Surveillance

SURVEILLANCEFISA Reauthorization Fearmongering and Disinformation Kicks Into Overdrive
By Patrick G. Eddington
With just 10 days to go before Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expires, surveillance hawks have intensified their propaganda and fearmongering campaign. But FISA’s many problems are reasons for Congress to hit the “pause” button on FISA Section 702 reauthorization, unless and until these problems are eliminated.
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CHINA WATCHAI Governance Is not Just Top-Down in China, Research Finds
By Patrick Daly
Political scientist Xuechen Chen said traditional Chinese values and market driven factors have also driven moves to regulate generative AI platforms.
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SURVEILLANCEWorried About Surveillance, States Enact Privacy Laws and Restrict License Plate Readers
By Shalina Chatlani
As part of its deportation efforts, the Trump administration has made a push for personal data from voter rolls, driver’s license records and programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.
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DIGITAL IDThe UK Has It Wrong on Digital ID. Here’s Why.
By Paige Collings
In late September, the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his government’s plans to introduce a new digital ID scheme in the country to take effect before the end of the Parliament (no later than August 2029). This is the latest example of a government creating a new digital system that is fundamentally incompatible with a privacy-protecting and human rights-defending democracy.
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SURVEILLANCEThe Spy Who Came in from the Wi-Fi: Beware of Radio Network Surveillance
New technology is able to infer the identity of persons with no WiFi device on them through signals in radio networks. Researchers warn of risks to privacy and call for protective measures.
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DEMOCRACY WATCHTrump’s Targeting of “Enemies” Like James Comey Echoes FBI’s Dark History of Mass Surveillance, Dirty Tricks, and Perversion of Justice Under J. Edgar Hoover
By Betty Medsger
As a candidate last year, Donald Trump promised retribution against his perceived enemies. As president, he is doing that. His campaign of vengeance will be helped by the FBI, the independence of which has been sacrificed by Director Kash Patel, who has, essentially, made the bureau an arm of the White House. It marks the first time since J. Edgar Hoover’s 48-year reign as FBI director that the FBI has been used to target people perceived to be political enemies.
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SURVEILLANCEDOJ Files Suit Against Six States That Refused to Share Voter Data
By Barbara Barrett
The Trump administration is seeking personal data on millions of Americans., but some states refuse to hand over the information to the government. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday it is suing six states —California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania —that have refused to turn over detailed voter roll data demanded by federal attorneys earlier this year.
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PERSISTENT SURVEILLANCEThe Toxic Legacy of 9/11…and How to End It
By Patrick G. Eddington
Restoring the Bill of Rights to its proper shape and place in our civic life would be one way to honor those killed on 9/11 and in the wars that followed.
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SURVEILLANCEFlock Safety’s Feature Updates Cannot Make Automated License Plate Readers Safe
By Sarah Hamid and Rindala Alajaji
Two recent statements from the surveillance company reveal a troubling pattern: when confronted by evidence of widespread abuse, Flock Safety has blamed users, downplayed harms, and doubled down on the very systems that enabled the violations in the first place.
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SURVEILLANCEPervasive Surveillance of People Is Being Used to Access, Monetize, Coerce, and Control
New research has underlined the surprising extent to which pervasive surveillance of people and their habits is powered by computer vision research – and shone a spotlight on how vulnerable individuals and communities are at risk.
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SURVEILLANCEFinancial Surveillance Is Expanding—but So Is the Resistance
By Nicholas Anthony
The last few months were hectic, but not all bad. Amidst the government surveilling cash, prosecuting people in bad faith, and creating new surveillance mechanisms, there were significant wins: Courts pushed back on overreach and Congress began to offer reforms to correct past mistakes.
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DRONESUnmanned Systems Are Not Revolutionary (but Could Be)
By Layton Mandle
Rather than revolutionizing warfare, unmanned systems have emerged as evolutions within the larger information revolution; advancements to be sure, but failing to render conventional militaries obsolete or dramatically reshaping force structures.
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SURVEILLANCEFrom Help to Harm: How the Government Is Quietly Repurposing Everyone’s Data for Surveillance
By Nicole M. Bennett
The data that people provide to U.S. government agencies for public services such as tax filing, health care enrollment, unemployment assistance and education support is increasingly being redirected toward surveillance and law enforcement.
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ARGUMENT: REINING IN DHS I&A How DHS Laid the Groundwork for More Intelligence Abuse
I&A, the lead intelligence unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) —long plagued by politicized targeting, permissive rules, and a toxic culture —has undergone a transformation over the last two years. Spencer Reynolds writes that this effort falls short. “Ultimately, Congress must rein in I&A,” he adds.
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SURVEILANCESpyware Is Spreading Far Beyond Its National-Security Role
By Angela Suriyasenee
Spyware is increasingly exploited by criminals or used to suppress civil liberties, and this proliferation is in part due to weak regulation.
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