Doomscroll News

Tag: surveillance

  • The Counterfactual Cascade: A Definitive Analysis of the Consequences for Americans of Not Eliminating Osama bin Laden Pre-9/11

    This report begins with a direct counterfactual premise. It argues that the failure to eliminate Osama bin Laden before September 11, 2001, was a critical link in the chain of events that led to the attacks.

    This analysis traces the plausible, cascading consequences of that inaction for Americans. It ranks the ten primary consequences by their direct impact on daily life, security, liberty, and economic well-being.

    The report is structured in three parts:

    • Part I establishes the historical context of the missed opportunities.
    • Part II details the ten primary consequences for Americans.
    • Part III offers a concluding analysis of the counterfactual argument.

    The analysis is grounded in the historical record, including the findings of the 9/11 Commission. It also examines Al-Qaeda’s ideology using bin Laden’s own public declarations, or fatwas. These documents explain the grievances that animated his war on the United States.¹˒ ²˒ ³

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  • A Global Network Analysis of Connectivity, Control, and the Future of the Internet

    Executive Summary

    This analysis uses a standardized suite of network diagnostic tools to conduct a global reconnaissance of the internet. It reveals a digital world that is rapidly fragmenting.

    The core argument is that the “Splinternet” is not a future possibility. It is a present and accelerating reality.¹ This term describes the division of the internet into distinct, often isolated national or regional enclaves.²

    To map this landscape, the report first establishes a baseline of an open and efficient network in the Netherlands. It then systematically explores the diverse architectures of internet control worldwide.

    This report categorizes the findings into distinct archetypes that illustrate this fragmentation.

    • The “Walled Gardens” of nations like China and North Korea operate state-controlled intranets.³
    • The “Curated Web” of countries like Russia and Turkey employs sophisticated filtering and politically-motivated routing.⁴
    • The “Developing Web” across Africa and South America has connectivity shaped by infrastructural deficits and post-colonial legacies.⁵
    • The “Free Web” of the EU and US, while open, is fragmented by complex regulations, commercial interests, and internal digital divides.⁶

    The investigation concludes that a digital archipelago is supplanting the foundational concept of a single, borderless internet.⁷ This trend is poised to intensify. The advent of state-aligned satellite constellations and AI-powered censorship will fundamentally reshape global communication, commerce, and geopolitics.

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  • An Unmitigated Threat: The National Security Case for the Prohibition of TikTok in the United States

    An Unmitigated Threat: The National Security Case for the Prohibition of TikTok in the United States

    David’s Note: This article was substantially revised on October 10, 2025 to incorporate new research and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

    With over 170 million users in the United States, TikTok is more than a social media phenomenon; it is a deeply embedded component of American digital life and commerce.1 This ubiquity, however, masks a critical vulnerability. This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the national security threat posed by the social media application TikTok, operated by its parent company, ByteDance Ltd. It argues that due to ByteDance’s inextricable links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the application functions as a dual-threat vector for sophisticated data espionage and algorithmic influence operations against the United States.

    Executive Summary

    This report analyzes the national security threat from TikTok, an application operated by ByteDance Ltd. The company’s deep connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allow the app to function as a tool for data espionage and algorithmic influence against the United States.

    This report’s central thesis is that mitigation efforts cannot neutralize this threat. The application’s core architecture, corporate governance, and legal obligations are inextricably linked to the CCP, a designated foreign adversary. Therefore, a complete prohibition on its operation within the United States is the only effective policy solution.

    The report deconstructs ByteDance’s opaque corporate structure. It highlights the CCP’s control mechanisms, such as the “golden share” held by a state-backed entity, which make any claims of operational independence untenable. It also details warnings from top U.S. intelligence officials, including the FBI Director and the Director of National Intelligence, who define TikTok as a tool that a foreign adversary can leverage.

    Furthermore, the report dismisses mitigation efforts like the $1.5 billion “Project Texas” as flawed security theater. Evidence shows this project failed to sever data flows to Beijing or neutralize the threat of algorithmic manipulation. The core issue of adversarial ownership remained unaddressed.

    After refuting key counterarguments—related to the First Amendment, economic impacts, and false equivalencies with U.S. tech firms—the report concludes that partial measures are insufficient. The unique nature of the threat, rooted in ByteDance’s subservience to the CCP, demands a structural solution. The only policy that fully addresses these inherent risks is the swift enforcement of a ban on TikTok and any successor applications, as provided by the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA).

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