There is a battle raging, fought without guns or bombs and not for land or resources… This is a battle for our attention. Big Tech companies are competing for our attention in clever ways and desperately want more and more. If you’re wondering why your children throw tantrums if you ask them to get off their phones, or why you find yourself doom scrolling and obsessively posting and checking for likes, then this podcast is for you. These phenomena did not come about by accident – this was designed.

A few decades ago, a new field of behavioral science emerged from the depths of our advanced computer age. It is called Captology. This is the science of how to grab as much of our time and attention as possible with technology. Nobody is safe from being a lab rat in this giant, unspoken experiment. Whether you’re elderly, a working adult or a child, Big Tech wants to use the principles of Captology on all of us! And guess what, Big Tech is winning the battle by captivating our time, mesmerizing our minds, and taking hold of our deepest emotions for their profit.

Are you scared yet? You probably should be… This topic is so broad and complex that we decided to dedicate three episodes to the people, concepts and impacts involved. We will take you back to the birthplace of Captology looking at people like BJ Fogg and Nir Eyal, exploring the Hooked Model and explaining what Pavlov’s Dog and the principles of Classical Conditioning have to do with our relationships with technology today.

Join Manal and Reinhardt for our first episode of Season 2 and a new year at Tech4Evil.com and join the resistance against the excesses of Big Tech. Tune in to our podcast for Crash Courses in Digital Self Defense and spread the word. We are taking back our digital agency and fighting to keep tech good! For young and old and for our collective future.

00:00 – Season two topics

07:29 – The Facebook whistleblower Francis Haughen

12:27- Captology or Computers as Persuasive Technology 

15:54 – The Hooked Model

22:25 – BJ Fogg Behavior Model

25:02 – Pavlov’s Dog

Having a coffee or a beer this weekend? So are we…

Join Manal and Reinhardt as we cover the latest news and developments from around the world. If you’re interested to see what Big Tech, Social Media Giants and other evil-doers are up to then please sit back and enjoy our coverage of the latest news and developments.

On our very first Beer & Coffee episode format, we ask… is your boss looking at your computer screen? Why does the private Israeli NSO group have the French President’s mobile phone number? …does the EU care about biometric surveillance and why is Big Tech trying to make money off of our emotions?

Pour your favorite latte, blow the froth off of your last lager for the week and join Manal and Reinhardt on today’s episode of Tech For Evil….

How does Australia stack up against other countries when it comes to our digital rights? Do our privacy laws protect us or do they leave us vulnerable to the lightly regulated tech companies? To answer these questions, we’ve brought in our very first guest onto the show… a Top Gun of Australia’s legal profession – Angus Murray.  

Angus is the co-founder and national director of The Legal Forecast, Vice President of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, member of the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, Chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia policy team and a death metal fan to boot. Angus was recently awarded the ‘Young Alumnus of the Year’ by the University of Southern Queensland. So, strap in and let Angus demystify the legal jargon and give you an insight into the world of online digital rights and privacy in Australia. 

In the blue corner of our title fight, today is the Australian legal system and privacy laws and in the red corner, we have the rest of the world. Angus does a blow by blow of how Australia’s legal history has shaped our current digital rights and privacy laws, compares them with our European contenders and gives his view on whether Australians can count on our rights as citizens to keep us safe while our human experience is being digitized with little or no say of our own.  

Also in the episode, find out how Aussie politicians can get away with sending us unsolicited text messages on mass and whether or not your boss is allowed to monitor our work laptop activity, on today’s episode of Tech For Evil, where we expose what big tech doesn’t want you to know and give you ways to fight back. 

00:30 – Introductions and Bio – Angus Murray

04:38 – How Does Australia Compare to Europe? 

08:00 – Origin of Australia’s LegalFramework

10:00 – A digital social contract

17:00 – Australia’s Privacy Act of 1988

20:26 – Australia and the EU GDPR

23:00 Informed Consent

27:41 – Australia’s Privacy Commissioner and Ben Grubb

30:00 – DIfference between breach of confidence and an invasion of privacy 

32:22 – Angus on Facebook

41:05 – Angus on our data being abused

43:41 – A Skynet, Minority Report World

44:54 – Break

45:27 – Painting a dark picture, Australia, US, EU, UK

46:53 – Politicians in my phone

50:16 – Is my boss watching me?

53:13 – The Legal Forecast

01:06:20 – Remote controlled mice

01:09:46 – What can we do to fight back?

01:13:22 – Are we all doomed or is there hope?

Listen to Episode 4 Part 1

“Mass surveillance creates a prison to the mind” Glenn Greenwald

Have you ever found yourself clicking on “Yes, I have read and understood the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy” only to nervously wonder what terms you just accepted? Whether we’re in our home with our family or confiding to a friend at the park there’s a high chance we cherish the privacy we can have with them. But what if I told you that someone in your house, in this very moment, has the power to hear your self-talk and to hear that inner voice that allows your mind to wander through your fantasies and insecurities? What if I told you that it was you who invited them into your home? The online world may not be as private as we were all led to believe.

Did you know that Facebook can read your private messages? Did you know that YouTube still keeps all your videos even if you delete your account? Did you know that Reddit keeps the drafts that you never submitted?

Find out what you can do to fight back when Big Tech tries to peer into your private life and hear about the tools you can use to take back control of your privacy when you’re online on Part 2 of Episode 4 of Tech 4 Evil.

01:24 – We don’t sell your data

03:54 – You are in charge of your data

10:05 – We anonymize your data before sharing it

12:57 – If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear

23:44 – Privacy is dead

28:17 – What is privacy protection?

31:35 – Privacy Law between Australia and China

33:42 – What the tech community can do 

39:30 – Manal’s message to the tech community

Listen to Episode 4 Part 2

“Mass surveillance creates a prison to the mind” Glenn Greenwald

Have you ever found yourself clicking on “Yes, I have read and understood the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy” only to nervously wonder what terms you just accepted? Whether we’re in our home with our family or confiding to a friend at the park there’s a high chance we cherish the privacy we can have with them. But what if I told you that someone in your house, in this very moment, has the power to hear your self-talk and to hear that inner voice that allows your mind to wander through your fantasies and insecurities? What if I told you that it was you who invited them into your home? The online world may not be as private as we were all led to believe.

Did you know that Facebook can read your private messages? Did you know that YouTube still keeps all your videos even if you delete your account? Did you know that Reddit keeps the drafts that you never submitted?

Find out what you can do to fight back when Big Tech tries to peer into your private life and hear about the tools you can use to take back control of your privacy when you’re online on Part 1 of Episode 4 of Tech 4 Evil.

Play in new window | Duration: 00:46:44 | Recorded on 05/11/2021

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify

A good user interface design offers ease of use and a streamlined online experience, but some of your favorite websites have deceptive ploys built in to get you to do things you never intended to do. Are you an avid online shopper? Many e-commerce sites use cunning manipulation to get you to buy something you don’t want or need.

You might be greeted by a digital guilt trip when you click “no” on an “exclusive offer” or end up with a product in your shopping cart that you never selected. Is your email inbox overflowing with spam emails and newsletters to which you never subscribed? Little did you know, when you clicked a random button or bought a product, you were automatically put on the mailing list.

It’s right there in the privacy agreement that takes roughly 18 minutes to read. Attempting to opt-out of spam emails only adds to your frustration as you hunt for a minuscule unsubscribe button that takes eight tries to push successfully. Facebook users who try to disable their facial recognition can expect to be bombarded with the positive aspects of the software without any mention that it will also be used for targeted advertising.

In this episode, Manal al-Sharif and Reinhardt Sosin dissect the dark patterns of user interface design. From color interpretation to “Bait and Switch,” they cover several of the cheapest tricks deployed by online giants to influence your decisions. Join Manal and Reinhardt as they expose some of these con artists.

Welcome to episode 3 of the Tech4Evil Podcast: The Dark Patterns of Design.

Play in new window | Duration: 01:05:02 | Recorded on 30/08/2021

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify

Manal al-Sharif and Reinhardt Sosin discuss the concept of Planned Obsolescence of Tech. Big Tech companies use a whole host of design and marketing tactics to get you to throw away your smart devices long before it’s necessary. Ever had a product break within weeks of the warranty expiring? What about that iPhone that slowed down after a software update? If you’ve ever walked away from a repair shop feeling frustrated after being told the cost to repair your device is close to the value of a new one, this episode is for you. Learn about the history of Planned Obsolescence, the detrimental impacts this concept has on our planet, and the ecocide, iFixit and the Right to Repair activists fighting Big Tech to take back our rights as consumers and protect our planet. Welcome to Episode Two of the Tech4Evil Podcast.

2:40 – What is planned obsolescence? 

3:05 – The four types of planned obsolescence of tech

13:50 – Why are tech companies designing devices to break?

16:08 – The economical and environmental impact of planned obsolescence of tech

21:45 – A brief history of planned obsolescence

25:12 – Repair Cafes

25:13 – I Fix It or Ifixit.com

27:24 – The Right to Repair movement

29:09 – The Ecocide Law

30:06 – The US, Europe and Australia  supporting the Right to Repair

33:02- Steve Wozniak support

35:15 – A call to action

Is my phone listening to me? We’ve all been there: you have a conversation with a friend about a product or service, and within a day or two, you see an ad for that very thing on your favorite social media platform. It’s more than spooky; it feels intrusive, as if your phone has a direct connection to the thoughts in your head. No, it’s not technological espionage- it’s hyper-targeted advertising evolving to be surveillance-based advertising. Every time we go online or scroll through social media on our phones, we leave behind bits of data, like breadcrumbs, for Data Miners. Websites track our movements via cookies and tracking pixels. Companies pay big bucks for your personal profile that was structured from those breadcrumbs and then target you with specific advertising. In this episode, Manal al-Sharif and Reinhardt Sosin discuss the multi-billion dollar targeted advertising ecosystem, how it directly impacts your mental health and privacy, and how you can fight back against the digital dictatorship. Welcome to Episode One of the Tech4Evil Podcast where you find out what big tech doesn’t want you to know.

Background reading.

Targeted Advertising or Surveillance-Based Advertising?

25 Aug 2021

1:53 – Welcome

2:27 – What is surveillance-based advertising?

9:50 – How does surveillance-based advertising work?

20:57 – The Norwegian Consumer Council Report

30:13 – How big is the digital advertising industry?

33:21 – The history of digital advertising

36:12 – What are the impacts of the surveillance-based advertising model?

52:30 – What are the alternatives?

54:47 – How can we fight back?

55:57 – A call to action

57:57 – Your Crash Course in Digital Self Defence

01:02:19 – Spot the Evil (#evilspotter)