Faiza Patel
@faizapatel.bsky.social
Co-Director, Liberty & NatSec @BrennanCenter
Lawmakers must address the federal governments' use of LLMs against Americans’ data, writes @faizapatel.bsky.social (Faiza Patel). "At a minimum, Congress should require agencies to disclose how these models are trained, how they perform, and how they impact Americans," she writes.
AI and Warrantless Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
The use of LLMs for foreign intelligence surveillance erodes the rules put in place to safeguard Americans' civil liberties.
justsecurity.org
1/6 Today @justsecurity.org published the first of a a pair of pieces by me exploring what the DoD places within the envelope of "mass domestic surveillance" and what remains outside. This longstanding issue is even more critical with the adoption of AI.
What constitutes mass domestic surveillance? USG already collects Americans' data without a warrant via commercial purchases - and the risks are greatly increased by the use of AI, writes @faizapatel.bsky.social (Faiza Patel). More here:
AI and the Commercial Data Loophole
The Pentagon’s access to commercial LLMs give it a powerful surveillance tool that could be turned on Americans.
justsecurity.org
Looking forward to the conversation!
Freedom of the Press Foundation@freedom.press · 2mo ago🔔 Join our webinar to learn how Trump's "domestic terrorism" memo silences free speech and could be used to target outlets, journalists, and confidential sources. With @drboguslaw.bsky.social, @chipgibbons.bsky.social, and @faizapatel.bsky.social. 🗓️ July 22, 2 p.m. ET RSVP: freedom.press/NSPM-7
DOJ plans to strip 400 Americans of their citizenship. More than any other recent admin, even the 1st Trump admin. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/u... Some may be real fraud cases, but if they're politically motivated or based on a technicality, the courts will shut them down.
nytimes.com
1/5 Thread on an imp story out today, which may get missed with all the Iran war news. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/u...
‘Go Big and Go Loud’: Inside the Justice Dept.’s Push to Prosecute Protesters
nytimes.com
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
Thomson Reuters is best known for its media outlet and legal research tools, but it is also a huge data broker that provides investigative tools to the government, including ICE. Its Minneapolis workers aren't happy about that: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/t...
They Don’t Want Their Company’s Surveillance Tool Used by ICE
nytimes.com
My @brennancenter.org colleagues issued a report today on military AI. It bears the discourse on Anthropic v. DoD. It covers the long march toward military AI in weapons & for surveillance and targeting. Provides data on the companies winning contracts. Explains the risks of adoption w/o safeguards.
Amos Toh@amostoh.bsky.social · 6mo ago1/ 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 🧵:
As the Islamophobic voices rise up again, thought I would point out that its thankfully not easy to denaturalize Americans. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...
How the Supreme Court Rejected Denaturalization as a Political Weapon Long Ago
New threats to strip opponents of citizenship recall a dark history.
brennancenter.org
Trump's latest attempt to thwart state AI rules will probably also fail, as federal agencies like the DOJ and FTC cannot encroach on lawful state regulations without a clear delegation from Congress, Olivier Sylvain argues on @techpolicypress.bsky.social:
Why Trump’s AI EO Will be DOA in Court | TechPolicy.Press
Policymakers should not allow the happy-talk about innovation blind them to the ways in which AI companies may harm consumers, Olivier Sylvain writes.
techpolicy.press
Tomorrow at 3:00 House and Senate Democrats will be holding a "shadow hearing" on the detention of U.S. citizens. I'll be there testifying about the broader policy changes which led us to this moment. /my name isn't in this press release but I'll be there! www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...
Blumenthal & Robert Garcia to Hold Forum to Receive Testimony from Five U.S. Citizens Assaulted, Illegally Detained by DHS | U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut
[WASHINGTON, DC] – On Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 3 PM ET in 216 Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal...
blumenthal.senate.gov
Powerful piece on collective punishment after NG shooting. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/o...
Opinion | I’m an Immigration Lawyer. Trump Is Shattering My Clients’ Lives.
nytimes.com
Looking forward to discussing Immigration in NYC: Policy, Belonging, and the Future of Sanctuary. This evening @ Columbia. Register here: events.columbia.edu/cal/event/ev...
Immigration in NYC: Policy, Belonging, and the Future of Sanctuary
<p>The <a href="https://holder.college.columbia.edu/" target="_blank">Eric H. Holder Jr. Initiative for Civil and Political Rights</a> Student Advisory Board is pleased to invite you to the ...
events.columbia.edu
From me and @brennancenter.org colleagues
Brennan Center@brennancenter.org · 9mo agoThe Trump administration and its supporters have made numerous threats to revoke the citizenship of political foes who are naturalized citizens — but if the government tries to follow through, it will have an uphill legal battle. bit.ly/4rh6WJT
There is far more to the NYPD surveillance system than DAS & the disbanded demographics unit. POST act disclosures of surveillance tech have been minimal & NYPD IG which could help shed light weakened. These need fixing for starters. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/n...
Mamdani, a Sharp Critic of Police Surveillance, Will Soon Oversee It
nytimes.com
1/2 The Liberty & NatSec team @brennancenter.org is hiring for two positions: senior counsel and tech strategist. Pls spread the word. brennancenter.applytojob.com/apply/86gRwx...
Senior Counsel, Liberty and National Security Program - Brennan Center for Justice - Career Page
Apply to Senior Counsel, Liberty and National Security Program at Brennan Center for Justice in New York, NY.
brennancenter.applytojob.com
Social media monitoring systems, cellphone location tracking, facial recognition, remote hacking tools — now being turned on Americans by ICE to target protesters. bit.ly/3Kq348R
ICE Wants to Go After Dissenters as well as Immigrants
The Trump administration is being open about its plans to violate Americans’ First and Fourth Amendment rights.
brennancenter.org
Former ambassadors and senior State Department officials — including Steady State members — warn that the U.S. is targeting foreign students and scholars for their lawful speech, undermining free-expression principles and harming America’s global standing. drive.google.com/file/d/1GIq2...
The numbers are in: new foreign student enrollment dropped by 17 percent this year. 60+ former sr State Dept officials and ambassadors (both D& R) explain why this is bad for America & Americans: drive.google.com/file/d/1GIq2...
Letter to Rubio - 11.17.2025
drive.google.com
After 9/11, the U.S. built a huge surveillance infrastructure for counterterrorism. It was abused to target Muslim Americans, but the broad authorities were also used to go after protestors. Immigration enforcement is the new counterterrorism: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
ICE Wants to Go After Dissenters as well as Immigrants
The Trump administration is being open about its plans to violate Americans’ First and Fourth Amendment rights.
brennancenter.org
ICE has long used the latest spy tech to pursue immigrants — but now it’s also targeting anti-ICE protesters and anyone who allegedly funds them. bit.ly/3Kq348R
ICE Wants to Go After Dissenters as well as Immigrants
The Trump administration is being open about its plans to violate Americans’ First and Fourth Amendment rights.
brennancenter.org
This is a huge win that you might have missed last week: we successfully pressured airlines to shut down their data broker, which was selling passenger data to the government without a court order. I'm going to keep at it until other industries to follow suit.
404 Media@404media.co · 10mo agoAfter 404 Media's months-long reporting and pressure from lawmakers, the data broker owned by the U.S.’s major airlines will now shut down a program in which it sold access to hundreds of millions of flight records to the government and let agencies track peoples’ movements without a warrant.
1/6 Thread on story from @us.theguardian.com on FBI & NYPD spying on court watch Signal group chat. Bottom line: this stuff has been happening for ages and until we dismantle the post 9/11 domestic spying apparatus it will keep happening. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal
Exclusive: Agency accessed private conversations of New York ‘courtwatch’ group that was observing public hearings
theguardian.com
Across the country, police departments have adopted AI-driven platforms to assist with data collection and analysis. But without robust safeguards, these data fusion tools risk generating inaccurate results, perpetuating bias, and undermining individual rights. bit.ly/44nxPlx
The Dangers of Unregulated AI in Policing
New data fusion tools risk embedding biases and chilling free speech.
brennancenter.org
