveillance-program-used-to-target-political-opponents/
Americans Deserve Answers on Quiet Skies Surveillance
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/americans-deserve-answers-on-quiet-skies-surveillance/
Judge weighs government’s request to unseal records of FBI’s surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr.
https://apnews.com/article/mlk-files-wiretape-fbi-surveillance-trump-unseal-ce4201db7aef642a073f1b5069c87810
'This is delicate stuff' | Judge won't rush to grant Trump admin's request to unseal MLK Jr. surveillance files
https://www.abc10.com/article/news/this-is-delicate-stuff-judge-pumps-brake-on-trump-admins-request-to-unseal-mlk-jr-surveillance-files-martin-luther-king-jr-sclc/65-ca2b6a4c-b539-4b76-b1f7-0dedfde68d4e
Judge: FBI surveillance records on MLK may take years to release
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/06/04/martin-luther-king-fbi-records-release/
Christopher Wray Lied To Congress Over Extent Of FBI’s Anti-Catholic Surveillance
https://thefederalist.com/2025/06/04/christopher-wray-lied-to-congress-over-extent-of-fbis-anti-catholic-surveillance/
University of Michigan using undercover investigators to surveil student Gaza protesters
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/michigan-university-gaza-surveillance
Surveillance State: Game Wardens Sued for Secret Private Land Intrusions in Alabama
https://www.agweb.com/news/business/farmland/surveillance-state-game-wardens-sued-secret-private-land-intrusions-alabama
California's Sonoma County sued for illegal mass surveillance
https://boingboing.net/2025/06/06/californias-sonoma-county-sued-for-illegal-mass-surveillance.html
‘Shattered sense of privacy and security’: ACLU lawsuit sheds light on Sonoma County’s expansion of drone use
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/aclu-lawsuit-drone-sonoma-county/
ACLU Sues Sonoma County Over Drone Use, Could SF Be Next?
https://sfist.com/2025/06/05/aclu-sues-sonoma-county-over-drone-use-could-sf-be-next/
‘A new era’: Crypto billionaire’s $9.4M gift funding new SFPD surveillance hub
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/a-new-era-crypto-billionaires-9-4m-gift-funding-new-sfpd-surveillance-hub/
VC money is fueling a global boom in worker surveillance tech
https://restofworld.org/2025/employee-surveillance-software-vc-funding/
AI Surveillance Won’t Stop Theft, but It Might Stop Unions
https://prospect.org/labor/2025-06-06-ai-surveillance-wont-stop-theft-might-stop-unions/
AI can now stalk you with just a single vacation photo
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/415646/artificial-intelligencer-chatgpt-claude-privacy-surveillance
No More Safe Haven for Privacy? Switzerland Drifts Toward a Surveillance State Due to New Controversial Laws
https://news.itsfoss.com/swiss-privacy-bill-controversy/
Argentina’s president denies new intelligence plan could enable surveillance of journalists and politicians
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/04/americas/argentina-milei-intelligence-plan-alleged-surveillence-intl-latam
Georgian Dream’s AI-Fueled Surveillance is Sowing Terror Among Protesters
https://tol.org/client/article/georgian-dreams-ai-fueled-surveillance-is-sowing-terror-among-protesters.html
Smuggled North Korean phone reveals a chilling surveillance system
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/technology/smuggled-north-korean-phone-reveals-a-chilling-surveillance-system/articleshow/121655374.cms
North Korea’s Secret Surveillance Through Smartphones Exposed
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/north-koreas-secret-surveillance-through-smartphones-exposed-1883713
Smartphones in North Korea — a surveillance paradise
https://mindmatters.ai/brief/smartphones-in-north-korea-a-surveillance-paradise/