What’s Really Behind Digital ID Standards?

Efrat Fenigson and I unpack how W3C Verifiable Credentials and ISO 18013-5 are quietly becoming the global backbone for digital ID. These standards let us model any claim, like your legal identity, even your car ownership, but without strong privacy safeguards, they risk being abused. As the EU, UK, and others roll them out, we must ask: can we trust them with our most personal data?

🎥 Watch the full interview here
📱 Take back control over your digital life with Above

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🫶 @takebackourtech
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I'm making good on my promise of migrating away from Telegram. I'll share why on the next episode of the #TBOT Show.

#TBOT now has a channel & group on SimpleX chat.

Existing SimpleX chat users will need to update their app.

Step 1: Download the latest release of SimpleX (or update)

Android | Linux App Image | Windows

Step 2: Create your account

Step 3: Follow our SimpleX channel
https://smp9.simplex.im/c#42JhYLTvg6_HQ11XeUYLftQMOKUWFDWWkFTCymLk0RQ

Step 4: Join our SimpleX group
https://smp9.simplex.im/g#IcBYNSscyr19yLioGTfYl048k5-Qs2-25k0GsDCe3Zc

Step 5: Love yourself.

- Hakeem

Great read. These dystopian tech CEOS grew up as bullied nerds, now planning to take their pain out on the entire world.

https://www.asomo.co/p/the-scouring-of-middle-earth-palantir

Anduril’s other co-founder is Palmer Luckey, a virtual reality entrepreneur and Trump fundraiser, who is on record for saying “Societies have always needed a warrior class that is enthused and excited about enacting violence on others in pursuit of good aims.”

I am the son of a special forces soldier who would very much disagree with that characterisation of the warrior class, but Luckey’s larpy gamer vibe is also exploited by Trump’s Department of War, which uses Call of Duty imagery in social media posts about Iranian strikes. The net effect of this strategy is to liken Iranians to NPC forces of fantasy evil. You, American Soldier, are the hero who gets a new high score by using Palantir-powered Anduril drones to blow the head off a 19-year old orc from the slums of Isfahan.

Both companies have gone all-in on promoting an America-First AI-Military-Industrial Complex to Make America Great Again. They position Trump as an Aragorn character wielding their products. Anduril’s Luckey and Stephens are full MAGA, as is Palantir’s Lonsdale, Thiel and CEO Alex Karp. The latter used to oppose Trump, but now harangues the last remaining liberals of Silicon Valley.

They play into rhetoric of an existential war to protect Western Civilization against China, Islam, Globalists and Leftists who dilute the vigour of the American Warrior Ethos.

Data Centers and the Race for Local Water

Talking with James Corbett, I explained how data centers pull vast amounts of groundwater, risking entire ecosystems and local farms. Once gone, that water isn't coming back quickly.

🗺 Get the truth about data centers
📺 Watch full interview here

📱 Safeguard your privacy, go Above

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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If you're skeptical of Big Tech, digital IDs, and biometrics, you might want to know about this project. I strongly encourage you to read my in-depth article on my Substack, which goes much deeper into this topic: https://pleasuretoburn.substack.com/p/do-you-trust-sam-altmans-orb-to-assign
👀🧐

Own Your AI, Protect Your Privacy

Running local AI is a game-changer. Dr.Trozzi and I talked about how you can do it right on your own machine. It's private, it's ethical, and it works for you.

🎥 Watch the full interview here
📱Get your privacy gear

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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From our friend Derrick Broze:

I Cannot Continue Doing My Work Without Your Support

I won't waste your precious time with my sob story, but the reality is I have been struggling for the last year after my pay at The Last American Vagabond was cut to less than half due to frivolous copyright lawsuits Ryan Cristian is facing.

I've done everything I can to survive, to continue writing articles on a monthly basis, to continue releasing empowering and educational interviews, to continue releasing my monthly podcast breaking down the truth behind the big stories of the day, and, most importantly, to promote real solutions.

And yet, despite my best efforts - and lots of positive comments from my supporters - I can barely pay my bills. I need to come up with a new plan to survive and continue doing this important work that means more to me than anything in the world.

So, I am not here to ask for your handouts, or for you to support me monthly without getting something in return.

Instead, I am stepping further into faith and trusting that all of the hard work I've put into my journalism for the last 16 years will pay off and that YOU will help me finally take The Conscious Resistance Network completely independent.

I love working for TLAV, and I've enjoyed working for all the various indie media outlets I've worked for over the last decade, but my dream has always been to work for myself, and to build TCRN as an indie brand.

So here's my plan:

If I can get your financial support, I will continue writing weekly articles and doing video breakdowns of those articles, but, rather than the articles being hosted on someone else's site, they would be exclusive to TCRN. This would ideally drive more traffic to our website, grow our email list, and bring more people to the wealth of work I've produced since 2013.

The major difference between what I am doing now would be that those who sign up for monthly support on Buy Me a Coffee or Substack at $10 a month will be able to vote on my next investigations.

Additionally, those who support at $10 a month will gain access to an exclusive weekly livestream focused on discussing Exit and Build strategies. I will share my ideas and we will hear successes and challenges from the audience.

What do I need to make this happen?

I need to make at least $1500 USD a month in order to make this happen and take TCRN independent.

Right now, between Substack and Buy Me a Coffee, I am making between $6-700 a month. This amount varies depending on whether people cancel, new members sign up, and how much they sign up.

So, if you're currently supporting me on SS or BMAC, please consider upgrading to $10 a month. If you're not supporting at all, please consider signing up at the $10 a month level.

If you can't afford 10 bucks, please consider $5 a month.

If you can't afford five, please just keep reading/watching and SHARING my work with your networks so I can reach new people.

Why should you consider supporting me for $10 a month?

Unlike lots of other creators and platforms with much bigger reach and financial budget, I don't do clickbait, I don't shovel fearporn down your throat, and I only stick to the facts. This seems to be an increasing rarity these days.

Please consider signing up for support on Substack or Buy Me a Coffee.

You can also support by buying a TCRN shirt or a book.

Thanks for the support. I can't do this without you.

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Download Apps Anonymously with the Aurora Store

In this clip, I show how Aurora Store lets you download apps from the Google Play Store anonymously, using a pool of shared accounts. I break down how even basic apps hide trackers,Facebook, Google, and more. It’s a wake-up call to audit your apps and choose transparency. This phone isn’t just an OS; it’s a whole privacy ecosystem.

🎥 Watch the full interview here
📱 Protect your data, Above can help

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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⚡️ No One Is Digital

Our friends at Manova Press in Germany wrote an excellent article (in German) about the Digital ID situation. I want to thank Nicolas Riedl for writing this piece and expanding on a few core ideas:

- Is Digital ID the first generation of a new tech like the iPhone? It starts off 'innovative' — but becomes mandatory.
- No such thing as 'multi-polarization' — digital ID is coming everywehere

If you can read or understand German, give them some love:
Read the article here.

Download the Digital ID report.

Surveillance in Schools-Who's Watching?

In my interview with Dr.Trozzi, we uncovered how billions in school funding led to widespread student surveillance and the risks are real.


🎥 Watch the full interview here
📱Break free from surveillance, go Above.

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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