Government Surveillance, Religious Freedom, and Another Brain-Computer Interface

Tipping Point Quick Hits (04.24.25)

The Government Surveillance Database

I’ve written before that I generally trust the political instincts of President Trump, but I remain suspicious of Elon Musk and his quest for power within the government. (Musk recently announced he would be pulling back from the Department of Government Efficiency to refocus his attention on Tesla.)

A chilling new report from WIRED Magazine definitely catches my attention. Musk’s colleagues at DOGE are trying to assemble a master database of all available information about individuals living in the United States. WIRED describes the database as something that “could create a surveillance tool of unprecedented scope.”

The data in question comes from the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, Health and Human Services, and the IRS. It includes individual voting records, information from immigration databases inside DHS, and sensitive biometric data. All this information exists at various government agencies but has always remained siloed to protect Americans.