Privacy's last stand

September 2025 marked a critical turning point in the surveillance economy. Disney paid $10 million for illegally collecting children’s data. Google faced $425.7 million in penalties for nearly a decade of smartphone tracking. Microsoft cut off a military unit for using their tools to surveil civilians. While corporations face mounting fines and compliance nightmares, governments worldwide are accelerating digital ID mandates—offering a false choice between corporate surveillance and state control. From cryptographic proofs to peer-to-peer networks, the alternatives exist right now. The question is whether we’ll adopt them before the surveillance trap closes.