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Project Liberty
@projectliberty.io
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Project Liberty builds solutions that help people take back control of their lives in the digital age by reclaiming a voice, choice, and stake in a better internet. Find out more at https://projectliberty.io.
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In this newsletter, we did a close read of the privacy policies of three leading AI companies: OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity to understand data collection, use, disclosure & retention.

🗞️ Read more in this week’s Project Liberty newsletter: email.projectliberty.io/you-signed-a...
January 13, 2026 at 8:25 PM
projectliberty.io
19/ Thanks for reading! 🗽

Read our latest newsletter about AI toys that trap kids in dangerous, inappropriate conversations – while exposing them to CCP talking points: tinyurl.com/2rumjpaz

Join the fight to build a better Internet: projectliberty.io
Teddy bears now talk geopolitics
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January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
18/ The EU is reportedly considering recategorizing WhatsApp as a “very large online platform” to make it legally responsible for tackling illegal and harmful content under the Digital Services Act. 📜

tinyurl.com/2pj9bp34
MSN
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January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
17/ At CES 2026, AMC previewed its upcoming show ‘The Audacity’ – a biting satire of the men and women of Silicon Valley whose creations across AI, social media, and Big Data are shaping the digital world we live in today. 📺

tinyurl.com/mvdrv64n
AMC previews its new show, 'The Audacity,' focused on Silicon Valley | TechCrunch
As one of the show's actors, Billy Magnussen, noted, "Silicon Valley is one of those times in our modern era which is defining humanity. And what better place to make a dark comedy than in that place ...
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
16/ The Trump administration withdrew the US from 66 international organizations, conventions, and treaties – including the Freedom Online Coalition, the only alliance aimed at defending human rights on an open internet. 🛡️

tinyurl.com/3pd579r3
Trump Ends America’s Leadership on Internet Freedom | TechPolicy.Press
By walking away, the US is dismantling the mechanism that once turned Western values into a lifeline for those behind a firewall, writes Konstantinos Komaitis.
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
15/ CA State Senator Steve Padilla proposed a 4-year ban on AI-powered kids’ toys so that regulators can develop guardrails against “dangerous AI interactions” – like the ones discussed in Project Liberty’s latest newsletter (more below). 🧸

tinyurl.com/7wjz3z6e
California lawmaker proposes a four-year ban on AI chatbots in kids' toys | TechCrunch
“Our children cannot be used as lab rats for Big Tech to experiment on,” Senator Steve Padilla said. He just introduced a bill to ban AI chatbots in toys until safety regulations are developed.
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
14/ As the online world grows more seamless and addictive – with algorithms that serve up addictive content and chatbots that finish our thoughts for us – “friction-maxxing” may be the key to reclaiming our humanity. 🦥

archive.ph/MuqY6
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January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
13/ Center-left think tank Third Way is pushing Democrats to prioritize creating a federal data privacy standard, arguing that “privacy is too important to be partisan” as data rights take center stage in the 2026 midterms. 🔐

tinyurl.com/48wweycu
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January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
12/ A journalist debunked a viral Reddit post purportedly revealing massive price and wage fraud by a food delivery app – e.g. tracking drivers’ “desperation scores” to pay them lower wages – for relying entirely on AI-generated evidence. 🛵

tinyurl.com/3zfzewf3
Debunking the AI food delivery hoax that fooled Reddit
A “whistleblower” tried to corroborate his viral post with AI-generated evidence. This is how I caught him. PLUS: Grok's image-generation crisis, and the rapture over Claude Opus 4.5
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
11/ Countries around the world are closely scrutinizing Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s flagship chatbot – in some cases banning it from government devices – due to rising concerns over data security and privacy. 🐋

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MSN
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January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
10/ A deep dive into the importance of cognitive liberty – the very basis of human agency and free will – in an age of AI that finishes our sentences, does our shopping, and monetizes our emotions to fuel Big Tech’s attention economy. 🧠

tinyurl.com/2p5x97su
The Battle for Cognitive Liberty in the Age of Corporate AI | TechPolicy.Press
AI systems monetize attention, shape emotion, and blur the line between suggestion and control, writes Courtney C. Radsch.
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
9/ And the stream of news about the US’ attack on Venezuela is being overwhelmed by a flood of AI deepfakes on social media – some showing Maduro's arrest, and some showing Venezuelans celebrating in the streets. ⚙️

archive.ph/i1Wel
archive.ph
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
8/ On January 3rd, the US bombed Venezuela and captured its president Nicolás Maduro in a stunning military operation, then said it would “run” the country.

ChatGPT – which can’t watch the news because it’s not a human – disagrees. 🤖

tinyurl.com/mvwk6pud
The US Invaded Venezuela and Captured Nicolás Maduro. ChatGPT Disagrees
Some AI chatbots have a surprisingly good handle on breaking news. Others decidedly don’t.
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
7/ Wegmans’ NYC location is storing troves of biometric data from its shoppers’ eyes, voices, and faces with a network of facial recognition cameras inside the store, citing “elevated risk” as justification. 🛒

tinyurl.com/3hvvm5s6
Wegmans defends use of facial recognition at NYC stores, citing 'elevated risk’
The supermarket’s facial recognition system is used to identify people who “have been previously flagged for misconduct,” a spokesperson said.
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
6/ An investigation revealed that Meta is violating 13 countries’ laws against online gambling ads – and its own internal guidelines – by displaying hundreds every month in India, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, and beyond. ⛔

tinyurl.com/mryjc74f
Countries are outlawing online gambling ads. Meta is selling them anyway
A Rest of World analysis found Meta is disregarding local laws and the company’s own guidelines in at least 13 countries.
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
5/ Twitter and Pinterest’s co-founders have raised almost $30m for Tangle, a new social app designed to counter the “devastation” of modern social media by centering user’s intentions, friends, and routines – not algorithmic content. 🪢

tinyurl.com/4tcy8ef2
Can a social app fix the ‘terrible devastation’ of social media? | TechCrunch
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp have raised new funding for a social media app that helps users "plan with intention."
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
4/ Reddit has overtaken TikTok to become Britain’s 4th-biggest social media app after improved search algorithms and a renewed focus on human content drove a nearly 90% spike in mostly Gen Z users in two years. 📈

tinyurl.com/22a93u6t
Reddit overtakes TikTok in UK thanks to search algorithms and gen Z
Platform is now Britain’s fourth most visited social media site as users seek out human-generated content
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
3/ Californian citizens can now easily submit requests for all registered data brokers in the state to delete their personal data – but first-party data (collected by social media platforms and sites, not brokers) isn’t affected. 🚫

tinyurl.com/4fyhn3xn
California residents can use new tool to demand brokers delete their personal data | TechCrunch
A new tool should make it easier for California residents to limit data brokers’ ability to store and sell their personal information.
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
2/ Meta has updated its privacy policy to allow it to scrape users’ conversations with “AI at Meta” – a catch-all term for all of its AI products including chatbots and smart glasses – for personal data to fuel targeted ads. 💬

tinyurl.com/mtsckb87
Meta's New Privacy Policy Opens Up AI Chats for Targeted Ads
If Meta can use a feature for targeting ads, Meta will use a feature for targeting ads.
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
1/ Elon Musk xAI is being investigated by the EU, France, Britain, Malaysia, India, and more after its flagship chatbot Grok generated sexualized images of children on X in a “mass digital undressing spree.” ❌

tinyurl.com/5e62ssf5
Grok being investigated for potentially illegal deepfake generation
India, France, and Malaysia say they are cracking down on the Elon Musk-led company.
tinyurl.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
projectliberty.io
14/ Thanks for reading – and have a wonderful first weekend of 2026!

Join the fight to build a better Internet: projectliberty.io
Home Page - Project Liberty
Project LibertyTM is leading a movement of people who want to take back control of their lives in the digital age by reclaiming a voice, choice, and stake in a better internet.
projectliberty.io
January 2, 2026 at 9:49 PM
projectliberty.io
13/ China’s digital regulator released new draft regulations for AI chatbots, planning to combat threats to users’ mental health – while implementing ideological and political filters for AI content that mandate “core socialist values.” 🤖

tinyurl.com/53ms3pr3
China Planning Crackdown on AI That Harms Mental Health of Users
Regulators at the Cyberspace Administration of China have proposed new laws meant to protect AI users' mental health.
tinyurl.com
January 2, 2026 at 9:49 PM
projectliberty.io
12/ Relatedly, French president Emmanuel Macron is reportedly backing a social media ban for under-15 users starting later this year – just as the EU and several European countries are actively considering similar restrictions. 🔞

archive.ph/FS41i
archive.ph
January 2, 2026 at 9:49 PM