As most of us already know, on June 12 the FISA 702 statute actually lapsed. It’s been a whirlwind, and I’m behind on providing Roundups covering June that adequately explain what happened. Here is a Roundup covering up to June 6 prepared by Stephen; I’m circulating this now and following up with a Roundup covering June 6-23. –AM
RT4’S GREATER BOSTON CHAPTER (“DIGITAL FOURTH”) HELPS PASS PRIVACY BILL IN MA HOUSE: Legislature’s Online Privacy Bill Shows MA Can Lead the Way by Hiawatha Bray, The Boston Globe (June 4th): https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/04/business/massachusetts-online-privacy/ Congratulations in particular to Digital Fourth volunteer Julie B. for her efforts in making this happen!
THE FISA FIGHT CONTINUES
Democrats Must Hold the Line Against Trump’s AI Surveillance Plan by Bill De Blasio, The Hill (June 5th): https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/technology/5909808-trump-ai-surveillance-fisa/
Senate Fails to Extend FISA Surveillance Program as Deadline Nears, with Seven Republicans Joining Democrats, CBS News (June 5th): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-fisa-vote-extension/
7 Republicans Vote No on FISA Extension by Finya Swai, Yahoo! News (June 5th): https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/six-republicans-vote-no-fisa-120836128.html
Subpoena Bill Would Curtail Secretive Tool Used to Target Government Critics by John Woodrow Cox, Washington Post (June 5th): https://archive.ph/Go1S2
This Man (Pulte) Should Not Be in Charge of National Intelligence by NYT Editorial Board (June 3): https://archive.is/20260605021849/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/opinion/bill-pulte-national-intelligence-trump.html
New Appointee to Lead Intelligence Department Is a Threat to Our Security, POGO (June 2nd): https://www.pogo.org/press-center/release/new-appointee-to-lead-intelligence-department-is-a-threat-to-our-security
EPIC, RT4, Coalition Urge FISA Section 702 Reform as Deadline Looms (June 1st): https://epic.org/epic-coalition-urge-fisa-section-702-reform-as-deadline-looms/
**Check out FisaReform.org to Learn About Your Stake in the Ongoing Surveillance Debate in Washington, PPSA (May 26th): https://www.protectprivacynow.org/news/check-out-fisareformorg-to-learn-about-your-stake-in-the-ongoing-surveillance-debate-in-washington
DHS AND ICE ABUSES
“Warehousing Human Beings,” The Intercept Briefing (June 5th): https://archive.ph/cexFh
ICE Is Spending Millions of Dollars on Iris Scanners, Expanding Its Arsenal of Tech Tools by Meg Anderson, NPR (May 27th): https://www.npr.org/2026/05/27/nx-s1-5822429/ice-buys-iris-scanners-tech-tools
DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its ‘Domestic Terrorism Watchlist’ by Schuyler Mitchell, Mother Jones (May 26th): https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/05/ice-dhs-domestic-terror-protest-biometric-database-civil-rights/
AI AND SURVEILLANCE / CRIMINALIZATION OF ANTI-AI ACTIVISM
Here is the Contract for Palantir’s Super API for the IRS by Joseph Cox, 404 Media (June 2nd): https://www.404media.co/here-is-the-contract-for-palantirs-super-api-for-the-irs/
Trump Signs AI Executive Order After Postponement Last Month by Alexandra Kelley and David DiMolfetta, NextGov (June 2nd): https://www.nextgov.com/artificial-intelligence/2026/06/trump-signs-ai-executive-order-after-postponement-last-month/413912/
Philly Cops Admit That They’re Tracking ‘First Amendment Activity’ Critical of AI by Matt Sledge and Sam Biddle, The Intercept (June 1st): https://theintercept.com/2026/06/01/ai-data-center-protest-police-surveillance/
How AI Can Lead to False Arrests and Wrongful Convictions by Maria Lungu and Steven L. Johnson, TechDirt (May 29th): https://www.techdirt.com/2026/05/29/how-ai-can-lead-to-false-arrests-wrongful-convictions/
Unlawful By Design: Exposing the Human Rights Costs of Generative AI, Amnesty International (May 28th): https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol40/0996/2026/en/
Trump’s Immigration Enforcers Look Into Buying Ad Data. Industry Insiders Fear What Comes Next. By Alfred NG, Politico (May 30th): https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/30/ice-immigration-privacy-data-advertising-00939078
Law Enforcement Warns of ‘Anti-Tech Extremism’ as AI Hatred Grows by Daniel Boguslaw, Wired (May 26th): https://www.wired.com/story/us-law-enforcement-warns-of-anti-tech-extremism/
Congress’s CIA Eyes Data Center Critics by Dan Boguslaw and Ken Klippenstein (May 28th): https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/exclusive-new-intel-agency-eyes-ai
Most Civil Asset Forfeiture Victims Never See the Inside of a Courtroom by J.D. Tuccille, Reason (June 5th): https://reason.com/2026/06/05/most-civil-forfeiture-victims-never-see-the-inside-of-a-courtroom/
AGE VERIFICATION / ID-GATING THE INTERNET
Age Verification is a Privacy Nightmare by Rindala Alajaji and Aaron Jue, EFF (May 28th): https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/05/age-verification-privacy-nightmare
MN Law Requires Platforms to Monitor and Age-Estimate All Users by Cindy Harper, Reclaim the Net (May 28th): https://reclaimthenet.org/minnesota-social-media-age-surveillance-law
FUSION CENTERS
Investigation Shows Boston Police’s Social Media Monitoring Policies Are Haphazard and Inconsistent by Naz Balkam and Emile Ayoub, BCJ (May 27th): https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/investigation-shows-boston-polices-social-media-monitoring-policies-are
AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS
More License Plate Reader Mission Creep: School Residency Verification, Background Checks, and Noise Complaints by Dave Maass and Rindala Alajaji, EFF (May 26th): https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/05/more-license-plate-reader-mission-creep-school-residency-verification-background
The FBI Wants to Buy Nationwide Access to License Plate Readers by Joseph Cox, 404 Media (May 18th): https://www.404media.co/the-fbi-wants-to-buy-nationwide-access-to-license-plate-readers/
The Government Can Nearly Track Your Every Move with These Cameras – Stalkers and Hackers Can Too by Dale Hurd, CBN (May 26th): https://cbn.com/news/us/government-can-nearly-track-your-every-move-these-cameras-stalkers-and-hackers-can-too