Who’s Watching You Today?

China VS USA

By now you’ve probably watched this video. Alarming users into thinking that ‘the scary Chinese’ are watching you and your information all the time using TikTok. We’re going to talk a bit about psychology and how it’s used to make us fear what we shouldn’t and trust what we shouldn’t.

This video conveniently leaves out, is that ALL AMERICAN tech companies including Apple, Google, Facebook and all US apps, have backdoors to them- it’s US LAW. Infact they go beyond even just that with PRISM. What is PRISM: it is the NSA having direct backdoor access to servers from these giant Tech companies that we use everyday- Google, Facebook, Whatsapp, all social media platforms. It is so massive that it actually is bigger than the Chinese if not on par- and that’s where this should scare you. Why are you being told to be afraid of Tik Tok and the scary Chinese for watching you, while the US quietly has access to your smartphone’s camera and can watch you while you’re reading this. Snowden revealed this to the whole world, that’s why he’s a “traitor”, because he spilled the beans: the US is China.

Facebook’s facial recognition program is something they rolled out but guess who essentially has access? The US government and their spy affiliates like the NSA. First they helped these companies like Google and Facebook with millions in grants, then they use them to watch you and your habits, in an effort to make you more compliant and just enough defiant to make you think you have freedoms, when you don’t. Is that any different than China. No, it’s not. And that should scare you.

It’s Psychology: Give Us Your Freedom, It’s For Your Freedom Of Course.

Fear works and nothing unites people who are scared and lost better than fear. It worked during the Cuban war, the Iraq war, Opioid crisis, and so many others. Nothing works better than to control the emotions of the population. You’re probably wondering how that is possible, why would they do that?  Well they need to accomplish goals that maybe don’t fit the average person’s ethics, morals, or humanity. They’ve learned it’s easier to get people on board with doing something wrong, by making them all agree it’s right. How do they do that? Well through the data they collect from watching you 24/7, duh.

World War 2 is a prime example. A monstrous government convinced the people of Germany that they needed to fear the “Jews” because they were taking over Germany- the banks, the business all of it. They made it ‘look’ real by pointing out prominent Jewish homes and their wealth, while ignoring the fact that these families rose to power over generations of hard work, it wasn’t overnight. The Jews were the victims they needed. 6 million people were tortured, killed and ripped from their homes and families, because of such a horrid goal which still has lasting impacts.

But luckily for humanity, the Russians sacrificed ultimately to end WW2. They are little known for their contribution to ending Hitler’s reign. They were the reason the War ended. But most history books only talk about how the US saved everyone. But that’s how History is handled, the losers never get to write.

The war in the MIddle East also used the same platform of fear. You’re being told to fear the Muslims, fear the Arabs, fear the Chinese, fear the blacks, fear the Russians, fear the Mexicans, fear everyone who isn’t American and caucasian. Sounds icky to say, but that’s what’s happening and we should all fear that mentality.

This fear mongering with China might be for War, or world domination or that the US fears how on par the Chinese are with their surveillance to the US. Or, it’s competition for data collection.

We normal people never really understand what’s going on in the head of government. But I know the US is engaged in 10 different wars, not in countries like Myanmar or India where actual atrocities are being done. No, they’re going after ‘dictators’ and countries that have a lot of resources, like oil and good ol’poopy seeds. The US is actually pushing for war in Iraq again and for separate war with Iran…They want to colonize it all. And they need YOU, to get onboard with it.

Competition For Your Data

Did you know that China has been using Windows based programs for a decade now in everything from their government to banking systems? They also knew in that time that the US was spying so hard on them using the backdoors placed in Windows. You didn’t see massive News about them on TV complaining about the great US threat to watching the Chinese people. China has allowed US companies to enter the 1 billion Chinese consumer market because US companies are in desperate need to get some of the middle class Chinese money. They can’t really do that in the US or North America, because the middle class doesn’t really exist there anymore.

Companies like Apple entered the Chinese market with China knowing fully that there are in fact software and hardware backdoors on Apple phones. Did they go on some rant about it at the government level on TV racistly pointing out that the ‘whites of America are watching you Chinese citizens’. If you think about it this way, you find how big of a joke this video is. This boils down to one thing. The US doesn’t like competition in spying and they want to be the only one’s to get all that sweet sweet data you produce. They wanted to collect data on the Chinese and you and then make you think that the Chinese collecting your data was somehow scary. I’m terrified of the monster that could bold faced lie to us and then manipulate our emotions into thinking how we feel about something.

I understand how powerful ‘fear’ is . If you fear that TikTok is collecting your data, you should fear that so is Instagram, Facebook, Google and the rest. If you fear that big bad China is Chinese, then you should fear the one’s telling you to fear them because of it. Are we being used to ‘fear’ China more than the US because it’s ‘white and western’…that’s not right, because I can tell you, neither one of these governments has our best interest in mind. So fear them both equally. Both are notorious for breaking your rights and freedoms. I fear TikTok as much as a I fear Facebook. Who do I fear less. The Chinese. Why?

Canadian Data & Maple Syrup

The Maple syrup I threw in there to keep your attention. It’s good and wholesome, buy some right away.

Anyhoo, all our Canadian data is taken, including your personal information, your pictures, right down to access to your camera. It is ridiculous to think we should fear China more over US’s intrusive backdoors that can access your webcams and smart devices (yes even your fridge) with a simple law. Why our Canadian government hasn’t put into place proper laws to protect us, baffles me. We are acting like an extension of the US, like another state and that infringes on our sovereignty. They’re spying on all of us. We even share all our internet infrastructure with the US, which means it’s not in our control and if tomorrow they want to punish us by blacking us out on the net, they can. I have for years told Industry Canada that we need to invest in our own internet infrastructure. Maybe now with Coronavirus and an unhinged US President, our government will finally consider making our country, truly separate.

We need Canadian based apps and tech and our government needs to support that. I don’t like any government watching me and my private conversations, but if that had to be something, I’d rather it be a Canadian authority watching me, not an outside country. That puts our national and personal security at risk.

But what I’m curious about, is if this is ‘fear China talk’ or ‘racist talk‘, or both in order to achieve a more aggressive grab for more of our privacy. I don’t think either country should be allowed to take my data. I’m a Canadian and should only be subject to privacy and data laws of Canada.

What To Do?

This video is ridiculous and this man is flat out using ‘fear the Chinese are watching you’ to lull you gently into thinking, OHMYGOD THE CHINESE ARE TAKING OVER, while conveniently forgetting to tell you, “Ah we’re doing the same thing tho but we’re America so it’s okay”….

Hold my beer, (I don’t drink alcohol, but just hold this can will ya). After doing business in both China and the US, I can tell you, I have more freedoms and can fight a lot harder with the Chinese government than I can with the US. The United States Of America can pull my wife out of our car and detain her simply because ‘she looks Iranian a bit’. They can pat down my small children at any US airport legally. They can watch my daughter on her tablet and even record her when she’s not looking. The US collects data on me and my family and our household constantly because everything I put on the net, or computer or my phone is for them to see and it’s their law to see it.

There have been numerous stories of the FBI breaking down doors and taking people’s servers and possessions simply because they can on a whim. Long time ago I had 1 client who was possibly running a VPN on his server in China. They told me to stop, I told the client and that was it. They did nothing else. In the US for another company, the FBI broke down the doors, took ALL of his servers not just the suspected one. Overnight the FBI collapsed this company’s business by taking not just the server in question, but all of it for no reason but that they could.

I’m not trying to say don’t fear China- OH you gotta fear them too. They have facial recognition in all their CCTV’s which is something other countries are rolling out now quietly again so that you don’t realize it’s happening. They also have a social credit system that Alibaba helped make, that lowers your score for being poor or having friends who are poor. They also have taken over 1 million Uighur out of their homes and caged them into death camps- there is A LOT to fear here.

But TikTok isn’t one of them. No, when it comes to privacy and freedoms, they’re pretty clear, what you have and what you don’t have. With the US, you do not know at all what they are taking, why and how much of your data they have and what they’re using it for.

I only use these apps for public information, but that is the risk of social media- which a growing number of underage children have now. For example Whattsapp has Messenger kids which is directly tied to Facebook. So all of your child’s pictures, videos and EVERYTHING is collected. Parents are oblivious and simply regard this as the new norm and accept it because they’ve been molded into accepting that it’s somehow okay to let government bodies have direct access to their kids.

I know of a IT admin of a large company who does cybersecurity as well, and he has an Alexa at home for his kids to use, and Messenger Kids on his kids tablets so they can chat with family and friends unsupervised at anytime- these are young children under the age of 13.

Worry. Fear. Do all of that for the right reasons. But don’t just give in to the ‘fear China’ theme because this is the same theme they used for the Black people, Muslims, Mexicans…Right now, I would say with everything that is happening in the US with the kind of leadership they have, I fear the USA more than China.

What are your thoughts on this cybersecurity friends?

Cheers,
Areeb