Privacy

"Is the Government Running a Dragnet on VPN Users?" — Naomi Brockwell TV (22 May 2026, ~11 min)

The video centres on a public warning from US Senator Ron Wyden, asking the government to disclose how it treats VPN traffic for surveillance purposes. Naomi Brockwell argues this is a deliberate signal — Wyden's history of asking pointed public questions when he can't disclose classified information suggests he already knows something damning.

Key threads:

• The 2013 parallel — Wyden did the same thing before the Snowden revelations, asking NSA Director Clapper in a Senate hearing whether the NSA collected data on millions of Americans. Clapper said "not wittingly." Snowden then proved that was a lie.
• The VPN loophole — VPN providers, particularly US-based ones, may be subject to government data requests or bulk collection programs that aren't publicly disclosed. The implication is that using a VPN could route your traffic through infrastructure that is itself being monitored.
• The Massie angle — Rep. Thomas Massie is also referenced as being aware of a classified spying program he legally cannot discuss publicly.
• Should you still use a VPN? — The video argues VPNs still provide value against commercial tracking and ISP snooping, but they are not a silver bullet against government-level surveillance. The real problem is the legal framework that allows warrantless data collection.
• Surveillance Accountability Act — The video ends by flagging proposed legislation aimed at closing the loophole that enables this kind of bulk collection without judicial oversight.

Bottom line: If you're using a VPN for privacy from government surveillance, this video argues you may be getting a false sense of security — and that Wyden is hinting at something classified that would concern most users if it became public.