Digital Freedom Project
A long-term editorial series on the erosion of digital freedom.
One sequence at a time. Each story is a standalone terminal-style narrative — data, quotes, documented events. No voiceover. No talking heads. Just facts that land.
About
Why this exists
Each concession is small, incremental, and rarely debated in public. This archive keeps the record.
Digital freedom is being negotiated in real time. Encryption backdoors. Mass surveillance. Data brokers selling behavioral profiles. Each concession is small, incremental, and rarely debated in public.
This project documents it. Not as opinion pieces or hot takes, but as sourced narratives that stand on their own. Every claim backed by public records. Every quote verified. The format is secondary to the facts.
"In encryption, in open source, in self-hosted infrastructure, in the choice of what tools we trust with our data." — Pavel Durov, Oslo Freedom Forum, June 2026
Start here
Three ways into the archive
The Ship Has Already Hit the Iceberg
One speech as a hook, then the independently sourced state of digital freedom.
Episode I · long read 02 — Case filesPegasus
Five cases on the spyware that changed the rules — from Khashoggi to the 50K list.
Episode II · 5 cases 03 — MethodHow this is sourced
Public records, verified quotes, and a source badge on every factual claim.
Editorial standardArchive
Episodes & case files
A living archive, not a finished product. Each case is one self-contained file — open it, initialize the terminal, read at your own pace. The scope will expand as the story does.
State of Digital Freedom
The Ship Has Already Hit the Iceberg
The opening thesis: one speech as a hook, then the independently sourced state of digital freedom.Pegasus
Khashoggi
The journalist, the consulate, and the phones around him that were already on a list. 02Sánchez
The prime minister of Spain was infected. The investigation hit silence. 03The 50K List
The leak did not prove 50,000 hacks. It exposed the global watchlist behind Pegasus. 04Zero-Click Arms Race
KISMET, FORCEDENTRY, BLASTPASS — the exploit chains, the patches, and the race that never stops. 05The Rehabilitation Tour
Sanctioned, sued, bought by American investors — the rehabilitation that changed everything but the product.Next episodes
Encryption Wars
Five Eyes, EU chat control, and the backdoor debate.Mass Surveillance / Snowden
Key disclosures, impact, and aftermath.Data Brokers
Who sells your data, how it is aggregated, and the opt-out illusion.Global snapshot
Three lenses on digital and information freedom
Different methodologies. Different scopes. Similar warning signs.
Scores are on their original scales, never normalized equivalents. Full table and sources below.
| Country | FH Internet | RSF Press |
|---|---|---|
| Norway | Not covered | 92.72 |
| United States | 73/100 | 62.61 |
| Indonesia | 48/100 | 43.02 |
| India | 51/100 | 31.96 |
| Russia | 17/100 | 23.15 |
| China | 9/100 | 13.85 |
Freedom House — Freedom on the Net 2025 (72 countries, 0-100, higher = freer). Reporters Without Borders — World Press Freedom Index 2026 (180 countries, 0-100, higher = freer). V-Dem — Digital Society Project v8 (March 2026): a 35-indicator expert survey rather than a single headline score. Scores are original scales, never normalized equivalents. Accessed 2026-08-17.
Sources: Freedom House — Freedom on the Net · Reporters Without Borders — Press Freedom Index · V-Dem / Digital Society Project