Government surveillance and corporate data collection have created an unprecedented infrastructure of monitoring that most people do not fully understand. From NSA mass surveillance programs to tech company data harvesting, the erosion of privacy is a bipartisan project driven by national security budgets and advertising profits.
Gen Us covers surveillance and privacy because the combination of government surveillance powers and corporate data practices creates a system where virtually every digital action is tracked, stored, and potentially used — and the public has little meaningful ability to opt out.
We trace the funding behind surveillance technology companies, document the revolving door between intelligence agencies and Silicon Valley, and analyze how media coverage normalizes surveillance while marginalizing privacy advocates.
The reporting trail
New evidence joins the permanent record here, so each investigation remains connected to the larger system.
Netanyahu addressed the UN while Israel promoted its case near the organization's New York headquarters. Washington's earlier order authorized sanctions for specified ICC work involving protected U.S. and allied officials. Our verdict on that policy: coercion against accountability, not equal justice.
President Donald Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico after accusing them of reporting “fiction or lies,” and the television pool suspended designated presidential coverage after the White House prevented CNN from performing its scheduled assignment. The sequence supports an access-leverage inference, while the pool’s “no replacement” notice exposed the public’s dependence on a shared television system.
The Congressional Budget Office, according to reporting by The Guardian, estimated that the Iran war had cost at least $38 billion and said the Defense Department did not respond to requests for information. The reported gap leaves repair and future diplomatic and foreign-aid costs unestimated, while the CBO could not examine $12.1 billion in classified programs included in a supplemental request.
The Supreme Court kept the Trump administration’s proposed mail-ballot restrictions from taking effect in the 2026 midterms and left the lower-court injunction in place until after November 3. The order did not decide whether the Postal Service rule is lawful, leaving the authority question open for a future proceeding.
The White House announced bans on Canadian dairy, most alcoholic beverages and motorcycles, alongside a 50% surcharge on other goods and restrictions on Canadian products in federal contracts. The measures extend the dispute beyond tariffs into consumer markets and procurement, but the supplied reporting does not establish resulting price or job losses.
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow White House ballroom construction to continue during appeals, while the National Trust for Historic Preservation asks the justices to pause the work. A divided D.C. Circuit ruling is scheduled to halt aboveground construction, including East Wing renovations, on August 21, 2026.
The Associated Press reported that Josh Kushner and Bob Iger agreed to acquire the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion, a record-breaking price in the team’s second sale in a year. The supplied records establish Kushner’s family connection to Donald Trump and his disclosed investment authority in a 2021 Oscar Health filing, but do not establish Lakers financing or White House involvement.
The Energy Information Administration forecasts average U.S. retail gasoline prices of $3.90 per gallon in 2026, based on its June 9 outlook. EIA’s July review documents second-quarter volatility, inventory declines, stronger U.S. exports, and higher refinery-margin indicators during disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
A February 27, 2026 SEC-filed guarantee names Lawrence J. Ellison and his revocable trust as guarantors of $45.72 billion in merger consideration for Warner Bros. Discovery. A June 12 Justice Department statement said its investigation had closed and that the proposed transaction was not likely to harm competition or consumers in three specified areas, while the filings describe a possible future common parent for CBS News and CNN if the merger closes.