The Trump administration is integrating and analyzing massive amounts of Americans’ personal data. Congress can act to protect privacy and First Amendment rights, and so can state and local governments. bit.ly/44t5Rob

The Dangers of the Trump Administration's Data Consolidation Efforts

Congress and state and local governments must create new safeguards around the collection, integration, and misuse of people’s data to protect privacy and First Amendment rights.

brennancenter.org

1/ The Supreme Court’s ruling in Chatrie v. United States is a win for privacy. In a 6-3 decision (with Justice Gorsuch concurring in judgment), the Court ruled that police need a warrant to obtain a person’s cell phone location information from a third party. Some background and key takeaways:

This is a really great resource on the laws governing how every state and U.S. territory can use its National Guard.

Joseph Nunn@josephanunn.bsky.social · last mo.

Governors of many U.S. states and territories have sweeping power to use National Guard troops with relatively few legal constraints, new Brennan Center research shows. This is a dangerous state of affairs that’s ripe for abuse. Legislatures must act. 1/21

New from 404 Media: Madison Square Garden made a dossier on activists who have opposed the venue's facial recognition program. MSG scans faces of people so some can be arbitrarily denied entry. Dossier includes specific activists, their contact info, tweets, etc www.404media.co/madison-squa...

Madison Square Garden Made Dossier on Activists Who Opposed Facial Recognition

The document, titled “Facial Recognition Activists.docx,” includes specific activists’ comments about MSG's facial recognition program and tweets criticizing it.

404media.co

New: it appears ICE is buying immigrants' tax identifiers through a data broker. ICE has repeatedly tried to get this sort of data from the IRS. Judges have repeatedly blocked that move, calling it illegal. Now it looks like ICE is just buying related data instead www.404media.co/ice-appears-...

ICE Appears to Be Buying Immigrants’ Tax Identifiers from a Data Broker

A $10 million procurement reviewed by 404 Media indicates ICE is buying records related to immigrants’ tax identifiers. “It looks for all the world like Trump is trying to skirt the law and a court or...

404media.co

Data brokers pose grave threats to Americans' privacy and our national security. But the US govt continues to bankroll the industry: it's one its major patrons! It's past time to close the checkbook. Congress must prohibit govt agencies from paying brokers billions to buy Americans’ sensitive info.

Congress Must Close Data Broker Loophole by Prohibiting Government Purchases of Americans' Sensitive Data

A two-pager compiled by the Brennan Center illustrating why Congress must close the data broker loophole by prohibiting government purchases of Americans' sensitive data.

brennancenter.org

dell cameron@dell.bsky.social · 2mo ago

For nearly a decade, the Pentagon was warned—by its own contractors, analysts, and intelligence agencies—that anyone with a credit card could buy a map of where American troops sleep, work, and store nuclear weapons. Now the bill has come due in a war zone. My latest at @wired.com

My team uncovered that foreign enemies are targeting U.S. servicemembers in war zones by buying their location data. The threat to national security posed by data brokers has never been more clear. We need to dismantle the surveillance advertising industry.

Raphael Satter@raphae.li · 2mo ago

Scoop: Central Command is getting reports that military personnel are being targeted using commercially available location data. Few details available, but it’s a sign that the tech industry’s advertising-surveillance complex is having consequences on the battlefield. www.reuters.com/business/med...

People are angry about AI data centers and their impacts. Instead of addressing real outcry about harm to Black and poor communities, our government criminalizes dissent. Today it's Congress's intel unit. Earlier this week, WIRED showed how DHS, FBI, local police, and private spies are involved.

Ken Klippenstein@kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 2mo ago

If you're worried about AI data centers, Congress is taking notice — not by passing any laws, but by spying on critics through its new intelligence bureau: www.kenklippenstein.com/p/exclusive-...

“The likelihood of PII appearing in AI training data is only increasing as public data ‘runs out’ and AI companies look for new sources of high-quality training data. This includes information from data brokers and people-search websites.”

AI chatbots are giving out people’s real phone numbers

People report that their personal contact info was surfaced by Google AI—and there’s apparently no easy way to prevent it.

technologyreview.com

A new federal bill would wipe out dozens, if not hundreds, of existing state privacy protections. It’s hard to take seriously. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

The SECURE Data Act is Not a Serious Piece of Privacy Legislation

The bill is weaker than congressional proposals in prior years, as well as most of the 21 state consumer privacy bills already on the books.

eff.org

This is a great convo w/ @chinmayisharma.bsky.social about how DHS’s vendor-mediated surveillance infrastructure threatens civil liberties and democratic accountability. Check out her insightful paper with @samadler.bsky.social for more, incl. how states can counter harms: ssrn.com/abstract=634...

Lawfare@lawfaremedia.org · 3mo ago

On Lawfare Daily, @tylermcbrien.com spoke to @chinmayisharma.bsky.social about her forthcoming law review article, “Immigration Enforcement Intermediaries," which discusses the U.S. federal government’s increasingly privatized and automated system of immigration enforcement. youtu.be/WSM943XOcZ8

Speaker Johnson's latest proposal to reauthorize FISA Section 702 would perpetuate warrantless government access to Americans' "incidentally" collected communications. @lizagoitein.bsky.social and I explain why the House should reject the proposal (again): www.justsecurity.org/137206/johns...

Fool’s Gold: Speaker Johnson’s Section 702 proposal would place no limits on backdoor searches

A critique of the Speaker's most recent legislative proposal to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

justsecurity.org

My essay on why the SECURE Data Act, the new federal privacy bill is awful danielsolove.substack.com/p/a-disastro...

A Disastrous Federal Privacy Bill

The SECURE Data Act Is Awful

danielsolove.substack.com

Yesterday, House Energy & Commerce Republicans introduced draft privacy legislation called the SECURE Data Act. It marks a significant step backward in the privacy debate, writes Eric Null, director of the Privacy & Data Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology.

Congress's New Privacy Bill Is Built on Empty Promises

The SECURE Data Act marks a significant step backward in the privacy debate, writes Eric Null, Director of the Privacy & Data Project at CDT.

techpolicy.press

Tell me again that the FBI should be able to search FISA databases for information about US persons without first obtaining a warrant based on probable cause. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/u...

That’s not all. Current law also lets the Feds buy all sorts of sensitive data on you from shady data brokers, with just a credit card. The Feds can feed that data into powerful AI systems to spy on you. Kash Patel recently confirmed to me he’s buying your location data.

The federal government – ICE, FBI, and more – is spying on you without a warrant. This week, Congress will decide whether Kash Patel, Stephen Miller and Trump can keep spying on Americans. If that scares you (it should) this thread is for you.

NPR@npr.org · 4mo ago

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is responsible for a huge share of intel collected by the U.S. Lawmakers and civil liberties advocates are worried it enables warrantless spying on U.S. citizens. n.pr/41wU5YA

2/ Heard of ADINT aka ADvertising INTelligence? Your apps don't just show ads. They stream of info about your GPS location + a unique identifier to HUNDREDS OF BROKERS EVERY SECOND. The industry swears the data is "anonymous" but it's actually a Spies-eye-view. Of everyone.

BREAKING: You checked the weather this morning. And you just told a surveillance company where you sleep. Meet #Webloc, used by ICE, cops & foreign govs to track 500m+ phones. No warrant required. Our @citizenlab.ca investigation + how to protect yourself 🧵/1 citizenlab.ca/research/ana...

Broad book bans restrict students’ access to information and discourage open discussion on sexuality, gender identity, teen pregnancy, & sexual health. As @faizapatel.bsky.social and I explained, using AI tools to enforce these bans amplifies those risks and makes those laws more dangerous. 1/

Using AI to Comply With Book Bans Makes Those Laws More Dangerous

Using generative artificial intelligence to comply with book bans will further threaten free speech.

justsecurity.org

404 Media@404media.co · 4mo ago

NEW: Conservative groups have begun using Gemini, ChatGPT, xAI, and other tools to try to get books banned. “When [censors] start using these tools to take the shortcut to get books off shelves, you’re going to end up pulling so many books that tend to be the most targeted anyway."

The FBI reports a large drop in its warrantless searches of Americans' communications under Section 702. @lizagoitein.bsky.social and I explain why the reported numbers don't tell the full story — and why a warrant requirement is still needed.

Just Security@justsecurity.org · 4mo ago

On April 20, a surveillance authority - FISA Section 702 - sunsets unless Congress reauthorizes. @lizagoitein.bsky.social @hannahajames.bsky.social write: USG reports on use of the tool are incomplete, and reveal why Congress should pass a warrant requirement to protect Americans’ communications.

The data broker industry has for years collected and sold sensitive info about US service members it harvests from the online ad industry. The Pentagon’s known about these threats to privacy and national security, but the US govt continues to fuel the industry as one of its major customers.

Anyone Can Buy Data Tracking US Soldiers and Spies to Nuclear Vaults and Brothels in Germany

More than 3 billion phone coordinates collected by a US data broker expose the detailed movements of US military and intelligence workers in Germany—and the Pentagon is powerless to stop it.

wired.com

Jack Murphy@jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I'm told that the IC has assessed that the reservists killed in Kuwait a few weeks ago were targeted using adtech, and that the Iranians used it to trace their movements to the port. www.nbcnews.com/news/militar...

FBI director Kash Patel confirms the FBI is buying location data and histories that can be used for tracking people. It's the first time in recent years that the FBI has said it's actively buying this information, without needing a warrant. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

FBI is buying data that can be used to track people, Patel says

This is the first confirmation that the FBI has resumed actively buying people's data for investigations.

politico.com

Book launch day! “Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self Surveillance” is out. Bluesky friends, I would be so grateful if you would buy a copy. And if you can’t afford it, could you at least share this announcement. Thank you. #BookSky politics-prose.com/search?q=You...

As @amostoh.bsky.social and I explain in our new report, the military has been ramping up its adoption of AI, while oversight and safeguards have failed to keep up. But the Pentagon’s dispute with Anthropic has brought a grave threat into focus: using AI to pry into Americans’ private lives 🧵 1/

The Business of Military AI

The Pentagon has been spending tens of billions of dollars to adopt new technologies at breakneck speed. Without oversight and safeguards, military applications of artificial intelligence could jeopar...

brennancenter.org

Anthropic’s recent clash with the Defense Department over mass surveillance and autonomous weapons shows why the Pentagon’s use of AI must be reined in. Our latest report documents the Pentagon’s rapid adoption of AI and outlines safeguards to ensure the technology is deployed responsibly.

The Business of Military AI

The Pentagon has been spending tens of billions of dollars to adopt new technologies at breakneck speed. Without oversight and safeguards, military applications of artificial intelligence could jeopar...

brennancenter.org

1/ As the US continues AI-enabled strikes on Iran, new @brennancenter.org research from @emileayoub.bsky.social and me examines how the military’s investments in the technology have been building to this moment. Congress must step up and reckon with AI’s dangers to life, liberty, and democracy 🧵:

The Business of Military AI

The Pentagon has been spending tens of billions of dollars to adopt new technologies at breakneck speed. Without oversight and safeguards, military applications of artificial intelligence could jeopar...

brennancenter.org