General Discussion

The history of the internet has been one in which individuals surrender more and more privacy in return for convenience. After all, how is WayFair going to know it's time to offer you a big discount on a new couch if it doesn't learn that you've been asking Google about the best upholstery cleaners on Amazon?

This sea of data represents a tremendous threat in the best of times. But these ... are not the best of times. The combination of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and big data tools that are absolutely excellent at spotting the most arcane connections means that all this personal data isn't a ticking bomb; it's a bomb in the process of exploding.

That explosion is made infinitely worse by the access Musk and his DOGE bros have been given to data through a series of government agencies. That information includes not just the obligations that Social Security and Medicare owe to you, but bank account and fiscal information of everyone who ever accepted a payment—including an income tax refund—from the government.

The information that Trump and Musk have available to them is already being used against people who have spoken out against Trump. Like a French scientist denied access to the U.S. because he made social media posts against cutting funds for research. Or a U.K. punk band held in detention and sent back to London because they made statements critical of Trump. Or a Brown University professor deported despite a court order for expressing pro-Palestinian views. Or a Georgetown researcher detained because his wife, a former Al Jazeera journalist, is Palestinian American.

https://www.unchartedblue.com/just-reading-this-article-could-put-you-in-danger/