Anna Baydakova
@baidakova.bsky.social
Investigative journalist: technology, politics, humans rights.
Previously: CoinDesk, Novaya Gazeta
Previously: CoinDesk, Novaya Gazeta
This week in digital censorship & surveillance:
- “City brains,” “smart courts,” “smart prisons” and other wonders of AI surveillance in China;
- U.S. prisons inmate are unknowingly training AI tools;
- Russia blocks FaceTime and Snapchat.
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ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-great-...
- “City brains,” “smart courts,” “smart prisons” and other wonders of AI surveillance in China;
- U.S. prisons inmate are unknowingly training AI tools;
- Russia blocks FaceTime and Snapchat.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-great-...
The Great Algorithm
The future of AI surveillance is already here, and yes, you can take a look
ctrlspydel.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:53 PM
This week in digital censorship & surveillance:
- “City brains,” “smart courts,” “smart prisons” and other wonders of AI surveillance in China;
- U.S. prisons inmate are unknowingly training AI tools;
- Russia blocks FaceTime and Snapchat.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-great-...
- “City brains,” “smart courts,” “smart prisons” and other wonders of AI surveillance in China;
- U.S. prisons inmate are unknowingly training AI tools;
- Russia blocks FaceTime and Snapchat.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-great-...
This week in digital censorship and surveillance:
- Workplace surveillance tech can lead to harmful mistakes,
- U.S. human rights organizations demand that ICE stop using its facial recognition app, Mobile Fortify,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/your-ai-hr...
- Workplace surveillance tech can lead to harmful mistakes,
- U.S. human rights organizations demand that ICE stop using its facial recognition app, Mobile Fortify,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/your-ai-hr...
Your AI HR is on duty
Do workplace surveillance tools know too much about us – or not nearly enough?
ctrlspydel.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
This week in digital censorship and surveillance:
- Workplace surveillance tech can lead to harmful mistakes,
- U.S. human rights organizations demand that ICE stop using its facial recognition app, Mobile Fortify,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/your-ai-hr...
- Workplace surveillance tech can lead to harmful mistakes,
- U.S. human rights organizations demand that ICE stop using its facial recognition app, Mobile Fortify,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/your-ai-hr...
"As AI becomes more intelligent, general, and especially autonomous, it will less and less bestow power — as a tool does — and more and more absorb power. This means that a race to build AGI and superintelligence is ultimately self-defeating." control-inversion.ai
control-inversion.ai
November 18, 2025 at 1:45 PM
"As AI becomes more intelligent, general, and especially autonomous, it will less and less bestow power — as a tool does — and more and more absorb power. This means that a race to build AGI and superintelligence is ultimately self-defeating." control-inversion.ai
This week in digital censorship and surveillance:
- Big-time police surveillance is coming to college football games;
- ICE hiring bounty hunters to locate undocumented immigrants for $180m;
- Americans taking down Flock cameras,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/big-brothe...
- Big-time police surveillance is coming to college football games;
- ICE hiring bounty hunters to locate undocumented immigrants for $180m;
- Americans taking down Flock cameras,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/big-brothe...
Big Brother goes to school
What do immigrants and college students have in common? They're gong to feel the power of the surveillance state first.
ctrlspydel.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:28 PM
This week in digital censorship and surveillance:
- Big-time police surveillance is coming to college football games;
- ICE hiring bounty hunters to locate undocumented immigrants for $180m;
- Americans taking down Flock cameras,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/big-brothe...
- Big-time police surveillance is coming to college football games;
- ICE hiring bounty hunters to locate undocumented immigrants for $180m;
- Americans taking down Flock cameras,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/big-brothe...
Exploiting underpaid workers to their last drop of sweat before making their jobs obsolete is definitely the AI revolution the humanity needs.
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Mercor Contractors Allege The AI Company Slashed Their Wages
Mercor allegedly canned an AI training project with thousands of contractors just weeks after hitting a $10 billion valuation.
www.forbes.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Exploiting underpaid workers to their last drop of sweat before making their jobs obsolete is definitely the AI revolution the humanity needs.
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Is anyone here using AI health apps? How is it?
November 11, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Is anyone here using AI health apps? How is it?
The way tech billionaires are increasingly turning into self-proclaimed messiahs is another proof that extreme wealth makes people lose their minds.
Taxes are a mental health tool, y'all.
Taxes are a mental health tool, y'all.
November 11, 2025 at 2:50 PM
The way tech billionaires are increasingly turning into self-proclaimed messiahs is another proof that extreme wealth makes people lose their minds.
Taxes are a mental health tool, y'all.
Taxes are a mental health tool, y'all.
First, Peter Thiel's Antichrist tour, now Alex Karp's weird interview.
Are people at Palantir ok?..
gizmodo.com/palantir-ceo...
Are people at Palantir ok?..
gizmodo.com/palantir-ceo...
Palantir CEO Says a Surveillance State Is Preferable to China Winning the AI Race
He also had strong opinions about people's
gizmodo.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
First, Peter Thiel's Antichrist tour, now Alex Karp's weird interview.
Are people at Palantir ok?..
gizmodo.com/palantir-ceo...
Are people at Palantir ok?..
gizmodo.com/palantir-ceo...
This week in digital censorship and surveillance:
- USCIS to get more biometric data from immigrants – and citizens,
- U.S. police now has a mobile facial recognition app similar to what ICE has,
- How to opt out of TSA's face scan,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-overflow
- USCIS to get more biometric data from immigrants – and citizens,
- U.S. police now has a mobile facial recognition app similar to what ICE has,
- How to opt out of TSA's face scan,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-overflow
The Overflow
Surveillance has to start somewhere but does it end?
ctrlspydel.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:39 PM
This week in digital censorship and surveillance:
- USCIS to get more biometric data from immigrants – and citizens,
- U.S. police now has a mobile facial recognition app similar to what ICE has,
- How to opt out of TSA's face scan,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-overflow
- USCIS to get more biometric data from immigrants – and citizens,
- U.S. police now has a mobile facial recognition app similar to what ICE has,
- How to opt out of TSA's face scan,
and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/the-overflow
Scandinavia is the last remaining bastion of human sanity in this world
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk’s $1tn Tesla pay deal to be rejected by huge Norway wealth fund
Carmaker’s seventh biggest single investor will vote against package at annual shareholder meeting
www.theguardian.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Scandinavia is the last remaining bastion of human sanity in this world
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Anna Baydakova
🔎🩺INVESTIGATION: Doctors stripped of their licenses for serious misconduct can move and keep practicing abroad. Reporters found over 100 cases where banned doctors were relicensed in other countries—most of them are still treating patients. #BadPractice @vsquare.bsky.social @occrp.org
Bad Practice: How Banned Doctors Find New Jobs Across Europe - VSquare.org
Failed warning systems, complacent officials, and a lack of accountability mean doctors who have lost their medical licenses due to serious wrongdoing can relocate and practice in different countries ...
vsquare.org
November 2, 2025 at 1:54 PM
🔎🩺INVESTIGATION: Doctors stripped of their licenses for serious misconduct can move and keep practicing abroad. Reporters found over 100 cases where banned doctors were relicensed in other countries—most of them are still treating patients. #BadPractice @vsquare.bsky.social @occrp.org
Reposted by Anna Baydakova
November 2, 2025 at 7:38 PM
This week, someone sued the New York City over the NYPD surveillance practices, and the lawsuit reads like a Halloween story.
Also: the latest on the ICE surveillance expansion, some _almost funny_ hiccups of the spyware industry, and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/youre-bein...
Also: the latest on the ICE surveillance expansion, some _almost funny_ hiccups of the spyware industry, and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/youre-bein...
"You’re being watched"
This week in digital censorship and surveillance
ctrlspydel.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:05 PM
This week, someone sued the New York City over the NYPD surveillance practices, and the lawsuit reads like a Halloween story.
Also: the latest on the ICE surveillance expansion, some _almost funny_ hiccups of the spyware industry, and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/youre-bein...
Also: the latest on the ICE surveillance expansion, some _almost funny_ hiccups of the spyware industry, and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/youre-bein...
Wow, Russia's "toll farms" have been considered a viable business model and are now being emulated by "startups" in the U.S.
www.404media.co/a16z-backed-...
www.404media.co/a16z-backed-...
a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of ‘Synthetic Influencers’ to Manipulate Social Media as a Service
Andreessen Horowitz is funding a company that clearly violates the inauthentic behavior policies of every major social media platform.
www.404media.co
October 27, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Wow, Russia's "toll farms" have been considered a viable business model and are now being emulated by "startups" in the U.S.
www.404media.co/a16z-backed-...
www.404media.co/a16z-backed-...
Would you trust an AI surveillance system to be in charge of your children's security at school? That is already happening in the U.S.
Also in this week's newsletter: Amazon on a quest to become police surveillance one-stop-shop, and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/ai-nanny-b...
Also in this week's newsletter: Amazon on a quest to become police surveillance one-stop-shop, and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/ai-nanny-b...
AI nanny, be kind to us
This week in digital censorship and surveillance
ctrlspydel.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Would you trust an AI surveillance system to be in charge of your children's security at school? That is already happening in the U.S.
Also in this week's newsletter: Amazon on a quest to become police surveillance one-stop-shop, and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/ai-nanny-b...
Also in this week's newsletter: Amazon on a quest to become police surveillance one-stop-shop, and more.
Subscribe!
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/ai-nanny-b...
NYC people! Are there any mayoral debate watch parties tonight?
October 22, 2025 at 3:52 PM
NYC people! Are there any mayoral debate watch parties tonight?
Blue collar jobs will be devoured by AI and we all are funding that feast
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/t...
Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots
www.nytimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Blue collar jobs will be devoured by AI and we all are funding that feast
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/t...
What a complete incompetence
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
“Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here.”
My Signal exchange with the interim U.S. attorney about the Letitia James grand jury.
www.lawfaremedia.org
October 22, 2025 at 2:57 PM
What a complete incompetence
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
It's especially funny to get letters from your uni with requests to donate when you're unemployed. Was only funnier back when I had student debt.
October 21, 2025 at 12:40 PM
It's especially funny to get letters from your uni with requests to donate when you're unemployed. Was only funnier back when I had student debt.
Reasons for optimism this week:
1. America's trade unions and @eff.org believe mean tweets shouldn't cost people visas,
2. ... that's all
Also:
bizarre mutations of Russian internet censorship,
why facial recognition sucks, and
what is a browser fingerprint ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/access-den...
1. America's trade unions and @eff.org believe mean tweets shouldn't cost people visas,
2. ... that's all
Also:
bizarre mutations of Russian internet censorship,
why facial recognition sucks, and
what is a browser fingerprint ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/access-den...
Access denied
This week in digital censorship and surveillance
tinyurl.com
October 17, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reasons for optimism this week:
1. America's trade unions and @eff.org believe mean tweets shouldn't cost people visas,
2. ... that's all
Also:
bizarre mutations of Russian internet censorship,
why facial recognition sucks, and
what is a browser fingerprint ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/access-den...
1. America's trade unions and @eff.org believe mean tweets shouldn't cost people visas,
2. ... that's all
Also:
bizarre mutations of Russian internet censorship,
why facial recognition sucks, and
what is a browser fingerprint ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/access-den...
It takes genuine curiosity about fellow humans to really love New York.
October 17, 2025 at 3:34 PM
It takes genuine curiosity about fellow humans to really love New York.
Apple and Google took down apps helping citizens track and report ICE raids, NYPD will be watching CCTV cameras in NYCHA buildings, Signal might leave Europe over "Chat Control", and more – in this week's newsletter.
Subscribe to stay informed 📨
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/melting-do...
Subscribe to stay informed 📨
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/melting-do...
Melting down over ICE
This week in digital censorship and surveillance
ctrlspydel.substack.com
October 10, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Apple and Google took down apps helping citizens track and report ICE raids, NYPD will be watching CCTV cameras in NYCHA buildings, Signal might leave Europe over "Chat Control", and more – in this week's newsletter.
Subscribe to stay informed 📨
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/melting-do...
Subscribe to stay informed 📨
ctrlspydel.substack.com/p/melting-do...
It's funny how U.S. companies are all after govt contracts now – just as they are in Russia.
But in Russia, the govt has the natural resources money and monopoly in many fields, while the individual consumer market is much weaker on the global scale.
Discuss?..
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
But in Russia, the govt has the natural resources money and monopoly in many fields, while the individual consumer market is much weaker on the global scale.
Discuss?..
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Inside Amazon’s Aggressive Push To Get Cops Using AI Surveillance
With a growing roster of partners, Amazon has been peddling AI drone surveillance, gun detection and real-time crime center tech to law enforcement agencies, public records reveal.
www.forbes.com
October 8, 2025 at 3:59 PM
It's funny how U.S. companies are all after govt contracts now – just as they are in Russia.
But in Russia, the govt has the natural resources money and monopoly in many fields, while the individual consumer market is much weaker on the global scale.
Discuss?..
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
But in Russia, the govt has the natural resources money and monopoly in many fields, while the individual consumer market is much weaker on the global scale.
Discuss?..
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Reposted by Anna Baydakova
When freedom of the press is under attack, journalists vanish, lies become law, and the voice of the people is silenced. It’s not just how democracies die, it’s how countries falter. It’s how they fall.
OCCRP fights back with facts — and we need you with us: membership.occrp.org/truth-or-sil...
OCCRP fights back with facts — and we need you with us: membership.occrp.org/truth-or-sil...
October 6, 2025 at 2:15 PM
When freedom of the press is under attack, journalists vanish, lies become law, and the voice of the people is silenced. It’s not just how democracies die, it’s how countries falter. It’s how they fall.
OCCRP fights back with facts — and we need you with us: membership.occrp.org/truth-or-sil...
OCCRP fights back with facts — and we need you with us: membership.occrp.org/truth-or-sil...