"Ms. Cleland was one of at least seven American citizens told by ICE agents this month that they were being recorded with facial recognition technology in and around Minneapolis, according to local activists and videos posted to social media, which were verified by The New York Times. None had given consent for their faces to be recorded.

Facial recognition is just one technology tool that ICE has deployed in Minneapolis, where thousands of agents are conducting a crackdown. The technologies are being used not only to identify undocumented immigrants but also to track citizens who have protested ICE’s presence, said three current and former officials of the Department of Homeland Security who were not authorized to discuss confidential matters.

ICE is using two facial recognition programs in Minnesota, they said, including one made by the tech company Clearview AI and a newer program, Mobile Fortify. The agency is also using cellphone and social media tools to monitor people’s online activity and potentially hack into phones. And agents are tapping into a database, built by the data analytics company Palantir, that combines government and commercial data to identify real-time locations for individuals they are pursuing, the current and former officials said.

“The technologies are being deployed, or appear to be deployed, in a much more aggressive way than we have seen in the past,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, which has sued the Homeland Security Department over the immigration operation in Minneapolis. “The conglomeration of all these technologies together is giving the government unprecedented abilities.”"

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/technology/tech-ice-facial-recognition-palantir.html

#USA #Trump #ICE #Immigration #Militias #PoliceState #Paramilitary #Surveillance #FacialRecognition #Biometrics #Fascism

Senators Push for Answers on ICE's #Surveillance Shopping Spree

letter touches on many of the surveillance tech & companies that 404 has been writing about in recent months, including #Flock license plate readers, Penlink #socialMedia & location data monitoring, #Clearview AI’s #facialRecognition tech, #Paragon Solutions’ phone #hacking tech, as well as other social media scanning & #biometric collection DBs used by DHS in #Trump #immigration crackdown.
#privacy #alpr

https://www.404media.co/senators-push-for-answers-on-ices-surveillance-shopping-spree/

"The U.S. military-led group supporting “stabilization efforts” in Gaza has put forward plans for a housing block for Palestinians in Gaza in an area under full Israel military control. According to materials circulated by the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) and obtained by Drop Site News, the “planned community,” if developed, would contain and control its residents through biometric surveillance, checkpoints, monitoring of purchases, and educational programs promoting normalization with Israel.

The CMCC was established by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on October 17, one week after Hamas and Israel agreed to an exchange of captives and a ceasefire was supposed to go into effect. The center, which is based in a large warehouse-style building in Kiryat Gat in southern Israel and involves dozens of countries and organizations, is supposed to “monitor implementation of the ceasefire” and “help facilitate the flow of humanitarian, logistical, and security assistance from international counterparts into Gaza,” according to CENTCOM.

The CMCC is led by U.S. Army Lieutenant General Patrick D. Frank and includes both U.S. and Israeli military officials along with personnel from dozens of countries, including France, Britain, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt."

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/cmcc-leaked-documents-gaza-residential-zone-surveillance-checkpoints-rafah

#Palestine #Gaza #USA #Israel #CMCC #Surveillance #PoliceState #Panopticon #PoliceState

One of the quickest ways states without Klan Party governments could reduce the power of the Klan patrols (brownshirts / Sturmabteilung / Schutzstaffel / #gestapo / #Nazis / pick-your-precedent) is, in rapid coordination with each other and a critical mass of international partners (enough to preempt federal preemption through controlling shares of companies' markets), enact comprehensive privacy laws adopting the most restrictive privacy measures in all of each other's legislation, and the strongest enforcement mechanisms, particularly including mandatory deletion and criminal penalties, individual criminal liability for executives and board members, and corporate and individual forfeiture of proceeds of relevant offences.

Move fast enough, yet quietly enough till the bills are brought to floors in unison, to force data deletion and cessation of collection before the stalled lame-duck Congress can move to preempt, and move in concert with #Canada (and the recommendation to which to federally adopt best-of-breed privacy laws from #BC and #Quebec), the #EU, #Iceland, #Switzerland, #Japan, and other exemplary countries, and the bulk of the #Surveillance capitalist collaborationist corporations can be bankrupted before the Trumpist Republicans and Chamberlain Democrats in Congress can act.

#uspol #eupol #cdnpoli

The internet runs on surveillance capitalism, but your data doesn’t have to be the product.​

Read my new blog on how to start protecting yourself from digital tracking, choose privacy‑respecting tools, and turn better privacy into a daily habit.
https://www.korte.co/2026/01/29/avoiding-surveillance-while-enjoying-technology/

#privacy #opensource #surveillance

"Microsoft illegally installed cookies on a school pupil's devices without consent, according to a ruling by the Austrian data protection authority (DSB).

In the second ruling [PDF], won by Austria-based campaign group None of Your Business (noyb), the authority found that Microsoft acted unlawfully when it placed tracking cookies on the devices of a minor using Microsoft 365 Education."

#privacy #surveillance #Austria

https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/27/microsft_illegally_installed_cookies_ruling_austra_school/

High Court to grill London cops over live facial recognition creep.

#surveillance #privacy

https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/27/high_court_lfr/

Reconsider your opinion if you believe you have nothing to hide.

Surveillance pricing uses personal data to set individualized prices for goods/services, some people pay more than others.

Data such as location, browsing history, and mouse movements are collected from a variety of sources such as devices, online activity, and data brokers.

Consider protecting your data with tools such as a privacy-focused browser and a VPN.

#Surveillance #Privacy #InfoSec #uBlockOrigin #MullvadVPN #LibreWolf

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Surveillance Pricing banner.

Modern connected cars collect detailed personal data, including location history, driving behavior (speed, braking, acceleration), phone contacts, and voice commands.

Investigations have shown some automakers share or sell this data to insurers, advertisers, or data brokers — sometimes without clear consumer awareness.

Your vehicle isn’t just a tool for mobility. It’s part of the expanding surveillance ecosystem.
#Privacy #Cars #DigitalRights #Surveillance #TechPolicy

Immigration agents have used Mobile Fortify to scan the faces of countless people in the US—including many citizens.

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Here’s the Company That Sold DHS ICE’s Notorious Face Recognition App

Even Starlink Wants Your Data for AI Model Training.

Starlink updated its privacy policy to say customer data can be used to train AI models, and subscribers appear to be opted in by default.

Also, the company might share personal information with third parties "for training artificial intelligence models, including for their own independent purposes,"

#privacy #surveillance #artificialintelligence #AI #trainingdata #spacex #starlnk #bigdata #data #technology #tech

https://www.pcmag.com/news/starlink-wants-your-data-for-ai-model-training-how-to-opt-out/

"Britain’s reliance on Palantir, the controversial US data surveillance firm, is a “gaping national security vulnerability”, MPs and tech experts have said, as a Nerve investigation reveals how deeply embedded the company is in the UK’s critical national infrastructure.

The Nerve’s investigation shows the company, co-founded by one of President Trump’s most loyal allies, Peter Thiel, is enmeshed in Britain’s civil and defence structures to a far greater degree than previously realised. The Nerve has found at least 34 current and past state contracts across at least 10 government departments, local councils and police authorities.

The investigation also reveals previously undisclosed contracts between Palantir and AWE Nuclear Security Technologies, the agency that underpins Britain’s nuclear deterrence programme.

The agency, formerly known as the Atomic Weapons Establishment, designs and manufactures the nuclear warheads carried by UK submarines. The Nerve has found £15m worth of contracts for “cloud support” on the Crown Commercial Service dashboard, an agency that works with the Cabinet Office and external suppliers.

These contracts are not on the government’s official contract finder website and the Ministry of Defence refused to either confirm or deny their existence. Palantir did not acknowledge or respond to the Nerve’s inquiries.

The Nerve’s research – shown in two infographics here – shows that Palantir has current and historic deals worth £388m with the MOD across at least a dozen contracts and extensions to contracts, and more than £244m with the NHS (12 contracts/extensions). Government agencies and authorities with smaller contracts include Coventry city council, Leicestershire police, DEFRA and the Homes for Ukraine scheme."

https://www.thenerve.news/p/palantir-technologies-uk-government-contracts-size-nuclear-deterrent-atomic-peter-thiel-louis-mosley

#UK #Palantir #Surveillance #Thiel #NuclearWeapons

#DHS Says Critical #ICE #Surveillance Footage From #Abuse Case Was Actually Never Recorded, Doesn't Matter

DHS now says that 2 weeks of critical surveillance footage from within ICE’s detention center wasn’t actually lost in a “system crash,” but rather, was never recorded in the 1st place. It is also arguing that, had the footage been recorded, it would be irrelevant because #prisoner living conditions have improved since the time it was supposed to be recorded.

https://www.404media.co/dhs-says-critical-ice-surveillance-footage-from-abuse-case-was-actually-never-recorded-doesnt-matter/

"These 'new' communities built on the rubble of people's homes are ... governance labs to test ultimate control and subjugation."

Leaked documents from the U.S. military show plans for a residential compound where Palestinians would be controlled by checkpoints and biometric surveillance.

@ajplus

#Gaza #genocide #freepalestine #resistance #surveillance

https://m.youtube.com/@DropSiteNews

404 Media: Police Told to Be ‘as Vague as Permissible’ About Why They Use Flock
Jan 27, 2026 at 9:26 AM

The documents show law enforcement sees themselves as being consistently and universally under threat from the people it is supposed to protect.

https://www.404media.co/police-told-to-be-as-vague-as-permissible-about-why-they-use-flock/

#flock #privacy #policing #surveillance #bigbrother

Do Not Use Ring Cameras. Amazon’s Ring cameras are integrated into U.S. law-enforcement workflows. Police agencies can request footage directly, allowing private home surveillance video to be shared with law enforcement.

In 2025, Ring partnered with Flock Safety, further linking consumer cameras to nationwide law-enforcement #surveillance platforms.
#ICE #USPol #Security

https://wiki.icelist.is/index.php/Ring_Cameras_and_Law_Enforcement_Access

Google agreed to pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that its voice-activated assistant spied inappropriately on smartphone users, violating their privacy

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/google-settles-google-assistant-privacy-lawsuit-68-million-2026-01-26/

#Google #privacy #surveillance #enshittification #dystopia #technology #Apple

Mass Surveillance happened because we thought we got something for free.
#bigtech #surveillance
https://www.korte.co/gnpu

"After federal agents shot and killed Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday, Palantir workers pressed for answers from leadership on the company’s work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—and many questioned whether Palantir should be involved with the agency at all. Leadership defended its work as in part improving “ICE’s operational effectiveness.”

Internal Slack messages reviewed by WIRED reveal growing frustration within Palantir over its relationship with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and in particular, ICE’s enforcement and investigations teams. In response, Palantir’s privacy and civil liberties team published an update to the company’s internal wiki detailing its work on federal immigration enforcement, arguing that the “technology is making a difference in mitigating risks while enabling targeted outcomes.”

In a Saturday thread on Slack discussing Pretti’s killing, Palantir workers questioned both the ethics and the business logic of continuing the company’s work with ICE."

https://www.wired.com/story/palantir-ice-dhs-alex-pretti-killing-workers-slack-minneapolis/

#USA #Palantir #ICE #Surveillance #PoliceState #Minnesota #Minneapolis #DHS

A new EPIC report warns that surveillance and ICE-linked enforcement are deterring people from seeking medical care, fueling a US “health privacy crisis.” 🩺
Data brokers, ad-tech tracking, and law enforcement access to health data are eroding trust and driving patients away from treatment. ⚠️

🔗 https://www.wired.com/story/surveillance-and-ice-are-driving-patients-away-from-medical-care-report-warns/
​
#TechNews #Privacy #Surveillance #ICE #Health #Healthcare #DataBrokers #CivilLiberties #HumanRights #DigitalRights #USA #US #Trump #DonaldTrump #Law #Police #PoliceBrutality

ICE’s Mobile Fortify facial recognition app misidentified a detained woman twice in an Oregon raid 👤
ICE still calls the app a definitive way to determine immigration status, even over documents 📱
Raises major concerns about wrongful targeting, due process, and biometric policing ⚖️

🔗 https://www.404media.co/ices-facial-recognition-app-misidentified-a-woman-twice/

#TechNews #Privacy #Surveillance #ICE #FacialRecognition #AI #CivilLiberties #HumanRights #Security #LawEnforcement #DigitalRights #USA #US #Trump #DonaldTrump #Law #Police #PoliceBrutality

Palantir is developing a mapping tool for ICE that scores targets & flags “high-density” deportation areas 📍
Internal docs show data flows from HHS into ICE systems via Palantir’s ELITE platform 🧩
Raises serious privacy, oversight & civil liberties concerns ⚖️

🔗 https://www.404media.co/elite-the-palantir-app-ice-uses-to-find-neighborhoods-to-raid/

#TechNews #Privacy #Surveillance #Palantir #ICE #AI #CivilLiberties #HumanRights #Security #LawEnforcement #Transparency #Ethics #DigitalRights #USA #US #Trump #DonaldTrump #Law #Police #Policebrutality

Microsoft gave the FBI BitLocker recovery keys to unlock encrypted Windows PCs 🔑
The company says it complies with valid warrants — but unlike Apple or Meta, it can access stored keys 🧩
Raises major privacy & trust concerns over default cloud key storage ⚖️

🔗 https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/01/22/microsoft-gave-fbi-keys-to-unlock-bitlocker-encrypted-data/

#TechNews #Cybersecurity #Privacy #Encryption #DataSecurity #Surveillance #Microsoft #FBI #Infosec #DigitalRights #Transparency #Cloud #BigTech #Security #CivilLiberties #Windows #Bitlocker #Apple #Meta #Google

Ireland drafts new surveillance bill expanding police powers to intercept encrypted messages 🔐
Includes legal basis for spyware use & device scanning tech 🕵️‍♀️
Civil rights groups warn of normalization of extraordinary powers ⚖️

🔗 https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/21/ireland_wants_to_give_police/

#TechNews #Privacy #Surveillance #Spyware #Encryption #HumanRights #Law #Cybersecurity #PoliceTech #CivilLiberties #EU #Government #DataProtection #Security #DigitalRights #Ireland #Irish

From our magazine: By converting a digital camera to reveal infrared light, photographer Jordan Vonderhaar turns surveillance tech back on itself, with bright foliage highlighting the intensity of #Texas' border militarization. https://www.texasobserver.org/the-river-and-the-fever-dream-photo-essay/

#photography #art #border #military #immigration #politics #USpol #surveillance #tech

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Seen in infrared light, foliage glows bright red while a cluster of troops beyond the border's barbed-wire wall are highlighted in brown. A tall border barrier stretches across the horizon behind them.

You are regularly being scanned like this without knowing it.

"This photo was taken with a camera modified with a filter to capture the infrared light emitted by a face recognition camera. I had to shoot the subject in total darkness in order to cut out visible light and allow the camera to pick up on the infrared beams of a face recognition camera."

https://archive.is/2026.01.24-171352/https://apnews.com/article/2025-invisible-infrared-surveillance-technology-extraordinary-photo

#privacy #spying #surveillance

#ICE Asks Companies About ‘Ad Tech and Big Data’ Tools It Could Use in Investigations

A new federal filing from ICE demonstrates how commercial tools are increasingly being considered by the government for law enforcement and #surveillance.
#privacy #adtech #bigdata #tracking #immigration

https://www.wired.com/story/ice-asks-companies-about-ad-tech-and-big-data-tools/

ICE wants ad tech companies to help with surveillance investigations: US immigration agency requests proposals for location data and advertising technology tools while data brokers expose military personnel movements through commercial phone tracking systems. https://ppc.land/ice-wants-ad-tech-companies-to-help-with-surveillance-investigations/ #AdTech #Surveillance #PrivacyConcerns #Immigration #DataBroker

Lawsuit claims Meta can see WhatsApp chats in breach of privacy

The group, which includes plaintiffs from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa, alleges that Meta stores the substance of users’ communications and that workers can get access to them.

https://www.theedgesingapore.com/news/tech/lawsuit-claims-meta-can-see-whatsapp-chats-breach-privacy

#Meta #WhatsApp #Facebook #messaging #privacy #surveillance #encryption #technology #socialmedia #software

Microsoft confirms it will give the FBI your Windows PC data encryption key if asked — you can thank Windows 11's forced online accounts for that

Windows 11's online Microsoft Account requirement means your PC is automatically backing up its data encryption key to the cloud, and Microsoft says it will hand those over to the FBI if asked.

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-bitlocker-encryption-keys-give-fbi-legal-order-privacy-nightmare

#Microsoft #Windows11 #privacy #surveillance #enshittification #encryption #technology #software #dystopia

Microsoft reportedly gave the FBI BitLocker recovery keys to unlock encrypted laptops in a Guam fraud probe. 🔐

I’m genuinely stunned. 🤯 Encryption should protect users — not defer to cloud-stored keys that can be handed over on demand. ⚠️

This raises deep concerns about trust, what “secure by default” means. 🧩

🔗 https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/23/microsoft-gave-fbi-a-set-of-bitlocker-encryption-keys-to-unlock-suspects-laptops-reports/

#TechNews #Microsoft #FBI #Privacy #Encryption #BitLocker #Cybersecurity #DataSecurity #DigitalRights #BigTech #UserControl #Cloud #Security #Surveillance