It's 10 pm, Do you know where your data is?

A peaceful stroll under city stars immediately leaves you whiplashed by the wind, filled with the smell of burning rubber, and the blinding crimson-sapphire-blue lights contrast with the warm-honey luminance that breathes the city to life. However, instead of a speeding crowd of police cars tailing behind a suspect, drones whirl above your head, zooming through the troposphere, only armed with the knowledge of a biased, inaccurate, artificial intelligence. 

Despite their impeccable design, these drones lack the human capacity for emotional processing and the ability to create an arrest. Rather, a more dangerous situation can evolve, questioning the notion of the functionality of drones and how arrests can even be made unarmed v.s. armed. To Larry Ellison, co-founder and current CEO of Oracle, a company popularized as a “worldwide surveillance machine” that collects billions of users' data and sells it to third parties, this is all but soon to be a reality. “We’re going to have supervision…Every police officer is going to be supervised at all times, and if there’s a problem, AI will report that problem and report it to the appropriate person” (Ellison, 2024). Tickled with the idea of expanding the billion-dollar company from funding off of user data to creating surveillance for the United States government, Ellison stated that Oracle will have citizens “...on their best behavior, because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on” (Ellison, 2024).

Despite Oracle being found guilty of illegally selling user data in July of 2024, resulting in a $115 million settlement (Landymore, 2024), Ellison’s future remains bright, with his alliance portfolio of politicians and President Trump within the current 2026 administration. Ellison’s political alliances have made him one of the main American investors in the former Chinese app TikTok, along with Greg Mondre & Egon Durban, Co-CEOs of Silver Lake, and Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi, CEO of the Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX, to protect American user data. This promise to protect American data falls flat with many TikTok users. Each of these CEOs has faced controversies over the exploitation of data from millions of people, marking a new chapter in American history. Ellison and his controversies of TikTok & ICE, planning to weaponize artificial intelligence in police enforcement that can unethically & disproportionately harm minority groups, and continuously raising concerns on how user data is weaponized, used, and distributed to third parties in America and the UAE. 

Tech giant Oracle’s stories are far from the only monopolies facing controversy. Nearly every mainstream platform- Apple, Google, Meta, etc.- has violated consumer data, leaving Americans vulnerable and exposed, as they continue to develop new technologies to widen the door of exploitation and continually blur the lines of U.S. privacy laws. The U.S. is still a federal democratic republic with a mixed capitalist economy. Nevertheless, economists argue that America’s current state has created a new hybrid economy, driven by the ongoing rise of tech giants' involvement in international government affairs, elections, and the sale of user data to third-party buyers such as ICE. Academic Shoshana Zuboff dubs America’s current governmental evolution “surveillance capitalism,” yet America would be more formally identified as a Federal Democratic Republic with Technocapitalism.

American consumers have not sat silently in the wake of technocapitalism, launching counterattacks through class action lawsuits and even adopting analog trends. Americans have been wary of tech giants and their data following several scandals, including ICE using data from Meta’s Facebook, Google & Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica Scandal, and platforms’ misuse of DNA, which could violate HIPAA through the sharing and selling of genetic information. Unknowingly, with all of this data in the hands of various companies, Americans do not even realize their data has been compromised in data breaches, leaving them susceptible to scammers, criminals on the dark web, and even fake threats. 

Elizabeth Warren, former elect for the 2020 Democratic Party Presidential Primaries, claimed that mergers must limit competition, proprietary marketplaces should be used to limit competition of monopolies, and converting large tech platforms as “platform utilities” so that “These companies would be prohibited from owning both the platform utility and any participants on that platform. Platform utilities would be required to meet a standard of fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory dealing with users. Platform utilities would not be allowed to transfer or share data with third parties” (Warren, 2019). A voice of the people, Warren is one of many reacting to the spike in data concerns and Americans’ safety. 

These boiling emotions of insecurity, vulnerability, distrust, and concern frame America’s next chapter as it enters the 1930s. In 2031, Encrypted Living will be the cultural movement in which people feel digitally and physically vulnerable and exposed to digital applications and online spaces. Distrust and concern, the foundation of Encrypted Living, will fuel the rise of publicly accessible digital tools to protect the public’s digital identities and valuable data, and to ensure privacy in both physical and digital realms. As distrust and concern grow, the turbulent emotions of cultural movement will fuel desires for public solutions to privacy issues that extend beyond governments and businesses, giving rise to a wave of online protections in spaces that allow the public to gain autonomy over their digital data and identities. Key drivers shaping trends in the digital application of Encrypted Living in 2031 include new technologies, government alliances, strategic globalization efforts, consumer psychology, and American demographics. 

Pt. 1: Technology

Before delving further into the legal boundaries and moral counterarguments surrounding the collection, sale, processing, distribution, and weaponization of user data, one must recognize that the 8th Amendment does not explicitly define privacy protections, leading many to assume that privacy is a guaranteed right in the United States. This assumption is far from true. Because privacy is not a guaranteed right, although many cases may be subjectively immoral, consumer lawsuits against tech giants could be far from illegal under the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent. The notion that the 8th Amendment serves as an assumed right to privacy rather than an entitlement is well known among tech moguls, with even Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, stating in 2010 that social networking had already changed privacy as a “social norm” (Zuckerberg, 2010).  

With an estimated 6,613.2 million total global social media users by 2030, according to Statista, tech giants Apple, Google, Meta (Facebook & Instagram), and TikTok have the potential for unparalleled growth, as the United States enters the 2030s (Statista, 2025). These tech giants, coupled with the early adoption of new technologies, will shape the decade with cutting-edge features. Nevertheless, the emergence of these new technologies will further blur the boundaries of privacy rights, exacerbate the lack of protection for Americans’ digital twins, and prompt discussions of the legal status of perceived privacy under the United States Constitution. 

According to DataReportal, Facebook has the largest number of users, at 3,070 million, with Instagram closely behind at 3,000 (DataReportal, 2025). TikTok ranks fifth, with 1,990 million users (DataReportal, 2025). Despite strong popularity and usage, tech giants should be wary of the gap between their monopolistic control over the market, how consumers actually feel about their new features, and how the company handles user data. 

Based on the All About Cookies Organization’s data on “Share of adults trusting big tech and media compared to the government in the United States as of May 2024,” it is clear that many tech companies generally receive more trust from the American public than the U.S. government does. 55% of adults trust Apple more than the government, while for Google, 65% trust Google and 65% trust Meta (All About Cookies, 2025). In comparison, the U.S. government had the trust of only 28% of adults, 1% less than those who fully trust Tesla (All About Cookies, 2025). 

Despite tech giants receiving higher trust from the American public than the American government, YouGov’s 2025 “Trust in Media” survey found that only 20% of Instagram users considered the platform at least somewhat trustworthy. In comparing Meta’s Instagram with adults’ lack of trust in the U.S. government and their actual trust in Meta’s platform, the data show that although American users may have higher trust in digital applications than in their government, they remain skeptical of the information and interactions they see in those spaces. 

This skepticism found in comparing both All About Cookies’ and YouGov’s data further supports the belief that if tech giants develop new technologies that will continue to exploit users' data, trust in the brand will further erode. Trust is foundational to a company’s success; it must be strategic about how users interact with their platforms. 

A prime example of technology that may erode consumer trust with Apple is the new Silent Speech technology, which is expected to be fully integrated into the Apple ecosystem by 2029. Silent Speech is created by Q.ai, an Israeli AI startup that has developed an artificial intelligence-fueled system to interpret facial skin movements, such as subtle muscle contractions, that happen when someone is mouthing words but not speaking. CEO Aviad Maizels patented the technology in 2025, saying that it can detect mouthed and whispered words to understand better understand potential emotional states, heart rates, and respiration rates.

The technology achieves this by using infrared light on the user’s face; when movement occurs, the AI system analyzes the reflected signals. Trained on data, the AI system can translate and decode patterns with an accuracy above 80%. In theory, this can help in noisy areas such as crowded spaces, subways, restaurants, or libraries, where silence or whispers are required. It can even be beneficial for those who have lost their voice due to illness and/or serious medical issues. 

Silent Speech will make Siri better at hearing, understanding, and processing user input. At the same time, Siri is undergoing a full makeover, becoming a new form of artificial intelligence by integrating Google Gemini into its ecosystem. Q.ai technology improves many of Apple’s digital applications beyond Siri, including facial recognition, Apple Watch apps, Vision Pro, and general iPhone, Mac, and iPad capabilities. 

In addition, Apple’s third-party developer apps will be able to leverage Silent Speech capabilities (ALM Corp, 2026). Third Parties leveraging speech capabilities broaden the concern not only to what Apple may do with data, but also to what third parties will do with it and whether they will sell it to another party. Consumers’ reactions to expressions about certain topics can be politicized, weaponized, or even used as evidence in court cases, sparking deep privacy concerns. The parties that could access this data and information about American citizens through Apple’s Silent Speech technology are broad and not limited to the government, given Apple’s close ties and strategic alignment with the current president. 

Another example of tech giants testing the American public’s trust in online digital platforms is Google. While tech giants like Google claim not to sell personal data, their methods of monetizing consumer information remain poorly understood by the public. This issue extends beyond digital footprints to genetic data, where genealogy databases introduce new privacy concerns. Without proper regulation, consumer DNA information can be accessed by law enforcement, private corporations, and even malicious actors, raising ethical concerns about consent, discrimination, and personal security. To protect individuals, a comprehensive federal law must be enacted to regulate the use and transmission of DNA and user data in databases, ensure informed consent, restrict third-party access, and prevent discriminatory practices by employers, insurers, and other entities.

Forensic experts often highlight the benefits of using DNA data from third-party sources such as ancestry DNA platforms. The case of the Golden State Killer is frequently cited, demonstrating how a serial rapist and murderer was apprehended thanks to shared DNA data. However, opponents argue that the unauthorized use of DNA data violates fundamental privacy rights. Some believe that if solving crimes and bringing closure to victims' families justifies the means, the ethical concerns should be overlooked. As said earlier, the Eighth Amendment does not explicitly define privacy protections, leading many to assume privacy is a guaranteed right in the United States. This assumption is far from true. Given that companies already exploit user data for financial gain—monetizing digital footprints, analyzing user behavior, and even claiming ownership of content created on their platforms—the parallels between DNA data privacy, digital data privacy, and Google’s faults become evident and undeniable.

Google, the search engine that dominates digital frontiers worldwide, controls 62% of mobile browsers, 69% of desktop browsers, 71% of mobile devices, and 92% of internet searches, according to February 2025 statistics (StatCounter). Even though Google claims not to sell its users' data, Bennet Cyphers, a special advisor for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, states that Google runs code on 85% of websites on its platform (Cyphers). Through real-time bidding, Google auctions off ad space on its platforms. Through this, Google packages data such as cookies, device IDs, geolocation, and browsing history with each bid. Google itself dominates most of the real-time bidding ecosystem, owning third-party ad networks such as DoubleClick and AdMob. Today, DoubleClick dominates most of the ad exchange market, while AdMob is the most popular supply-side platform for both iOS and Android applications. The process has created a sketchy system in which user data is stored and transferred, finding its way to ICE and the Trump Administration (2016-2020, 2024-2028) for immigration surveillance, to data brokers, to advertisers, and to private investment pools. 

Google controls much of the digital advertising ecosystem, owning platforms such as DoubleClick and AdMob, which track user activity across the internet (Cyphers). On its Play Store platform, Google scans 94% of the listed applications (Cyphers). In tracking all of this data, Google uses it to create personas based on demographics, psychographics, and interests, which it presents to advertisers targeting specific consumer segments. This creates a system in which users' personal information is not only harvested but also shared with advertisers, hedge funds, and even government agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (Cyphers). Such practices pose risks of surveillance, misinformation, and discrimination, particularly against marginalized communities.

Another way Google shares data is through its Customer Match Program. Through its Customer Match Program, Google enables companies to target real people using device IDs and phone numbers, thereby collecting sensitive data, including location, IP address, and browsing history (Cyphers). Although indirectly, companies can share lists of device IDs and phone numbers, and Google will match the data to real people. It will take the company’s advertisement and connect it to those real people. When users click the advertisements, they are taken to the company's landing page, which can immediately collect data, including location, IP address, and cookie IDs. Through this, companies can collect private and sensitive information, such as users' medical data, immigration status, and geographical location, from users who click on their advertisements. In further analysis, this data can be shared or sold to other companies, which could affect the user. In addition, when data breaches occur, data consumers often don’t realize that Google or other companies' platforms can fall into the wrong hands, leaving them vulnerable to scammers, criminals on the dark web, and fake threats. Data breaches can result from insider threats, cybercriminals, human error, and even third-party breaches, making Google and other companies morally liable for any harm done to users' data and livelihoods.

Similarly, ancestry DNA databases operate under shady policies that allow the sharing and selling of genetic information. When individuals submit their DNA for genealogical research, they often do not realize they may be granting law enforcement, forensic labs, and even private companies unrestricted access to their genetic data. This lack of regulation raises serious ethical concerns, particularly when individuals are unaware that their relatives' genetic profiles can be used to implicate them in criminal investigations. While solving cold cases and identifying suspects through familial DNA searches have been celebrated as a breakthrough in forensic science, they also open the door to arguments that privacy is being violated.

To allow users to take back control of their data, California enacted the Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which went into effect on January 1st of 2020, with several states, such as Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah, following suit. Virginia passed the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) in 2023; however, it does not protect health information based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, Virginia allows users to request, confirm, correct, delete, obtain, and opt out of personal data used to profile and create targeted advertisements by companies (Miyares). Companies must obtain consent to process consumer data, including racial, ethnic, religious, mental, physical health, biometric, and geolocation data. The act also protects personal data collected from children under 13 (Miyares). 

Despite the passage of the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, the law does not prohibit the sharing of sensitive personal data between companies, leaving users vulnerable to potential harm from platforms such as Google that monetize consumer data. The sharing of consumer data across platforms still poses potential threats of misuse, ethical concerns, exploitation of targeted individuals, creation of false narratives to spread misinformation, and discrimination against certain individuals based on race, religion, and sexual orientation. 

As technology advances rapidly, our laws governing the privacy protection of DNA and user data must be improved before more creative, exploitative practices emerge. The federal government should introduce legislation to prohibit companies from sharing, selling, or exchanging personal and sensitive data with third parties. If a consumer chooses to share data with a specific platform, that platform must respect and not disclose the user's data and the DNA shared with it. This practice is applied with counselors through confidentiality limitations and laws, which can spur debate about more ethical practices regarding the leakage of DNA and user data, allowing consumers to have better control over where their data and DNA can be. Without a bill being passed that prohibits companies from sharing data among parties, whether directly or indirectly, concerns will grow about how companies, government groups, people in power, and individuals with expendable capital can exploit the system to advance their interests. With only the current, inadequate legal protections for consumers’ data and DNA, individuals risk losing control over their most personal information—their genetic blueprint. To prepare for this brave new world, we must act now to safeguard genetic privacy and uphold fundamental human rights.

Pt. 2: Government 

With an increase in concern over Apple’s future consumption of user data through its new Silent Speech technology, while taking into consideration the relations that the brand has with selling data to third parties and extensive relationships with past and current federal government administrations, the American public is not crazy to feel uncomfortable with this new technology. When technology intersects with government entities, it can become an even stronger driving force, as seen with Apple and The Age of Encrypted Living. 

To understand how Apple’s new technology has been used in the American government, one can track the company's lobbying expenses as a measure of its use. In 2025 alone, Apple contributed $10,000,000 in lobbying to the Trump Administration (Open Secrets, 2026). Events such as aligning with the Administration and Trump’s political agenda to avoid tariffs and Apple’s deal with the United Kingdom, which led to a lawsuit, have demonstrated Apple’s involvement in governmental affairs. 

To understand the first example of Apple’s entanglement with governmental entities, we must examine Apple’s relationship with Trump. Donald Trump wants Apple iPhones fully made in America. However, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, knows that a complete shift of its global manufacturing to fully made U.S. products could decimate the company. Cook has been cozying up to Trump to steer Apple away from as much of the global tariff fallout as possible. To please President Trump on iPhone production in the U.S., Cook highlights components of Apple made by American manufacturers, while also strategically strengthening relationships with domestic hubs. 

Tim Cook also created the American Manufacturing Program, which offers incentives to American companies to manufacture parts in the U.S., ultimately supporting 450,000 jobs. Later in August 2025, Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, announced his commitment to increase Apple's investment in U.S. manufacturing by another $100 billion over the next four years during a visit to the White House. 

Despite the 55% of Apple adults trust the brand more than the government (All About Cookies, 2025). While only 28% of U.S. adults have trust in the government (All About Cookies, 2025), Apple’s continuous advancement in territory over concerns of data privacy while also aligning closer to the government, even if it is simply to dodge the Trump Administration’s tariffs, is a risky move. 

In looking at the second example of Apple’s entanglement with governmental entities, the 2024 class-action lawsuit, Lopez v. Apple, comes to mind. According to Forbes senior writing contributor Kate O’Flaherty, the case began with claims stirring forums in the United Kingdom of reports about Siri listening to conversations of users speaking with their doctors, sexual encounters, and drug deals. Apple agreed to pay to avoid a costly, high-profile court case (O’Flaherty, 2026). Currently, Apple users are beginning to receive their $95 million in court winnings from the class-action lawsuit. Apple's recordings also included unlawful app data, location, and contact details. Apple responded to claims that only 1% of its recordings are used to improve user requests and to measure when Siri is accidentally activated. Yet, this 1% is equivalent to 500 million devices in use  (O’Flaherty, 2019).

Apple agreed to the payout in a preliminary settlement in 2024. The lawsuit alleged that Apple violated users’ privacy rights by capturing their conversations without their knowledge or consent and sharing the data with advertisers (O’Flaherty, 2026). Claims began in 2019 in the United Kingdom, where reports appeared of Siri listening to conversations of users speaking with their doctors, sexual encounters, and drug deals. Apple agreed to pay to avoid a costly, high-profile court case (O’Flaherty, 2026). Users of the lawsuit received $8.02 per device and a maximum payout of $40.10 for Siri-enabled Apple devices created from Sept. 17, 2014, to Dec. 31st, 2024 (O’Flaherty, 2026). Although Apple claims that the Silent Speech technology will not always be watching its users, it is hard to believe the company’s claims after Apple faced the Lopez v Apple case, which did not provide relief for concerned American consumers. 

Apple was not the only tech giant to come under fire for recording its users; Google did as well. According to The Guardian, Google is also recording users, with “only 0.2% of all recordings are accessed by humans for transcription, and the audio files are stripped of identifying user information.” As shown by Apple’s recordings of its 1% of users, a small percentage can still amount to millions of devices. Google, however, is not limited in its controversy over user data when it comes to government interference. 

Meta’s platform, Facebook, is also far from innocent when it comes to governmental interference, especially with elections. A prime example of ethical concerns raised about the spread of misinformation and its potential to sway election results was Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's interrogation of Mark Zuckerberg regarding Meta’s decision to run advertisements without fact-checking. This lack of fact-checking went hand in hand with companies' ability to target certain groups of users for exploitative purposes and to gain political campaign advantages. 

Even in 2016, Facebook, Google, and Twitter were used to influence the election, prompting them to implement safeguards. In addition, before the 2020 presidential election, Facebook said it would restrict new political ads. They allowed users to forward articles to up to five others on their messaging platforms and worked closely with Reuters to provide official election results. 

Despite its efforts, Facebook’s extensive past in controversies has provided little reassurance to the American public. The Cambridge Analytica Scandal accused Facebook and Google of using data to micro-target voters, aiming to influence or manipulate them during the U.S. election. The Great Hack documentary raises concerns about how susceptible people were to Facebook’s micro-targeting efforts and, more generally, about how people respond to behavioral manipulation. Facebook had to pay a $5 billion settlement as a result of this intermingling in the election. Yet its share price rose because the data analytics technology performed well, despite ethical concerns in investors' eyes. Facebook even stated that they had up to 5k data points on every U.S. voter and used psychographic analytics in conjunction with its dataset to infer people’s personality types and then give them micro-targeted messages to influence behavior, and in this case, elections. From Meta’s part in the Cambridge Analytica Scandal, 87 million Facebook profiles were affected. 

Google, on the other hand, explored personality profiling, manipulating emotions, and targeting people based on psychological vulnerabilities. Google specifically developed targeted ads that use social engineering to sway people’s beliefs and change their behavior, and they are available to anyone. 

Pt. 3: Globalization 

The third key driver of 2031’s New Encryption cultural movement is globalization. According to Kantar, the world’s leading business in artificial intelligence, native marketing data and analytics, their analysis of  “Leading media and entertainment brands worldwide in 2025, by brand value (in billion U.S. dollars)”, found that Google ranks as the leading media and entertainment brand globally, with $840.25 billion in revenue in 2025 (Kantar, 2025). Facebook ranks second at $300.66 billion, and Instagram third with $228.95 billion (Kantar, 2025).

The online tech giant TikTok is a perfect example of how national government affairs over technology and user data concerns balloon into an international issue, being used as a pawn in the political agendas of various former representatives around the globe. 

On January 22nd, 2026, a group of American investors closed a $14 billion deal to take on TikTok and to avoid a second “...looming mandated shutdown of TikTok” by President Donald Trump. This was publicly due to concerns with China taking American citizens’ data. Yet, the users of the TikTok platform and the Trump Administration have had past rivalries, such as when TikTok K-Pop stans bought 19,000 empty seats to sink Donald Trump’s Rally in Tulsa, Okla (Lorenz, Browning, & Frenkel, 2020). Concerned about China’s involvement with American user data, the Trump Administration launched meetings and online attacks against TikTok’s current CEO, Shou Zi Chew, a Singaporean man who represents the company ByteDance, which owns TikTok. Zhang Yiming and Liang Rubo founded Bytedance. 

The American investors who bought TikTok are Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle; Greg Mondre and Egon Durban, co-CEOs of Silver Lake; and Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi, CEO of the Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX. These four men hold 45% of TikTok’s ownership and serve as managing investors, while ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake in the company. Since the buyout, TikTok is now known as “TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.” The new managing investors will monitor U.S. content, yet it’s ironic that each investor raises issues about the ethical handling of user data. 

For starters, Larry Ellison’s relationship with government entities dates back 50 years, to 1977, when he first came into contact with the CIA as Oracle’s first customer. Using data that Oracle had controversially required, Ellison advocated for a “national security database combined with biometrics, thumb prints, hand prints, iris scans, or whatever is best can be used to detect people with false identities” (Ellison, 2024). Before becoming allies with Donald Trump, Ellison was a Democrat and a Pro-Clinton supporter, yet changed when Obama came into office, controversially approaching Israel compared to past Democrats and Republicans. Trump wasn’t his first choice for president, but he became affiliated with him in a fundraiser for Trump’s presidential campaign at Mar-a-Lago. Ellison would also be part of an influential U.S. government project called Stargate, which involves building data centers for artificial intelligence. After participating in a discussion challenging the 2020 Presidential Election results, Ellison and Trump have seemed to grow closer ever since, with even plans in 2020 to take 12.5% of the TikTok platform. In addition, Ellison has affiliations with Elon Musk, investing of $1 billion in Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. 

The next pair of new managers of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC are Greg Mondre and Egon Durban of Silver Lake. Both have supported Democratic and Republican causes, according to FEC findings, and ironically, Mondre supported $2,800 to Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to Forbes (Tindera, 2021). They are also connected to Trump through their portfolio, as they bought into UFC in 2016, which helped place Trump on his “manosphere” podcast appearances that supported his 2024 campaign during the election. Already had pre-existing relationships with TikTok investors. Historical ties to Oracle, with the previous cofounder, David Roux, having a really good relationship with Ellison. Just as Ellison, Mondre, and Durban supported Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, they have also been affiliated with Abu Dhabi, which owns a small share in Silver Lake, further fueling unease among UAE investors and seeking to strengthen ties between the U.S. and the UAE. 

Lastly, Ahmed Yahi Al Idrissi, CEO of the Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX, is of great concern to Americans. With the AUE creating parterships amongst the U.S., China, and Russia in order to diversify its portfolio of oil to other industries, the relationship with the UAE, certainly in data relations, proves concerns in potential data leaks that can wind up unfriendly parties of China and Russia (the entire point of TikTok being bought by new “American” investors in the first place). Not only does MGX contribute $7 billion to Stargate, but the U.S. government is also inclined to deepen its relationship with the UAE, rather than the UAE turning to China and Russia, due to trade concerns about tariffs, as well as monetary and national opportunities and development. Despite its American relationship, the UAE uses Huawei, China’s largest technology company, raising technological security as the U.S. interacts with the UAE and its citizens use the TikTok platform. With such vast values made illegal in the country, many minority groups in the LGBTQ community have expressed their concern over data usage and U.S. x UAE relations in various sectors. 

Concerns about TikTok data are occurring not only globally but also nationally, involving parties such as ICE. TikTok’s latest updated terms of service explicitly state that it can track your location and citizenship status, amongst other identity markers, such as sex. TikTok’s data is stored on Oracle’s cloud infrastructure. Part of its existence stems from U.S. intelligence and law enforcement contracts, in which co-founder Larry Ellison stated that, in the new era of AI, “citizens are on their best behavior.” In addition, since the buyout, censorship allegations against TikTok have overtaken mainstream media, citing slower load times, timed-out requests, phrases that cannot be sent, such as “Epstein,” and content being flagged as “ineligible for recommendation.” 

Platforms like TikTok rely on Mobile Advertising Identification or “MAID”, a unique set of characters for every smartphone. Every time an app shows a user an advertisement, it publishes their coordinates to thousands of private bidders. TikTok data goes through a “meat-grinder” of tools that efficiently identify people, allowing applications such as ICE’s ELITE app to combine government and private data to generate neighborhood maps and confidence scores on targets and houses in the area. No longer are the days when officers go to a judge for a warrant, despite the requirements of the Fourth Amendment; rather, they can simply buy data from a private broker and make assumptions about a person’s identity and crimes in the moment themselves.  

With the ELITE app, ICE has also accessed Ring cameras and Flock license plate readers, bringing physical stalking into the cyber realm. Instead of creating wiretaps and using traditional methods to figure out your identity, they can simply access the digital twin of your life, showing where you go, where you live, your child’s school, daycare, etc. This allows for ICE not only to target undocumented people, but to expand onto their own personal biases. TikTok’s new update of its terms of service now provides the last missing piece of data- citizenship. ICE can also get a feel for emotional and political leanings through “sentiment analysis,” identifying resistance hotspots that arm ICE Agents to violate the Fourth Amendment. 

Pt. 4: Consumer Psyche

Consumer psychology is the final key driver for Encrypted Living. With emotions of unsafety, vulnerability, distrust, and concern boiling over, these sentiments are reshaping how Americans engage with digital environments. Growing fears about surveillance, behavioral manipulation, and misinformation have heightened awareness of how personal data can be used to influence beliefs and behavior.

Within what scholars describe as surveillance capitalism, companies harvest consumer data to construct detailed personas, enabling micro-targeting strategies that exploit psychological vulnerabilities and distribute highly personalized — and sometimes inaccurate — information. This is seen with TikTok’s new Terms of Agreement and ICE accessing user data to micro-target individuals, communities, and hot spots that do not fit their values, increasing paranoia and civil unrest, as is currently unraveling in Minnesota. 

As a result, Americans are beginning to counterattack through class-action lawsuits and even cultural shifts toward analogous behaviors. This response reflects a deeper desire for self-autonomy over digital twins and identities, further solidifying the emergence of Encrypted Living.

Pt. 5: Demographics

Demographics is another key driver for Encrypted Living through the unprecedented scale of global digital participation. By 2030, social media users are projected to surpass 6.6 billion worldwide, with platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok maintaining billions of active users. Despite growing skepticism toward how data is collected and used, engagement remains remarkably high.

This paradox — widespread participation alongside rising distrust — results in the daily generation of large amounts of data. Every interaction contributes to expanding digital footprints, increasing both the value and the risk of personal information leaking in data breaches and falling into the hands of controversial third-party data platforms. As more individuals integrate digital platforms into their everyday lives, the urgency for privacy protections intensifies, positioning encryption not as optional but increasingly necessary in the evolving digital landscape and amid the ongoing blur of big tech, privacy, and the weaponization of data. 

Conclusion

As artificial intelligence advances, so does the accessibility of our most sensitive information, which is why Encrypted Living is the trend of 2031. What was once limited to simple browsing history and search queries now extends to reading facial micro-movements, identifying geolocation patterns, and even accessing our genetic blueprints. The integration of technologies such as Apple’s Silent Speech offers a glimpse into a future where devices no longer wait for user input but actively interpret human behavior. Although these companies claim their systems are not "always watching”, past cases such as Lopez v. Apple prove that even without consent from the user, they are being watched. Hence, why only 28% of adults trust the government. 

Many major companies, such as Apple, Google, Facebook, and TikTok, operate systems that can track and sell user data at an unprecedented scale. Whether this is done through bidding systems, AI profiling, brokers, or higher government entities. The lack of fact-checking and federal regulation laws allows personal data to be shared, sold, or indirectly exchanged with third parties. From TikTok now under Oracle's cloud data to ICE’s ability to access people's locations and identity, our digital footprints have been completely weaponized. 

Consumers should fear the normalization of total informational exposure, especially with the rise of technology in DNA databases. Because genetic data is the most permanent and personal, if compromised, consumers lose control over their identities and their relatives' identities. A stolen password can be reset, but a genetic blueprint cannot. Without federal legislation prohibiting companies from selling, sharing, and exchanging personal data, users are at risk of their identities being compromised.  

Tech brands have even been deemed more trustworthy than the government. As technocapitalism intertwines with governmental interests, emotional responses of anxiety, distrust, and vulnerability intensify. Within this emotional environment, Encrypted Living emerges. In five years, encryption will be a cultural demand, not a mere technical feature. Users will seek publicly accessible digital tools that protect their identity, secure communications, and decentralized control over sensitive data. This culture shift will extend beyond software changes to consumer behavior as well. 

By 2031, digital life will center around Encrypted Living, and individuals will have control over their own data and online interactions. Advanced apps, subscriptions, and services will go beyond traditional security by providing seamless encryption and user privacy tools. These solutions directly respond to growing distrust, data breaches, and user fatigue, empowering people to engage online on their own terms. Privacy will be built into people's daily routines, rather than just a reactive measure.

References

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