Nate has been publishing resources at The New Oil for many years now, and is the former host of the Surveillance Report podcast. We’re really excited about our plans going forward into 2026, and we shared a bunch of them in this podcast!

• NOYB files criminal complaint against Clearview.ai
• Denmark withdraws mandatory chat control proposal due to lack of support.
• Apple to implement ads into Apple Maps in 2026, but warns that App Tracking Transparency could be disabled in the European Union
• Police use Flock cameras to wrongfully accuse Denver woman of theft
• Signal President Meredith Whittaker claims that AWS servers are “unavoidable”

https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/10/31/noyb-files-criminal-complaint-against-clearview-police-ai-leads-to-false-accusation-apple-plans-ads-for-maps-and-more/

• OpenAI launches Atlas Browser for macOS
• AWS shutdown shutters Signal and smart beds alike
• Wisconsin lawmakers introduces VPN ban
• Apple removes Tea and TeaOnHer on the App Store

https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/10/25/openai-launches-creepy-ai-browser-aws-shutters-signal-and-smart-mattresses-u-s-states-introduce-vpn-ban-bills-and-more/

• GrapheneOS confirms that will support a non-Pixel flagship phone in 2026 with the Snapdragon SOC
• Eclypsium, an embedded security firm, reports that Framework laptops are vulnerable to a Secure Boot bug affecting around 200,000 devices
• Mozilla implements Google Lens and Perplexity AI into Firefox
• Researchers disclose a proof-of-concept attack called “Pixsnapping”, which allows hackers to steal 2FA codes without additional permissions.

https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/10/18/official-grapheneos-phone-framework-secure-boot-flaw-perplexity-ai-in-firefox/

• Microsoft blocks the ability to bypass online accounts on Windows 11
• Germany confirms its opposition to Chat Control; the European Union withdraws the proposal due to insufficient support.
• Hackers breach Discord support tickets, leaking 70,000 age verification documents
• A group of American investors have acquired the NSO Group, giving a lifeline to the spyware firm after a series of crippling lawsuit decisions.

https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/10/11/the-end-of-windows-local-accounts-eu-drops-chat-control-more/

• F-Droid warns that Google’s mandatory developer registration would destroy the project.
• Google confirms that there will be free and paid tiers for developer registration. However, FOSS developers may need to pay after a certain number of downloads.
• Apple receives another technical capabilities notice by the UK to implement a backdoor into iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection Program. This time, it will only target British users.
• AMD and Intel CPU were discovered to be vulnerable against physical attacks. The companies refuse to implement a fix as they are “out-of-scope”.

https://www.privacyguides.org/livestreams/2025/10/04/could-this-be-the-end-of-f-droid/

Our top stories this week:

• A new report reveals that a TikTok deal has been signed. Oracle will hold a controlling stake and manage security of U.S. customer data despite concerns over their CEO’s supportive statements on mass surveillance.
• Firefox 143 for Android will introduce DNS-Over-HTTPS, finally matching their desktop counterparts.
• Microsoft cuts off Azure access to an elite Israeli military intelligence unit after an investigation reveals that it was being used for civilian mass surveillance.
• The UK government announced plans for mandatory digital ID for all UK residents. In response, over 500,000 petition signatures were raised opposing its implementation.