Welcome to the second episode of Dan Fournier’s Down the Rabbit Hole podcast.
Guest: Gabriel from Libre Solutions Network
Join us with our second guest Gabriel from Libre Solutions Network where we discuss many technological threats we face online that attempt to subvert our freedoms and what solutions can be utilised to counter them.
Gabriel also has a very successful Substack and has recently launched a new website called Cyberfreedom.ca (Cyber Freedom Canada).
ALTERNATE PODCAST LINK: listen on Spreaker or download the .mp3 for later listening.
Show Time Stamps
[00:00 to 00:49] Podcast intro
[00:50 to 12:36] Guest introduction, his background and mission to empower individuals facing censorship and online repression by tech giants and other bad actors.
[12:37 to 15:19] Overview of his Libre Solutions Network project.
[15:20 to 18:52] What is he biggest threat netizens face online?
[18:53 to 28:56] Operation Beehive & Cyber Freedom Canada.
[28:57 to 44:53] Bills/legislation in Canada (C-11, C-18, C-27, and S-210) and how they pose a threat + More on Cyber Freedom Canada can be used as a tool to counter these threats.
[36:32 to 44:53] Who gets to define what is “harmful” &”hateful” content & online censorship. Elon Musk & the X platform - Trojan horses?
[44:54 to 56:11] Digital IDs. Vaccine Passports. Cyber Attack Crisis.
[56:12 to 01:01:37] On the Flip Side: Is there a legitimate case for a decentralised Digital ID? How to authenticate users online? Should individuals resist and refuse Digital IDs?
[01:01:38 to 01:04:21] The EU wants to spy on Europeans’ Internet use. Could this happen in Canada? Cyber Wars & Censorship.
[01:04:22 to 01:15:18] Palantir.
[01:15:19 to 01:23:50] Other private companies we should be worried about.
[01:23:51 to 01:27:52] Digital Kill Switches to stifle Political Dissent.
[01:27:53 to 01:38:39] Where people can find Gabriel online & Final Thoughts.
[01:38:40 to 01:41:18] Outro (song) - White Rabbit by Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane
Show Notes
Operation Beehive
Gabriel’s Substack has an amazing post called Operation: Beehive which presents projects and alternatives to mainstream platforms (by forming your own through GitHub) and software applications.
The switching.software section is particularly useful since it provides alternative software packages that aren’t from Big Tech companies, are open-source, mostly free, and less intrusive.
For instance, LibreOffice Suite which is a great substitute for Microsoft Office. As such, it is less intrusive than Bill Gates’ products which are most-likely littered with integrated spyware and backdoors. Plus, who still wants to send their money to this globalist tyrant? Their word processor (LibreOffice Writer) is very similar to Microsoft Word and easy to use, but more private.
Cyber Freedom Canada
Gabriel talked about this amazing project. Though it is currently in its early stages, it has the potential to become a powerhouse in terms of protecting Canadians’ online freedoms.
So, be sure to check out his post on it as well as the website Cyberfreedom.ca.
Better yet, reach out to Gabriel if you can somehow contribute to this endeavour.
Canadian Bills / Legislation threatening online freedoms
There are currently bills and legislation that contain provisions that will threaten certain freedoms online.
Four of them were referenced in this podcast and on Cyberfreedom.ca:
C-11 (passed) - Online Streaming Act
C-18 (passed) - Online News Act
C-27 (in consideration) - Digital Charter Implementation
S-210 (passed in the Senate, currently in the Hous of Commons; bill text) - Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act
We talked about how C-11 can require broadcasters (including podcasters) to have to register with the communications regulator in Canada, the CRTC, if they make more than 10 million in revenue; but, this threshold could be decreased in the future to ensnare smaller, independent broadcasters.
The CRTC has a Myths and Facts about Bill C-11 page about the legistlation.
As for the currentply pending S-210 bill, Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, published a post titled The Most Dangerous Canadian Internet Bill You’ve Never Heard Of Is a Step Closer to Becoming Law which outlines its potential threats as it is presently drafted.
Digital ID in Ontario
Gabriel mentioned that Digital IDs are already being considered in the Canadian province of Ontario and covers the related risks about them.
Elon Musk & the X platform - Trojan horses?
During our discussion, I mentioned how I believe that Elon Musk is a great deceiver and wishes to create an all-ecompassing “X” app which is similar to China’s WeChat app which could ultimately be used to record, monitor, and control users.
Last summer I made a post titled Elon Musk’s X Empire-building, a Trojan Horse to Rule us All which outlines in great detail this trojan horse.
The EU wants to spy on Europeans’ Internet use.
I had sent Gabriel an article from ZeroHedge titled The EU Wants To Spy On Europeans' Internet Use which, though highly technical, shows how the authorities could abuse their power by forcing web browser developers and internet service providers (ISPs) to monitor citizens’ online activities.
Cyber Attack Crisis
We talked about the strong possibility of an upcoming Cyber Attack Crisis that could come out of nowhere as a false flag operation in order to bring about Digital IDs.
Last August, I made a post about this which also examined the Rogers outage that took place in the summer of 2022 which appeared to be a test-run for such a kind of future attack.
Palantir
Gabriel mentioned Palantir in his 2023 Recap video and how it can be a threat to peoples’ privacy and data security.
What is Palantir?
Palantir is a tech company that was founded in 2003 by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel.
Its original funding came from the CIA, the US spy agency, and much of its business has come from providing software to US military, security, intelligence and police agencies.
The above description is part of an article from openDemocracy.net, an independent international media platform based in the United Kingdom.
Late last year, Palantir secured a very large contract - a £480 million deal - with the National Health Service (NHS) in the U.K to provide software joining up patient data between different NHS trusts.
Palantir assures that patient data would remain private and anonymised, but MPs and many others are concerned about potential privacy concerns and potential data breaches and abuses.
openDemocracy.net - What you need to know about Palantir, the US firm in line for a £480m NHS deal
openDemocracy.net - NHS Palantir data deal puts patient trust at risk, warn MP and privacy groups
One of the founders of Palantir is Peter Thiel - who was also one of the founders of PayPal alongside Elon Musk.
Palatir has been referred to as "Silicon Valley's Most Secretive Company."
Thiel took the name for the company from the mystical “seeing stones” in J R R Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, in which the orbs are known for their potential to corrupt.
Equally secretive about its operations in Canada, which go as far back as 2013, Palantir already counts the Canadian government and Calgary Police among its customers.
Since 2019, David MacNaughton has been serving as the President of Palantir Canada.
An investigation by Lobby Canada was initiated into his hiring since he had commenced is duties for the firm while he was still serving as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States.
What is perhaps more concerning, is that since 2021 Palantir has been looking to expand into Canada’s health care sector which brings the same kinds of concerns as with their NHS deal in the U.K.; and in particular, how patient data could be misused by the company along with potential privacy breaches.
Much more can be said about the dubious operations of the company, but suffice it to say that this is one entity we need to keep an eye on.
Here are related articles and sources on Palantir:
CBC News - A secretive Silicon Valley tech giant set up shop in Canada. But what does it do? May 12, 2017 (archived here)
Open Canada - Palantir’s big push into Canada, Oct. 25, 2019
CBC News - Freeland, Vance and several federal officials barred from official dealings with ex-ambassador, Sept. 16, 2020
The Globe & Mail - Big Data company Palantir looks at expansion into Canada’s health care sector, May 25, 2021
“Coming out of COVID, we need systemwide solutions for health care,” said Mr. MacNaughton, Canada’s former ambassador to the United States and a veteran public affairs executive. “The pressure on health care workers and politicians is unbelievable. Without the right data, they can’t make the right decisions.”
Digital Kill Switches (cutting the internet & cell phones to crush dissenters during protests)
We also discussed ZeroHedge’s Digital Kill Switches: How Tyrannical Governments Stifle Political Dissent article (originally published by the Rutherford Institute) which examines how the authorities could actually disactivate internet and cell phone services during a protest to block citizens from adequately communicating.
Signing Off
Special thanks to Gabriel for the tremendous amount of technological insights he has shared with us, along with practical solutions on how we can better protect our online freedoms in the face of a technocratic tyranny in this age of Big Tech censorship.
Feel free to leave comments and/or questions below.
Learn more about Dan Fournier’s Down the Rabbit Hole podcast and the meaning behind its name:
See you next time.
Publication Note (2023-01-30):
This podcast has been re-published in THE EXPOSÉ on January 30, 2024.
Disclaimer:
None of what appears in this podcast is to be considered advice. Consult the author’s about page for the full disclaimer.
2. Cyber Freedom: Threats & Solutions, w/Gabriel