Digital Panopticon per OpenMedia

 What 1791 means for 2025

• Matt at OpenMedia 

  openmedia.org

  From:contact@openmedia.org

  To:m.mk@...

  Mon, Dec 22 2025 at 9:05 AM

  Hi Mark M, In the late 18th century, the philosopher Jeremy Bentham designed a prison he called the Panopticon. The design was chillingly simple: a completely circular prison, with a tall central watchtower. The design would permit the guards in the tower to see into every cell, at every moment, day and night. But through clever angling and blinds, the prisoners could never see into the tower. They never knew when they were being watched, so they had to assume they always were. Total surveillance for the many. Perfect obscurity for the few. For a long time, this was just a dark thought experiment. But in 2025, it is becoming the literal architecture of our digital lives. We are seeing the construction of a digital Panopticon, right here in America, built on two distinct pillars: 1. Total Surveillance for Us The government is rapidly expanding its ability to monitor our private lives, stripping away the "walls" of our digital homes: The "Data Broker" Loophole: The Fourth Amendment is supposed to protect us from unreasonable searches. But right now, agencies like the FBI, ICE, and the IRS are bypassing the Constitution by simply buying our private data from shadowy data brokers. They don't need a warrant to see where you go, who you text, or what you buy—they just need to write a check.1 The "Everyone is a Spy" Law (FISA 702): Under the recently expanded Section 702, the definition of who can be forced to spy for the government has exploded. It no longer just applies to big telecom companies; it can now conscript almost any business with a Wi-Fi router—from your landlord to your gym—turning ordinary American infrastructure into a surveillance net.2 Unchecked AI Surveillance: While other nations are putting guardrails on Artificial Intelligence, the US is engaging in an "AI Arms Race" that prioritizes speed over rights. We are seeing the rapid deployment of AI that scrapes social media for immigration enforcement and predictive policing tools that automate prejudice, all without meaningful federal oversight.3,4 2. Total Obscurity for Them While our lives are laid bare, the mechanisms of power are becoming harder to see than ever. The government and special interests are building a "one-way mirror" where influence can be bought anonymously and laws can be changed in the dark. The Crypto "Dark Money" Tower: We are witnessing the construction of a new financial architecture designed to hide influence. In the 2024 election cycle alone, crypto corporations poured over $119 million into federal elections—nearly half of all corporate contributions. Through Super PACs, this industry can flood a district with attack ads to punish pro-regulation candidates, all while hiding the specific corporate strings attached. They are buying the regulatory environment they want, and we aren't allowed to see the receipts.5 Insider Trading 2.0: It’s not just about donations; it’s about personal enrichment. The STOCK Act has failed to stop Members of Congress from trading assets they regulate. We have reached a point of such obvious corruption that there are now investment funds specifically designed to copy the trades of Congress members—because the market knows that politicians have "perfect information" that we don't.6 Unexplainable AI Decisions: It is no longer just about what humans decide; it is about what machines decide about us, on behalf of the powerful. We are seeing the rapid rollout of AI systems in housing, hiring, and policing that operate as "Black Boxes." If an AI denies your loan application or flags you as a "risk" to law enforcement, there is often no way to ask "why?" The decision is hidden inside a complex neural network that even its creators cannot fully explain, effectively laundering bias through "mathematical magic" that we are forbidden from auditing. But who benefits? Powerful people and systems who like the overall result that system produces.7 Secret Government Tools: The government is adopting these tools faster than we can organize legislators to ban them, often in total secrecy. The FBI and DHS are currently using AI for tasks like "threat intake processing"—sifting through millions of tips and social media posts—without properly disclosing these systems to the public. They are building an unprecedentedly powerful domestic surveillance infrastructure that is procured in the shadows, deployed without public debate, and shielded from oversight by "national security" exemptions.8 This is the asymmetry of the Panopticon: They see everything we do; we see nothing they do. We can only start breaking Bentham's trap with your support; will you give to break our modern digital surveillance prison? Give for real digital freedom!   We Are The Tool to Break the Walls OpenMedia exists to smash this one-way mirror. We don't just ask for better policy; we fight to ensure that technology democratizes power rather than concentrating it.  We are a small, lean campaigning team fighting opponents with near-infinite resources. But we have something they don't: you. We just launched a new campaign to ban the scourge of crypto corruption from American politics.9,10,11 And we’re just getting started; we’ll be launching new initiatives throughout 2026 to purge abuses of new technologies from our politics, protect your privacy, and recenter our democracy where it belongs: on voters! Will you donate today to help us dismantle the digital Panopticon and win a future where privacy is a right, not a luxury? Donate to OpenMedia For a future we can trust, Matt @ OpenMedia Sources Closing the Data Broker Loophole – Brennan Center Warnings Mount in Congress Over Expanded US Wiretap Powers – Wired The major U.S. trends in AI in 2025 - and what's next in 2026 – Context US plan would require some visitors to provide social media information from last 5 years - CNN Big Crypto, Big Spending: Crypto Corporations Spend an Unprecedented $119 million Influencing Elections – Public Citizen A Legislative Shift in Ethics Reform: Congressional Stock Trading Ban Challenges Transparency-Based Remedies -– Harvard Law School Journal on Legislation Bringing Transparency to National Security Uses of Artificial Intelligence – Brennan Center for Justice See 7 Ban Crypto in politics: Stop the currency of corruption – OpenMedia Trump fortune balloons by billions after family firm’s crypto token starts trading – The Guardian Trump family's net worth has increased by $2.9 billion thanks to crypto investments, new report says – CBS News We work to safeguard the possibilities of the open Internet, and toward informed and participatory digital policy. This work depends on the support of people like you.