Blog

In neighborhoods across California, law enforcement agencies are deploying secret and invasive surveillance technologies to collect sensitive location and biometric data, target local activists, and feed ICE’s deportation machine. Read More

As the Trump Administration exploits local surveillance systems to target immigrants, California residents are fighting for legislation and reforms that protect all residents from invasive surveillance. Read More

We learned last weekend that a trove of personal information from 50 million people — one in three U.S. Facebook users — was harvested for an influence and propaganda operation led by Cambridge Analytica, a company later used by the Trump campaign. Was Facebook hacked? Nope. All of this personal information was accessed through the Facebook “app gap,” a major privacy hole in Facebook’s app platfor... Read More

Companies developing facial-recognition software need to consider how their products enable dragnet surveillance, discriminatory enforcement, and abuse. Read More

Last night, the Bay Area city of Alameda unanimously rejected a proposed $500,000 contract to purchase license plate reader technology from Vigilant, a company that recently sold ICE access to its nationwide database. This is a win for the rights of all residents. Read More

Is law enforcement in your area demanding personal info from social media companies? Here's how to find out.

Read More

These days, it seems like almost every city is launching “smart initiatives” that promise to turn data about the city into improved public services, a vibrant business community, or a new approach to challenges like public health. But it's not smart to assume that any given “smart city” technology will actually benefit the public. These technologies can cause real harm to people. They ha... Read More

A newly leaked FBI report contains troubling signs that the feds are scrutinizing and possibly surveilling Black activists in its search for potential "extremists."

Read More

Anaheim used a 'covert purchase' procedure to hide $700,000 worth of acquisitions, loaned its surveillance equipment out to other jurisdictions, and used the devices to investigate a much broader array of crimes than was originally promised.

Read More

As mobile iris-scanning apps and tools become available, racial profiling by law enforcement could lead to Latinos and people of color having their eyes scanned simply because they speak Spanish or have brown skin.

Read More

In today's troublesome political climate, local police surveillance must be reined in. 

Read More

There has always been a tenuous relationship between protesters and the police, but it’s even more frustrating to think some police departments may track events and their organizers solely because of the views expressed. Just this year, the Fresno Police Department has tracked at least 47 events, with one thing in common: they were aligned with progressive causes.From January to May 2017, the Fres... Read More