SURVEILLANCE AND REPRESSION OF ANTI-ICE SENTIMENT
The first set of articles under this head is largely drawn from The Intercept (note: however useful The Intercept’s reporting on this or any other topic, do not submit any documents to them that you wish to keep private).
It continues reporting about the implications of the “Prairieland” prosecutions in Texas, where the fact that an anti-ICE protester shot a cop led to vast over-charging under counter-terrorism laws not only of that person, but also a variety of people connected to them in “antifa” and ICE protest circles:
Daniel “Des” Sanchez Estrada Was Sentenced to 30 Years for Transporting Zines by Seth Stern, Jeremy Busby · The Intercept (June 26, 2026)
Trump’s Crackdown on Dissent is Targeting Signal—and Zines by Jenna Ruddock · Tech Policy Press (June 26, 2026), https://www.techpolicy.press/trumps-crackdown-on-dissent-is-targeting-signal-and-zines
Minnesota 15 Defendant Cal Robinet Speaks Out by Unicorn Riot (June 30, 2026):
Trump’s Communist Boogeyman Playbook: Charging Protesters as Terrorists by Jessica Washington · The Intercept (July 3, 2026)
FBI Raided Texas Activist’s House — Then Offered Her $200,000 to Become Antifa Informant by A. D. Chilcote, C. Francis · The Intercept (July 7, 2026)
Connectedly, ICE agents are working with fusion centers and with FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces to collect more data about anybody even vaguely involved with protests against ICE, and choosing to act on the basis of that data to harass people who have posted that the killer of Renee Good should be indicted, on flimsy legal grounds. Sometimes the fact that they’re conducting this intense surveillance is emerging into public view, and even being litigated. The NY Times is picking up on the fact that the ICE tactic of pretextual traffic stops in itself encourages racial profiling and can lead to the people stopped being killed.
The Tech Behind ICE: Oligarchs, Immigration Enforcement, and the Threat to Democracy by Mizue Aizeki, Jacinta González, Paromita Shah, and Tania Unzueta · Mijente / Surveillance Resistance Labs / Just Futures Law (June 2026), https://notechforice.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Tech-Behind-ICE-Oligarchs-Immigration-Enforcement-and-the-Threat-to-Democracy.pdf
She posted about ICE. Five months later, DHS agents told her to take her post down by Jude Joffe-Block · NPR (June 26, 2026), https://www.npr.org/2026/06/26/nx-s1-5871369/new-york-ice-instagram-immigration-dhs-paigelynne-gonyea
Another ICE threat visit: How did agents track down this critic on his vacation? by Michelle Breidenbach · Syracuse.com (June 28, 2026), https://www.syracuse.com/news/2026/06/another-ice-threat-visit-how-did-agents-track-down-this-critic-on-his-vacation.html
Senator Markey and Representative Frost Sound Alarm After Trump Admin. Evades Questions on Database of Protesters by Office of U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts (July 1, 2026), https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-markey-and-representative-frost-sound-alarm-after-trump-admin-evades-questions-on-database-of-protesters
From Guantanamo To Trump’s “Anti-Americanism” Task Force by Eshaan Vaakil · The Lever (July 2, 2026) (requires registration), https://www.levernews.com/the-war-on-terror-vets-running-trumps-anti-americanism-task-force, https://archive.ph/SsG2d
How Local Cops Are Running With Trump’s NSPM-7 Attacks on Antifa by Matt Sledge · The Intercept (July 7, 2026)
FIRE files lawsuit after federal agents confront New Yorker over ICE criticism by FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) (July 6, 2026), https://www.fire.org/news/ice-lawsuit-rochester-criticism-dhs
The Dangers of the Trump Administration’s Data Consolidation Efforts by Emile Ayoub · Brennan Center for Justice (July 9, 2026), https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/dangers-trump-administrations-data-consolidation-efforts
ICE Agents Expand Traffic Stops by Madeleine Ngo, Hamed Aleaziz and Zolan Kanno-Youngs · The New York Times (July 14, 2026) (requires registration), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/us/ice-agents-traffic-stops.html
States’ powers to resist such federal activities are limited, and these stories show the hazards of doing so. In Maryland, a new state law, the Community Trust Act, limits state and local cooperation with ICE raids, and DOJ has sued Maryland, as well as six other similarly situated states, to prevent such laws coming into effect. The ground of these lawsuits is generally that sanctuary laws violate 8 USC § 1373 and the Supremacy Clause. The former prohibits the creation of state or local laws that would limit communication with DHS about immigration status or citizenship. However, sanctuary laws generally do not prohibit communicating with DHS the immigration status or citizenship of a particular individual who has already come to local law enforcement attention as a result of violating state or local laws. The latter forbids states and localities from regulating the manner of operation of federal agencies. Unfortunately, as the Virginia story below shows, states have repeatedly violated the Supremacy Clause in their attempts to require ICE agents to unmask, a problem for which RT4 has developed a solution.
Judge blocks Virginia ICE mask ban on eve of implementation by Joe Dodson · Courthouse News Service (June 30, 2026), https://courthousenews.com/judge-blocks-virginia-ice-mask-ban-on-eve-of-implementation
DOJ sues Maryland, claiming new immigration law obstructs Trump’s authority By Katie Mettler and Erin Cox · The Washington Post (July 9, 2026) (requires registration), https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/07/09/doj-sues-maryland-claiming-new-immigration-law-obstructs-trumps-authority
Last, it’s worth emphasizing the extent to which Trump administration officials, even those not involved in identifying and disrupting national security threats, are eager to signal that they are on the team in terms of understanding who the enemies are. The insistence that nonprofits as well are fair game for opposing government actions on ICE, and that opposition to the government is a form of terrorism, leads naturally to administration officials construing lawful actions by nonprofits as material support for terrorism.
RFK Jr. Joins Right-Wing Push Targeting CAIR With Terrorism Investigation by Jessica Washington · The Intercept (July 2, 2026)
RT4’s perspective on these matters is that, before the government searches or seizes your person, your papers or effects; before they conduct a traffic stop, put your name in a government database, take any government action on the basis of your public social media posts, or doorstep you at your home, they should have to demonstrate to a neutral judge that they have probable cause to believe that you are personally involved in an actual crime; and that ICE in particular should have to have probable cause to believe that you entered unlawfully or are unlawfully present in the country before doing any of these things.
ALPR / FLOCK SAFETY
Three articles give a good overview of the issues created by Flock Safety deployments. The Reclaim the Net article in particular sets out how a license plate reading error can propagate across its system very quickly in ways that are very hard to fix.
To Protect And Stalk: How Some Police Misuse Plate Readers by Jack Karp · Law360 (June 26, 2026), https://www.law360.com/articles/2491598/to-protect-and-stalk-how-some-police-misuse-plate-readers
Flock cameras are recording license plate numbers by Max Miller · Engadget (June 28, 2026), https://www.engadget.com/2203000/flock-cameras-recording-license-plate
Flock Camera Error Gets Innocent Driver Boxed In by Police by Regina Morrison · Reclaim The Net (July 15, 2026) (registration required)
Local jurisdictions continue to wrestle with Flock matters, but Alameda County, CA, seems to be going in the opposite direction from most, by approving a large new contract notwithstanding significant public concern and opposition. Local officials are reluctant to offend cops, and will latch onto any favorable testimony from people of color in particular, and any signaling from law enforcement that they are listening to public concerns, to vote to approve such contracts.
CA – $2.4 million surveillance contract with Flock approved by Alameda County by Eli Wolfe · The Oaklandside (July 1, 2026), https://oaklandside.org/2026/07/01/2-4-million-surveillance-contract-with-flock-approved-by-alameda-county
MA – After Flock Contract’s Ending, Framingham Officials Look to Enact Tough License Plate Reader Regulations by Brendan Fitzpatrick · The Frame (July 8, 2026), https://www.accessfram.tv/article/after-flock-contracts-ending-framingham-officials-look-to-enact-tough-license-plate-reader-regulations
CA – LAPD ending agreement with surveillance company Flock Safety by Tim Pulliam · ABC7 (July 10, 2026), https://abc7.com/post/lapd-ending-agreement-surveillance-company-flock-safety/19483200
Some citizens offended by Flock surveillance have been taking matters into their own hands and vandalizing Flock Safety cameras. In response, Flock Safety is now having to offer to cities to pay for vandalized cameras, changing from their previous practice where cities were contractually liable for such costs. Without endorsing illegal actions, DeFlock.me is organizing a National Week of Action in mid-August to oppose automated license plate readers.
Flock to Pay for Vandalized Cameras by IPVM Team (July 14, 2026), https://ipvm.com/reports/flock-pay-vandalized-cameras
They Divided Us to Build a Cage: Why the Elite Are Terrified of Our Mutual Hatred for Mass Surveillance by Matt Agorist · The Free Thought Project (July 14, 2026), https://thefreethoughtproject.com/solutions/they-divided-us-to-build-a-cage-why-the-elite-are-terrified-of-our-mutual-hatred-for-mass-surveillance
There’s Now a National Holiday Opposing Automated Traffic Cameras by Matt Posky · Yahoo News (July 9, 2026), https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/theres-now-national-holiday-opposing-160400038.html
For those RT4 folks interested in advocacy around the Bus Patrol ALPR technology, you might want to check out this nice July 14 video explainer on Bus Patrol privacy issues from the libertarian magazine Reason: https://youtube.com/shorts/ivAoDFzxJ2o
RT4 opposes Flock Safety and Bus Patrol, and has yet to see an ALPR technology that is configured to keep driver privacy intact. RT4 chapters, like Digital Fourth in Greater Boston, have successfully reversed Flock rollouts and are liaising with anti-Flock groups. Getting involved in work of this kind offers activists the prospect of tangible wins against surveillance and helps to energize our chapters.
NON-ALPR SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGIES
A helpful sequence of articles this month explain how AI is making it easier for police departments to gather and interpret vast swaths of surveillance data, which in turn means much more everyday surveillance of people not involved in any crime. The article from “The Drive” introduces a new (to me) technology, “FalcoNet”, mounted on police Chevy Tahoes.
Police use of artificial intelligence grows as rules lag behind by Amanda Watford · Stateline (June 26, 2026), https://stateline.org/2026/06/26/police-use-of-artificial-intelligence-grows-as-rules-lag-behind
A Leak of San Francisco Police Drone Footage Exposes the New Reality of Urban Surveillance by Andy Greenberg, Dhruv Mehrotra · WIRED (July 14, 2026), https://www.wired.com/story/sfpd-drone-video-leak-surveillance, https://archive.ph/dychh
How Texas Police Spent $4.5 Million on Four Chevy Tahoes by Andrew Collins · The Drive (July 14, 2026), https://www.thedrive.com/news/how-texas-police-spent-4-5-million-on-four-chevy-tahoes
Computer Cops: Inside the Big Business of Selling AI to the Cops by Webb Wright · The Verge (July 16, 2026) (subscription required), https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/965066/ai-police-cops
EFF is helpfully mobilizing opposition to a California state bill that would criminalize various ordinary, unmonitored uses of 3D printers:
We Can Still Stop California’s 3D-Printer Surveillance Scheme by Rory Mir and Cliff Braun · Electronic Frontier Foundation (June 26, 2026), https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/06/we-can-still-stop-californias-3d-printer-surveillance-scheme
Meta and Waymo are facilitating this flow of data to the cops, by enthusiastically creating new data streams, but luckily the public isn’t as fully on board with these new products as Big Tech would like them to be.
Meta Patents AI Device That Tracks Your Emotions, Watches You Take Your Meds by Matthew Gault · 404 Media (July 8, 2026), https://www.404media.co/meta-patents-ai-device-that-tracks-your-emotions-watches-you-take-your-meds
The Meta Glasses backlash is changing how (or if) people use them By Karissa Bell · Engadget (July 10, 2026), https://www.engadget.com/2212604/the-meta-glasses-backlash-is-changing-how-or-if-people-use-them/
The Public Got So Mad at Meta’s New AI Photo Tool That It’s Scrapped Already by Mike Pearl · Gizmodo (July 11, 2026), https://gizmodo.com/the-public-got-so-mad-at-metas-new-ai-photo-tool-that-its-scrapped-already-2000784400
Waymo is helping police with data from driverless vehicles. What about privacy? by Scott Neuman · NPR (July 10, 2026), https://www.npr.org/2026/07/10/nx-s1-5886113/waymo-police-privacy-driverless-autonomous-vehicles
In a small victory, Digital Fourth folks helped Somerville, MA activists delay the adoption of police body-worn cameras; this article gives the state of play. MA – Somerville blocks police body-worn cameras, citing budget cuts and no action on oversight by Marc Levy · Cambridge | Somerville Independent (July 7, 2026), https://csindie.com/citing-budget-cuts-and-no-action-on-oversight-a-somerville-committee-goes-4-1-against-officer-cameras
To summarize, RT4 advises caution and awareness of the privacy implications of any new consumer-facing technology; the same technologies and data, in the hands of the police, quickly disrupt the balance of power between police and citizen. We especially recommend opposing local rollout of “drone as first responder” programs, which carry the risk of quickly normalizing everyday drone surveillance in poorer and high-minority neighborhoods.
OPPOSING AGE VERIFICATION LAWS
There continues to be an aggressive push to pass age-verification laws at the state and federal levels. This is a major surveillance issue, because (a) universal age verification usually comes with a mandate to every user of a website to submit either a face scan or a photo ID, creating an insecure database of face scans and photo IDs for hackers and governments to exploit; and (b) connecting Internet browsing to a government-issued ID precludes any kind of anonymity for any kind of online activity, and anonymity matters for both journalism and meaningful political dissent. No wonder governments are lovin’ it. In the EU and the UK, matters have proceeded further than they have here – yet – and the TechRadar article below shows the UK government grappling with, and now rejecting, limits on VPNs that people are using to get around age verification.
Still, the momentum is so great for such laws that we can’t simply ask lawmakers to do nothing. Here is a set of recommendations from our MA chapter that may be a helpful model for others:
We support a less invasive, harm-reduction approach that would address the same documented harms of youth social media use proponents of H.5349 care about without banning, surveilling, or silencing anyone:
- Protected User Status: any user, minor or adult, can designate themselves a “protected user,” triggering stronger default privacy settings. Platforms must automatically designate all minors as protected users through an age assurance process that is simply a self-declaration by the user of their birthdate or calendar age.
- Algorithmic defaults that resist addiction: for protected users, platforms must disable autoplay, infinite scrolling, and algorithmic ranking systems by default. Feeds only show content from accounts the user has chosen to follow, in chronological order. This and other design specific interventions focus on compulsive use without restricting who can access the platform.
- Algorithmic transparency: platforms must disclose, in plain language, exactly what personal data they collect, how it is used in their recommendation systems, and how different categories of information are weighted. Users must have access to a tool that resets their recommendation profile entirely.
- Private Right of Action: any MA resident can file a civil complaint against a platform violating this law. Prevailing plaintiffs may recover damages, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees. This creates a real enforcement mechanism unburdened by state enforcement capacity.
Age Verification Laws Threaten Journalists and Whistleblowers by Caitlin Vogus, Aliya Bhatia · The Intercept (June 28, 2026), https://theintercept.com/2026/06/28/age-verification-privacy-surveillance-journalists-whistleblowers
Supreme Court Lets Texas Enforce App Store ID Check Law by Dan Frieth · Reclaim The Net (July 8, 2026), https://reclaimthenet.org/supreme-court-lets-texas-enforce-app-store-id-check-law
The House Passed The KIDS Act—The Senate Should Reject It by India McKinney · Electronic Frontier Foundation (July 9, 2026), https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/house-passed-kids-act-senate-should-reject-it
MA Senate Adopts Social Media Legislation with Swath of Civil Liberties-Backed Improvements; Still Needs to Address Age Verification Concerns by Team at Fight for the Future (July 9, 2026), https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2026-07-09-ma-senate-adopts-social-media-legislation-with-swath-of-civil-liberties-backed-improvements-still-needs-to-address-age-verification-concerns
EU Parliament Revives Chat Surveillance for Thursday Vote by Dan Frieth · Reclaim The Net (July 7, 2026), https://reclaimthenet.org/eu-parliament-revives-chat-surveillance-for-thursday-vote
‘We decided not to limit VPNs’: UK government U-turns on age-gating privacy tools by Rene Millman · TechRadar (July 15, 2026), https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/we-decided-not-to-limit-vpns-uk-government-u-turns-on-age-gating-privacy-tools
THE FISA FIGHT CONTINUES
Congress has been quiet on FISA because it’s in a mad rush on other things than FISA. Sen. Graham’s death and Sen. McConnell’s hospitalization take two prominent surveillance reform opponents out of commission, improving the math on the Senate side.
On FISA, there was a hearing this week in the Senate Intelligence Committee on confirming lawyer and Epstein files redactor Jay Clayton as DNI. Rather than explicitly opposing this nomination, we are, along with other reformers, making the argument that changing the Director of National Intelligence doesn’t change the underlying problems with the statute, or the need for warrant protections for U.S. persons. There is much argument in the articles below over whether confirming Clayton would make Congress more (NOTUS) or less (The American Prospect) likely to pass FISA unreformed. The difference seems to be over whether statements by Democratic surveillance hawks like Warner and Himes tell us anything about where the caucus as a whole will land. On the whole, I think they don’t.
Hawks are also likely to try to attach a FISA renewal to the National Defense Authorization Act, and if so, we’ll oppose it; if that fails, it’s likely that any further attempts to allocate Congressional time to renewing FISA will wait till after the November elections.
This Roundup contains an especially interesting article in Lawfare by intelligence professionals, where their horror at the administrative chaos of the Trump administration leads them to inch up to the line of suggesting that warrant protections may actually be a good idea.
Further commentary on AI and national intelligence – notably from the Epoch Times – highlights that AI is itself rendering national security databases far less secure than they were a year ago. And a useful, though paywalled, article from Inside Defense indicates that to prevent ordinary people from finding out what they’re up to, the Department of War is now trying to more or less exempt itself entirely from FOIA.
America’s Secret Database by Naomi Brockwell · YouTube (July 6, 2026), https://youtu.be/1nKGNcj32L8
Gradually, and Then Suddenly: The Decline and Fall of ODNI by Michael Feinberg, Julia Curlee · Lawfare (July 7, 2026), https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/gradually–and-then-suddenly–the-decline-and-fall-of-odni
The Scramble to Tackle AI National Security Risks by Ryan Morgan, Nathan Worcester · The Epoch Times (July 10, 2026) (registration required), https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/the-scramble-to-tackle-ai-national-security-risks-6054286
Trump’s Intelligence Pick Played Key Role in NYT Subpoenas – But Some Democrats Still On The Fence by Matt Sledge · The Intercept (July 14, 2026), https://theintercept.com/2026/07/14/jay-clayton-nyt-subpoenas-national-intelligence
Trump’s Intelligence Pick May Spark Congress to Renew Spy Powers by Avani Kalra · NOTUS (July 15, 2026), https://www.notus.org/senate/trump-dni-jay-clayton-spy-powers
Where has all the FISA fire gone? by Valerie Yurk · Roll Call (July 15, 2026), https://rollcall.com/2026/07/15/where-has-all-the-fisa-fire-gone
Clayton’s Trump Loyalty Becomes a Problem for Warrantless Spying by James Baratta · The American Prospect (July 16, 2026), https://prospect.org/2026/07/16/claytons-trump-loyalty-becomes-a-problem-for-warrantless-spying
Pentagon seeks new FOIA exemption for unclassified information by Tony Bertuca · Inside Defense (July 10, 2026) (paywalled), https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/pentagon-seeks-new-foia-exemption-unclassified-information
RECENT FOURTH AMENDMENT COURT RULINGS
Breaking Down the Implications of the Landmark Chatrie Ruling by Jake Laperruque and Katelyn Ringrose · Tech Policy Press (July 10, 2026), https://www.techpolicy.press/breaking-down-the-implications-of-the-landmark-chatrie-ruling (here’s RT4’s brief in the case, and we may file another on remand)
New Mexico Supreme Court rules state constitution applies to out-of-state searches by Lily Alexander · Santa Fe New Mexican (July 14, 2026), https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/new-mexico-supreme-court-rules-state-constitution-applies-to-out-of-state-searches/article_e9e47829-0be2-45e6-b530-724ada30c3b0.html