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By Rex M. Lee, Security Advisor/Tech Journalist
There was a time when the internet meant freedom, opportunity, innovation, and provided information on any topic at your fingertips. That time was in the 90s before the internet was centralized by monopolies we refer to as “Big Tech”.
Today, Big Tech consists of Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft, plus their intrusive app and addictive social media platform developers.
Over 95% of people access the internet through these intrusive monopolies who all have adopted predatory surveillance and data mining business practices rooted in “Surveillance Capitalism”.
Surveillance Capitalism is centered on exploiting paying customers and/or end users, including teens and children, of connected technologies by way of “leaky operating systems” (OS) that support intrusive, addictive, and manipulative apps and social media platforms that can be described as “Legal Malware”.
Leaky operating systems include the Android OS, Apple iOS, and Microsoft Windows 8, 10, and 11 OS. These leaky operating systems support Legal Malware in the form of intrusive apps and addictive social media platforms that enable the OS and all developers concerned to monitor, track, and data mine the OS end user for financial gain at the expense of the paying customer and/or OS end user’s privacy, cybersecurity, civil liberties, and safety.
Today, nearly every connected product or service, such as smartphones, tablets, and PCs are supported by leaky operating systems, intrusive apps, and addictive social media platforms that in turn are supported by predatory surveillance and data mining business practices that pose massive privacy, cybersecurity, civil liberty, and safety threats to product owners and/or end users.
There is a need to decouple from today’s internet for businesses, governments, organizations, medical institutions, academic institutions, and individuals who need private, secure, and safe smartphones, tablet PCs, connected products, IoT/IIoT devices, wearable tech, and PCs that are secured by an OS developed on a closed application programable interface (API) architecture.
The internet, operating systems, apps, and social media platforms became centralized by companies that can be described as monopolies who have weaponized their intrusive and addictive operating systems, apps, and social media platforms in order to exploit their paying customers and/or end users for profits by way of leaky operating systems supported by intrusive apps and addictive social media platforms.
Centralization occurred when tech giants such as Google started to buy and/or develop intrusive web browsers, operating systems, intrusive apps, and addictive social media platforms supported by predatory surveillance and data mining business practices.
For example, Google, Apple, and Microsoft own leaky operating systems that are supported by an open API Architecture enabling OS, app, and social media developers to monitor, track, and data mine the connected product owner and/OS end user for profits.
Tech giants today are in the information trafficking business which is centered on collecting the most valuable commodity on the plant which is highly confidential end user personal, business, medical, legal, and employment information known as “Digital DNA” which is monetized for profits.
A single intrusive app or addictive social media platform enables the developer to surveil the end user 24x7/365 days per year while data mining highly confidential Digital DNA to exploit for profit.
According to T-Mobile and Verizon, there are no private, secure, or safe smartphones, tablet PCs, connected products, or PCs supported by the Android OS, Apple iOS, or MS Windows OS due to uncontrollable preinstalled surveillance and data mining technology in the form of the OS and apps.
Like in the movie “The Matrix”, connected product end users have been monetized and sold into cyber slavery by Google, Apple, and Microsoft the predominant OS developers.
The gateway to the internet end user is the OS which includes the Android OS, Apple iOS, and Microsoft Windows 8, 10, and 11 OS of which Google, Apple, and Microsoft own.
Aside from leaky operating systems, Google, Apple, and Microsoft also develop intrusive web browsers, apps, and addictive social media platforms classifying all tech giants as monopolies who control over 95% of access to the internet crushing competition and innovation.
In the end, the nobody who is online is using URLs to connect to a website, over 95% of all internet end users are accessing the internet by way of intrusive apps and/or legal malware such as a Facebook end user tapping the Facebook app on their device to connect to the Facebook social media platform.
Aside from developing leaky operating systems, intrusive apps, and addictive social media platforms, these predatory tech giants also sell access to their OS end user to other intrusive app and addictive social media platform developers who are described as “trusted partners”.
Google, Apple, and Microsoft trusted partners include Meta (Facebook), Amazon, Twitter, plus developers from China and Russia that include ByteDance (TikTok), Tencent (Wechat) Baidu (Android App Developer), JD.Com (Partially Owned by Walmart), and Prisma Labs (Russian Android App Developer).
As a matter of fact, 6 of the top internet companies in the world are from the U.S. and 4 are from China, however Chinese internet companies, such as ByteDance, Baidu, and Tencent are surpassing tech giants such as Meta/Facebook, Twitter, and other U.S. app and social media platform developers.
Today most social media end users under the age of 25 are subscribing to Chinese social media platforms such as TikTok and WeChat rather than subscribing to Facebook or Instagram posing massive privacy, cybersecurity, civil liberty, and safety threats to the Android OS, Apple iOS, and MS Windows OS end user, including teens, children, and business end users.
Simply put, Google, Apple, and Microsoft are actively distributing Chinese and Russian surveillance and data mining technology in the forms of intrusive apps and addictive social media platforms by way of preinstalled app partnerships and/or distributed through app stores such as Google Play, Apple App Store, and MS Windows App Store.
This means that through centralization, connected product owners and/or OS end users are subjected to being surveilled and data mined by numerous multinational corporations, including those from China and Russia.
Chinese and Russian intrusive app and addictive social media platform developers pose massive threats to internet end users all over the world while posing a national security threat to governments around the world.
Chinese app and social media developers are beholding to the Chinese Communist Party as well as Russian app developers are beholden to the tyrannical Russian government which means that any confidential personal, business, medical, legal, or employment information collected by Chinese and Russian developers will be exposed to the CCP and Russian government, plus their proxies that include Iran and North Korea.
Tech giants today can be described as “Digital Slavers” due to the fact that they have adopted the Surveillance Capitalism business model centered on consumer and child exploitation by way of leaky operating systems, intrusive apps, and addictive social media platforms.
Due to the fact Google, Apple, and Microsoft do not offer a private, secure, and safe OS developed on an closed API architecture, there are not private, secure, or safe connected products or services on the market today.
Since most of our lives are online today, we have no choice but to buy connected products and services that are supported by leaky operating systems, intrusive apps, and addictive social media platforms that are in turn supported by predatory terms of use that can be described a “Cyber-enslavement Agreements”.
It is a fact that if a connected product owner and/or OS end user does not accept the predatory terms of use that support all connected products and services concerned, the product owner cannot use their product such as a smartphone even though the product owner paid money for the device.
Prior to the proliferation of the Android OS, Apple iOS, and Microsoft Windows 8, 10, & 11 OS, intrusive developers traded free products and services, such as a social media subscription or a web browser, to gain access to their end user’s confidential information they collected to exploit for profits giving the end user a choice to opt in or out by simply not participating.
However, today all connected products and services supported by leaky operating systems cost money such as a smartphone, SmartTV, connected vehicle, or table PC.
This means that we are now paying money to be exploited for profits at the expense of our privacy, cybersecurity, and safety due to the fact that most intrusive apps and social media platforms are intentionally developed to be addictive as admitted by Meta/Facebook cofounder Sean Parker, and former Google product designer Tristan Harris (source Netflix Documentary “The Social Dilemma”).
People who think they have decoupled themselves from predatory companies such as Google, Meta, and ByteDance (TikTok- China) can still be tracked by these predatory companies by way of partnerships formed between advertisers who advertise with Google, Meta, and ByteDance.
It is a little-known fact that Google, Meta, and ByteDance advertisers employ website tracking technology developed by these predatory internet companies which means that when a person accesses a company’s website such as Major League Baseball or Ford Motor Company they can still be tracked by Google, Meta, or ByteDance while they are surfing the web if MLB and Ford are advertising on social media platforms developed by Google, Meta, or ByteDance.
Website tracking technology is another example of forced participation aside from predatory terms of use.
Through leaky operating systems and intrusive apps supported by predatory terms of use, connected product owners and/or OS end users have been turned into “cyber slaves” who are employed by these intrusive, predatory, and exploitive tech giants as “uncompensated information” producers due to the fact that every aspect of a person’s online life has been monetized.
This means that every time a product owner uses their connected products supported by the Android OS, Apple iOS, or MS Windows OS, Google, Apple, Microsoft, plus their trusted partners, including those from China and Russia, make money 24x7/365 days a year without compensating the product owner and/or OS end user who is producing the valuable information in the first place.
There needs to be a private, secure, and safe alternative to the centralized internet due to the fact that the centralized internet is controlled by the OS developers, and their app and social media platform developer partners known as “Big Tech”.
Simply put, the reason to migrate from today’s internet to Web3 is the fact that all tech giants concerned have adopted predatory surveillance and data mining business practices rooted in “Surveillance Capitalism” which is centered on exploiting their paying customers and/or OS end users for profits at the expense of the product owner’s privacy, cybersecurity, civil liberties, and safety.
What is Web3, and why should anyone consider migrating to Web3?
The Wikipedia definition of Web3 and/or Web 3.0 is this:
Some technologists and journalists have contrasted it with Web 2.0, wherein they say data and content are centralized in a small group of companies sometimes referred to as "Big Tech".
The term "Web3" was coined in 2014 by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood, and the idea gained interest in 2021 from cryptocurrency enthusiasts, large technology companies, and venture capital firms”.
For companies, small businesses, entrepreneurs, government agencies, organizations, and individuals who are seeking a private, secure, and safe internet experience, please do your research on Web3 and seek out Web3 OS, app, and social media developers.
In closing, adopt a cloud services and centralized internet exit strategy coupled with an enterprise top-down security and privacy strategy supported by an incident response team (IRT) so your organization can start to migrate to Web3 now or in the near future.
Rex M. Lee is a privacy and Cybersecurity advisor, tech journalist and a senior tech/telecom industry analyst for BlackOps Partners, Washington, DC. Find more information at CyberTalkTV.com
