Free Republic

The bipartisan push to remove anonymity from the internet is ushering in an era of unprecedented mass surveillance and censorship.

Planning to tie the knot in Spain? It’s highly expensive wherever you wed. But, if you are, you had better take it into account Hacienda (the tax agency). Newlyweds across Spain now face unexpected tax demands as Hacienda intensifies scrutiny on wedding gifts. Authorities now actively remind couples that cash and presents from guests qualify as taxable donations, potentially adding thousands to post-wedding bills. The idea behind this move is to close loopholes in revenue collection with digital transfers becoming more prevalent. Average weddings in Spain exceed €24,000, everything taken into consideration, including wedding meals alone consuming €13,000 to €14,000,...

The war in Iran is not only going to show us how evil the regime actually is, but it's also going to open the eyes of Western nations to just how many sleeper terrorists they've imported thanks to their lax immigration policies. There is real concern that Iranian and other Islamic sleeper cells may retaliate for the Iran strikes, while Democrats continue to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down. In Austin, a Senegalese immigrant named Ndiaga Diagne killed several at a bar before being taken out by police. Diagne was wearing a hooded sweatshirt that read "Property of...

See video link. Facebook.

‘I hope they put Jack Smith behind bars for this!’ said Mark Davis, one of many conservative victims of the special counsel and ‘Arctic Frost’. The people who cheered on Jack Smith’s corrupt investigations into Donald Trump and his allies are suddenly silent after a bombshell report detailing the Biden FBI’s politically-charged spying ops. Reuters this week reported the Democrat-led FBI subpoenaed records of phone calls made by current FBI Director Kash Patel and Susie Wiles, Trump’s campaign manager who now serves as his White House chief of Staff, in 2022 and 2023 when they were private citizens. Two anonymous...

"Age Attestation on Computing Devices" (Colorado State Bill 26-051) would require age verification on all Operating Systems (both Open Source and proprietary), with fines for violations.

A confidential government report exposing the reach of an FBI dragnet of arbitrary spying published by Racket News last week did not detail specific matters that fell into its web, but new documents reveal that the legal team of President Donald Trump fell under the watchful gaze of the bureau while he remained the sitting president in 2020. The FBI flexed its investigative muscle in the tense period between Election Day and the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, not bothering to wait for the formal transition of power to President Joe Biden before it began digging. About a...

China has seeded the West with thousands of agents pushing propaganda, engaging in espionage, fomenting protests, and silencing domestic dissent. In 2023, the FBI arrested two Chinese-Americans, Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, for operating a Chinese police station in Manhattan. Chen pleaded guilty and faces up to five years in prison for acting as a Chinese agent, while Lu, who has connections to Chinese authorities, pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. He faces 20 years for obstruction of justice. According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), the police station was established to monitor and intimidate Chinese dissidents in the...

There is a fundamental difference between how China and the United States view higher education. Grasping that difference is essential to national security. Top Chinese graduate students are cultivated with the expectation that their expertise will advance state priorities. So when Beijing sends its top students to matriculate at American universities, it is not pursuing benign cultural exchange; it is deploying strategic assets. Seen through that lens, China is using the American university system as a conduit for absorbing American know-how, extracting technical expertise, and moving valuable research and intellectual property back to China. The practical effect is that People’s...

Chinese students and scientists who are members of the Chinese Communist Party, attended schools tied to the Chinese military or worked with companies connected to Beijing's theft of U.S. technology have “infiltrated” several top American universities, according to a watchdog group report that raises fresh concerns about America's vulnerabilities to its most fierce adversary. A conservative non-profit oversight group, the American Accountability Foundation, reported that it found nearly two dozen Chinese academics working at elite U.S. schools and labs “who because of the dual-use threat of their research, close ties to the military research sector in China, and/or clear ties...

Oct 2, 2024 Which company is the premiere surveillance Big tech company that really seeks to know you well for their AI? The answer to this question will often be tainted by the marketing moves of these companies and guaranteed that for the normie, the answer will be wrong. The reason is that people don't understand the motives of each of these companies? Why do they need to know each of us so well? What's in it for them? If you really understand this, you will be surprised at the answer.

Just because you're paranoid about digital sovereignty doesn't mean they're not after youOpinion I'm an eighth-generation American, and let me tell you, I wouldn't trust my data, secrets, or services to a US company these days for love or money. Under our current government, we're simply not trustworthy. In the Trump‑redux era of 2026, European enterprises are finally taking data seriously, and that means packing up from Redmond-by-Seattle and moving their most sensitive workloads home. This isn't just compliance theater; it's a straight‑up national economic security play. Europe's digital sovereignty paranoia, long waved off as regulatory chatter, is now...

🚨 HOLY SMOKES. President Trump and his sons are suing the IRS and Treasury for $10 BILLION DOLLARS over the leaking of his tax records YES! It's time for everybody who wronged President Trump to FAFO, INCLUDING the IRS. 🔥🔥 “The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica and other left-wing news outlets, which was then illegally released to millions of people.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said on Oct. 15 that the agency is cracking down on espionage by foreign adversaries, with an increase in arrests as high as 50 percent. “We have gone after espionage activities against our main counterparts in China, Russia, and Iran,” he said at a press conference. “In China alone, we’ve had over a 50 percent increase in espionage arrests alone, and prosecutions,” Patel said. “In Iran, we have had a 50 percent increase, again, in espionage cases. And in Russia, we had a 33 percent increase in espionage cases alone.” State Department employee Ashley Tellis, arrested...

The UK government has pledged to introduce a digital ID system for all UK citizens and legal residents by the end of the current Parliament (so no later than 2029). The integration of digital ID into government services, though already under way, has hitherto been largely voluntary. However, it is becoming steadily less optional, as the government has said it will now be required as a precondition for work in the UK, and a version of it (GOV.UK One Login) is already being imposed unilaterally upon company directors throughout the UK. Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones has...

European users, institutions, and tech firms face a new social media option built around mandatory identity checks and EU regulation. European backers have formally unveiled W, a new social media platform designed to operate entirely under European law and infrastructure, positioning itself as a verified alternative to X. The service was introduced publicly in Davos, Switzerland, during events surrounding the annual World Economic Forum, and is intended for rollout across the European Union and other markets. All users will be required to complete identity and photo verification before participating. The launch is significant as Europe tightens enforcement of digital platform...

Missouri is moving to shut down a trailer park business bordering Whiteman Air Force Base after a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation uncovered links between the property and a convicted fraudster with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence ties. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins announced Thursday the administrative cancellation of Property Solutions 3603 LP, the operator of a Knob Noster Trailer Park that shares a perimeter fence with Whiteman Air Force Base, home to the B-2 stealth bombers. The company is ultimately controlled by a Georgia-based firm owned by a Canadian couple with ties to disgraced Chinese tycoon Miles Guo, who...

Recently unredacted construction plans for China’s new super embassy in London have ignited a storm of national security concerns across the United Kingdom, as blueprints reveal a hidden underground room positioned alarmingly close to some of Britain’s most sensitive communication cables. Major critics of the proposed site, which will run as close as three feet to the internet infrastructure, warned that the secret room could serve as a hub for Chinese espionage. While the British government reportedly assured its allies that the lines do not carry sensitive government data, the cables transmit financial transactions as well as communication traffic for...

A judge sentenced a former U.S. Navy sailor convicted of espionage in August 2025 to over 16 years in prison, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Monday press release. Jinchao Wei, also called Patrick Wei, was apprehended on espionage charges in August 2023 as he showed up for work on the amphibious assault ship U.S.S. Essex at Naval Base San Diego, according to the DOJ. Prosecutors accused Wei of selling national defense information to an intelligence officer employed by the People’s Republic of China. A federal grand jury later indicted him. He has now been sentenced to 20o...

A viral post highlighting biometric surveillance at a Wegmans grocery store in New York City is sparking renewed privacy concerns. "Biometric identifier information collected at this location," a sign attached to the door of a Wegmans reads. "Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. collects, retains, converts, stores or shares customers' biometric identifier information, which may include" facial recognition, eye scans and voiceprints, the sign states. Wegmans confirmed it is collecting the biometric readings, telling Fox News Digital in a statement the "safety of our customers and employees is a top priority." The company went on, "Like many retailers, we use cameras to...