📱 Spyware Risks, DOJ vs Google, and Internet User Decline

Good morning. It’s Thursday, November 21. Today we are covering:

• The Technology the Trump Administration Could Use to Hack Your Phone 

• DOJ's staggering proposal would hurt consumers and America's global technological leadership

• New data shows the number of new mobile internet users is stalling  

• Inside Clear's ambitions to manage your identity beyond the airport 

• Apple Pay, Other Tech Firms Come Under CFPB Regulatory Oversight

Let’s dive in

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The Technology the Trump Administration Could Use to Hack Your Phone 

By Ronan Farrow via The New Yorker

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) signed a $2 million contract with Paragon, an Israeli firm, for spyware capable of breaching encrypted messaging apps like Telegram and Signal, raising concerns about its potential misuse for mass surveillance and immigration enforcement.

• Controversies in Western democracies, including Greece, Poland, and Spain, highlight the misuse of similar spyware technologies to target journalists, opposition politicians, and activists, with minimal accountability or oversight.

• Expanding the use of spyware under the Trump Administration could amplify surveillance of vulnerable groups, activists, and journalists, echoing authoritarian tactics while undermining privacy and democratic safeguards.

𝕏: The US government recently bought powerful spyware that could make hacking your phone easier—and shape the way Trump executes some of his campaign promises, including mass deportations. - Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow)

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DOJ's staggering proposal would hurt consumers and America's global technological leadership 

By Kent Walker via Google Blog

• The DOJ's proposal seeks dramatic changes to Google services, including forcing the sale of Chrome and potentially Android, risking user security, privacy, and the quality of popular products.

• The plan mandates disclosing sensitive data, micromanaging Google Search with a "Technical Committee," and chilling AI innovation, threatening America's global technological leadership and harming consumers, developers, and small businesses.

• Google criticizes the proposal as extreme government overreach, warning it could disrupt services like Mozilla Firefox, complicate user access to Search, and jeopardize the country’s technological and economic competitiveness.

𝕏: . @Google reacts to DOJ proposal that Chrome, Android be divested. Kent Walker says "DOJ chose to push a radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and America’s global technology leadership." He says DOJ’s proposal is "wildly  overbroad." - Khushita Vasant (@KhushitaVasant)

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New data shows the number of new mobile internet users is stalling 

By Khadija Alam via Rest of World

• The growth of new mobile internet users has slowed globally, with the number of annual new subscribers dropping from 200 million (2015-2021) to 160 million in recent years, as countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria face affordability and coverage challenges.

• Affordability disparities remain a significant barrier, with data costs in regions like Africa being over twice as expensive as in the Americas, while advances in satellite technology, such as SpaceX’s Starlink, offer potential solutions for remote areas.

• Even in high-connectivity regions like China (80% penetration) and India (54%), growth has plateaued as the easiest-to-reach populations are already online, with new initiatives like China’s satellite internet program aiming to close the gap.

𝕏: What happened to the “next billion” internet users? They’re already online. Mobile internet subscriber growth has even slowed in countries like Nigeria & Pakistan, where <35% of people are connected. - khadija alam (@khadijaalam_)

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Inside Clear's ambitions to manage your identity beyond the airport 

By Eileen Guo via MIT Technology Review

• Clear is expanding its biometric identity verification platform beyond airports, aiming to create a "frictionless" future where users verify their identity with a selfie for services like healthcare check-ins, retail transactions, and LinkedIn profile verification.

• Critics warn of privacy risks, bias in biometric accuracy for marginalized groups, and the dangers of centralizing sensitive data with a single profit-driven entity, which could amplify security vulnerabilities and surveillance concerns.

• With over 27 million users, Clear has become one of the largest private repositories of biometric data, positioning itself to dominate digital identity management while facing scrutiny over its potential societal and security implications.

𝕏: Inside Clear's ambitions to manage your identity beyond the airport The company that has helped millions of people cut security lines wants to give you a frictionless future—in exchange for your face. - Evan Kirstel #B2B #TechFluencer (@EvanKirstel)

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Apple Pay, Other Tech Firms Come Under CFPB Regulatory Oversight

By Paige Smith via Bloomberg

• The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will now oversee major technology firms offering digital wallets and payment apps, such as Apple Pay, treating them more like banks if they handle over 50 million transactions annually in US dollars.

• This new rule enhances CFPB’s ability to regularly supervise and scrutinize these firms' practices, beyond taking action only when laws are violated.

• The finalized threshold significantly increases from the initial proposal of 5 million transactions annually, marking a substantial shift in regulatory oversight for the digital payments industry.

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Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit Daily fueled with highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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