The article titled “The Watchers: How OpenAI, the US Government, and Persona Collaborated to Create an Identity Surveillance System” was published on Mon Feb 16, 2026 at 00:00:00 GMT. There has been ongoing communication with Rick Song, the CEO of Persona, who has shown responsiveness and engagement in our discussions.
Rick has agreed to respond to the 18 questions outlined in section 0x14 through written correspondence. The full exchange will be presented in part 2 of this series. However, crucial discoveries such as openai-watchlistdb.withpersona.com and its extensive certificate transparency records spanning 27 months have not been addressed.
It is important to note that all information gathered was obtained through passive reconnaissance using publicly available sources like Shodan, CT logs, DNS records, HTTP headers, and unsecured files served by the target’s web server. No illegal activities were conducted as no unauthorized access or data manipulation took place. This investigative journalism falls under legal protections such as the First Amendment, ECHR Art. 10, CFAA safe harbor (DOJ Policy 2022), California Shield Law, GDPR Art. 85, and Israeli Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.
The authors affirm that they have no affiliations with any governmental entities, intelligence services, or competitors of the organizations mentioned in the article. The research is driven solely by public interest and has been shared across various jurisdictions and archives for transparency.
Any attempts to suppress or retaliate against this publication will be considered confirmation of its validity and lead to wider distribution. It is emphasized that the safety and well-being of all authors are ensured with contingency plans in place should any harm come to them.
A call is made to Persona and OpenAI’s legal teams to conduct a thorough audit of their “FedRAMP” compliance status and provide detailed responses to the questions raised in section 0x14 for appropriate resolution.
The narrative explores the juxtaposition between the promised convenience of future technologies with the underlying reality of pervasive surveillance practices embedded within everyday interactions.
In unraveling the infrastructural intricacies of Persona’s identity verification system intertwined with OpenAI’s watchlist service, a veil is lifted on the covert operations blending commercial AI advancements with federal surveillance initiatives.
The exposure extends beyond technical configurations as it delves into the ethical implications of mass data collection practices that infringe upon individual privacy rights under the guise of security measures.
As revelations unfold regarding government-endorsed platforms like Fivecast ONYX linked to immigration enforcement agencies like ICE, a stark contrast emerges between stated intentions and operational realities within these systems.
The detailed examination of source code snippets illuminates a complex ecosystem where personal data is commodified for compliance purposes while raising pertinent questions about accountability and transparency in digital governance frameworks.
In essence, this exposé serves as a cautionary tale highlighting the intrinsic tensions between technological innovation and ethical considerations within contemporary surveillance landscapes.