Police departments nationwide are utilizing school district security cameras, equipped with license plate readers by Flock Safety, to aid in immigration enforcement investigations. Audit logs reveal hundreds of thousands of searches, including those related to immigration, originating from school camera feeds, raising concerns about the repurposing of campus surveillance technology. While schools’ primary use is for campus safety, their data is accessed by out-of-state law enforcement for federal immigration goals, impacting immigrant families. This practice, largely unknown to school districts themselves, extends the reach of surveillance beyond its intended purpose.
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The Air Force has banned smart glasses in its latest uniform regulations due to operational security concerns, fearing potential data collection and unauthorized recording. Conversely, other military branches, including the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, grant commanders discretion in regulating wearable technology and are even exploring Meta’s AI glasses for on-the-job experiments, such as vehicle repair assistance. This divergence in policy highlights the ongoing debate within the military regarding the integration of advanced personal electronics and their associated security risks.
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France, Austria, and German states are reducing reliance on U.S. Big Tech by adopting domestic or free software alternatives, a trend fueled by desires for “digital sovereignty,” data privacy concerns, and fears of U.S. government influence. This push gained momentum after U.S. sanctions on the International Criminal Court, which led to Microsoft canceling an official’s email, raising anxieties about a potential “kill switch.” Initiatives like France’s switch to Visio for civil servants and the Austrian military’s adoption of LibreOffice underscore a broader European effort to gain independence from foreign technology providers and secure public communications.
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Reports have surfaced regarding a US investigation into claims that Meta can access users’ encrypted chats on WhatsApp, despite Meta’s denial of the allegation. These claims originated from a lawsuit filed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, citing “courageous” whistleblowers and accusing Meta of accessing purportedly private communications. Meta, in response, has labeled the claims “categorically false and absurd,” suggesting the lawsuit is a tactic to support the NSO Group, which Quinn Emanuel is also representing. Experts have expressed skepticism, noting the lack of concrete evidence and the improbability of such a breach remaining secret.
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A new U.S. company, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, has been established to ensure TikTok’s continued availability in the U.S., with a group of investors backed by former President Trump owning the majority stake. ByteDance, the Chinese-based owner, will retain a 19.9% stake, while Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX are major investors in the U.S. operation. This deal, brokered by the Trump administration, aims to protect national security through data protection and algorithm security. The company will also house U.S. user data in Oracle’s cloud environment.
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The Trump administration has admitted in a court filing that the “department of government efficiency” (Doge) improperly shared Americans’ social security data. The filing reveals a secret data-sharing agreement between a Doge member and a political advocacy group, and unauthorized use of a third-party server, Cloudflare. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is investigating potential Hatch Act violations due to political activity. The court filing details Doge’s access to sensitive systems and data despite a temporary restraining order, and the agency was unable to determine what data was transmitted.
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While the true impact of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is debatable, it appears to have had little effect on federal spending, its primary objective. Musk himself has downplayed the department’s success, even admitting it didn’t fully meet expectations. Recently, Musk revived claims of widespread government fraud, implying that DOGE failed to address the issue. After leaving DOGE, Musk expressed doubts about the endeavor, stating he likely wouldn’t repeat the experience.
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The Transportation Security Administration has been sharing passenger lists with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, enabling the detention and deportation of travelers. This collaboration, revealed by The New York Times, has led to the detention of individuals like university student Any Lucía López Belloza, who was deported despite federal court orders. The program, kept secret until recently, involves the TSA providing ICE with photographs and flight information, preventing timely challenges from those targeted. This unprecedented cooperation between the two agencies raises concerns about the normalization of aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
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The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been abruptly dissolved, falling far short of its initial savings goals. Despite a stated mission to maximize productivity and cut wasteful spending, DOGE’s reported savings of $214 billion were found to be significantly inflated due to accounting errors. The department’s drastic cuts, including job terminations and contract cancellations, potentially cost the government money through lost productivity and litigation. Ultimately, DOGE’s dismantling leaves its initial promises unfulfilled, though its core agenda will persist within other government branches.
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Democratic-led states are inadvertently sharing drivers’ data with ICE, officials say, and that’s a problem we need to unpack. The core issue, it seems, is that state agencies, the ones entrusted with our precious personal information, are often better at gathering it than they are at keeping it safe. It’s like they’re good at building the house, but forget to install a proper lock on the front door. We’re talking about driver’s license data here, the kind of info that can reveal a lot about a person: their address, their identity, and potentially, their immigration status.
It’s tempting to think this is a simple, partisan issue, but the reality is likely much more complex.… Continue reading
John Q. Hosedrinker 
Matt Underwood
TSA Shares Traveler Data with ICE, Raising Privacy Concerns
The Transportation Security Administration has been sharing passenger lists with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, enabling the detention and deportation of travelers. This collaboration, revealed by The New York Times, has led to the detention of individuals like university student Any Lucía López Belloza, who was deported despite federal court orders. The program, kept secret until recently, involves the TSA providing ICE with photographs and flight information, preventing timely challenges from those targeted. This unprecedented cooperation between the two agencies raises concerns about the normalization of aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
Read More