Digital IDs, CBDCs, and Surveillance: Protecting Individual Liberty in the Digital Age

Tom Bilyeu's Impact Theory

Impact Theory

Education, News, News Commentary, Philosophy, Technology, Society & Culture, Business, Self-improvement

4.7 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What's up, everybody? It's Tom Bilyeu here: If you want my help... STARTING a business: join me here at ZERO TO FOUNDER: https://tombilyeu.com/zero-to-founder?utm_campaign=Podcast%20Offer&utm_source=podca[%E2%80%A6]d%20end%20of%20show&utm_content=podcast%20ad%20end%20of%20show SCALING a business: see if you qualify here.: https://tombilyeu.com/call Get my battle-tested strategies and insights delivered weekly to your inbox: sign up here.: https://tombilyeu.com/ ********************************************************************** If you're serious about leveling up your life, I urge you to check out my new podcast, Tom Bilyeu’s Mindset Playbook —a goldmine of my most impactful episodes on mindset, business, and health. Trust me, your future self will thank you. ********************************************************************** FOLLOW TOM: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tombilyeu/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tombilyeu?lang=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/tombilyeu YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TomBilyeu Linkedin: Post your job free at https://linkedin.com/impacttheory Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://shopify.com/impact True Classic: Upgrade your wardrobe at https://trueclassic.com/impact Cape: 33% off with code IMPACT33 at https://cape.co/impact Incogni: Free 30 day trial and 60% off annual plan at https://incogni.com/IMPACT AirDoctor: Up to $300 off with code IMPACT at https://airdoctorpro.com Tom dives deep into the growing threat of digital IDs, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and the rise of AI surveillance—warning that these technologies could give governments unprecedented control over our daily lives. Tom draws vivid parallels between historical abuses of power and current trends, referencing moments like Canada’s freezing of bank accounts in 2022, the expansion of surveillance after 9/11, and the COVID-era clampdowns on personal freedoms around the world. Through compelling stories and hard-hitting data, Tom explores how governments often use crises to grab more power, and how digital systems could turn everyday rights—like spending money or traveling—into privileges subject to approval. He breaks down what digital IDs really are, why governments are pushing so hard for them, and the dangers of programmable money. But this episode isn’t just a warning—it’s a call to action. Tom lays out practical steps listeners can take to safeguard privacy, defend individual freedom, and resist the creeping tide of digital control. If you care about the future of liberty and want to know how to stand up for it in the digital age, this episode is one you won’t want to miss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	In 2022, something happened in Canada that should have stopped the world in its tracks.
0:06.0	Hundreds of ordinary citizens, teachers, mechanics, stay-at-home moms, all had their bank
0:12.0	accounts frozen for legal donations they made. No trial, no warrant, no just cause. Just a government
0:20.0	decree signed in the name of a made-up emergency.
0:23.7	It was the first time in the modern West that financial access, the driving heartbeat of
0:29.3	everyday life, was switched off by a head of state for political reasons.
0:34.7	In the book 1984, George Orwell wrote,
0:37.8	If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever.
0:43.9	Orwell understood what so many seem to have forgotten. Governments are made of humans,
0:51.0	and power corrupts humans. Governments are extremely useful in protecting the weak
0:57.0	from the powerful. They allow us to act as a collective and stand in opposition to those who would
1:03.2	conquer or just take from us. But they also tend towards tyranny. When you remember their utility,
1:10.0	but forget the tendency to tyranny,
1:13.6	you invite the boot upon your face.
1:15.6	As Thomas Jefferson said, the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.
1:21.6	And now, with the rise of artificial intelligence, we have to be more vigilant than ever. AI is a miracle and I couldn't be more thrilled
1:30.0	to live on the timeline where we get to see the fruit it will bear, but it won't be benevolent
1:35.1	by accident. It will require us to make demands of our government and limit how it can be used.
1:41.6	You need look no further than COVID to see how the government will hoover up every bit of power and authority that they can.
1:50.0	Given half a chance, they will run every aspect of our lives that we let them.
1:55.0	Who we can see, where we can go, and even what we can do.
2:00.0	Every crisis makes people crave safety.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Impact Theory, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Impact Theory and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.