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SASSI South

@sassisouth.bsky.social

We are Southerners Against Surveillance Systems & Infrastructure. sassisouth.org sassisouth@proton.me

375 Posts510 Follower140 Folgt
Ryan O'Horo@ryanohoro.com · last wk.

You've heard of the technology that detects your phone, accessories, vehicle by their wireless signatures, SignalTrace? I found it deployed in Oxon Hill, Maryland, likely the first deployment in the US. Here's my in depth analysis of the SignalTrace product: www.ryanohoro.com/post/thinkin...

Thinking Critically About SignalTrace

SignalTrace advertises sophisticated technology, but is likely haphazardly implemented for its stated purpose. A deep look into a surveillance technology no one really knows much about.

ryanohoro.com

SASSI South@sassisouth.bsky.social · 6d ago

“ACLU-NC is committed to working with SBI and other agencies to strengthen policies that better protect privacy, reduce the risk of abuse, and ensure that any deployment of [license plate reader] technology is narrowly tailored, transparent, and subject to meaningful oversight" - Zac Contreras

NC license plate readers are here to stay after a statewide test run

The budget allows the State Bureau of Investigation to keep using license plate reader cameras.

newsobserver.com

ACLU of North Carolina@aclunc.bsky.social · 6d ago

ALPRs are rapidly expanding across NC, effectively creating a mass surveillance system for law enforcement. Join our virtual town hall to learn how ALPRs work, why they threaten privacy and civil liberties, and how you can organize in your community. Register: https://www.acluofnc.org/noalpr

SASSI South@sassisouth.bsky.social · 6d ago

If you missed it, we hosted "Axon is Coming for Flock" last night. Be on the lookout for more events from SASSI about Axon and other surveillance vendors.

Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 6d ago

New from 404 Media: around the country, cities are ditching Flock. But in many cases, immediately replacing Flock with Axon cameras. These clamp to an existing streetlamp so harder to spot. May be harder for public to know what cops are using the cameras for www.404media.co/cities-are-d...

SASSI South@sassisouth.bsky.social · 3w ago

Rather than advocating for the end of automated license plate readers like many residents demand, the ACLU has worked in multiple cities and states to keep these cameras in place and regulate their use. The ACLU is not our friend on this.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 3w ago

“Because Flock’s indiscriminate system records information on all cars and drivers that pass its cameras, ‘we have a company working to record the comings and goings of every single person in the country…’”

Prism@prismreports.org · 3w ago

“DHS has been very clear that they are going to use every surveillance tool possible to carry out their mission ... to deport as many people as possible.” New Orleans nonprofit Project NOLA announced free cameras for local businesses, sparking fears of worker surveillance, Edith Romero reports.

New Orleans ‘crime cameras’ spark fears of construction worker surveillance

Project NOLA announced free cameras for local businesses and said it had monitored sidewalk construction sites for the presence of workers, many of whom are Latino immigrants

prismreports.org

SASSI South@sassisouth.bsky.social · 3w ago

The ACLU, again, doing what the police want rather than listening to the demands of people. “ACLU-NC is committed to working with SBI and other agencies to strengthen policies that better protect privacy, reduce the risk of abuse..." www.govtech.com/public-safet...

North Carolina Concludes Statewide License Plate Camera Test

After a lengthy statewide pilot program, automatic license plate readers are here to stay in North Carolina, which will require the systems to be above ground, removable and without combustible fuel.

govtech.com

Tressie McMillan Cottom@tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 4w ago

They’re two steps away from hiring a woman or a Black man to manage this over the cliff.

Thomas Brewster@thomasbrewster.bsky.social · 4w ago

🚨NEW🚨 Well, this is a first for me: A surveillance company CEO says sorry. Flock's chief Garrett Langley says it was a "mistake" to label activists tracking the spread of its surveillance technology "terrorists." His comments come amid a rising public backlash. www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...

SASSI South@sassisouth.bsky.social · last mo.

This investigation shows that police have multiple surveillance tools, including databases, that they can use for this type of violence. The problem is and always has been bigger than Flock and ALPRs. We need to dismantle the full surveillance apparatus. Surveillance tools make us less safe.

404 Media@404media.co · last mo.

A Florida police officer met a woman on a TV set, surveilled her for weeks, stalked her, and nearly caused a head-on collision while chasing her to pull her over.

John Pfaff@johnpfaff.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A point that this piece only makes in passing, but is worth flagging, is that even for police violence, we are seeing rural areas deteriorate as urban areas improve, despite a media that still insists on glamorizing small-town life and viewing our cities as on fire. This is a pattern:

Killings by police have yet to reignite the broad outrage that followed Mr Floyd's death, but each day, unfortunately, brings the chance of a grisly event that might. Shootings by sheriffs, who operate mostly in rural areas, have risen especially fast in recent years, countering improvements in some big cities. In a recent case in a small town in Mississippi, police officers killed a one-year-old by shooting at the car in which the child was riding. Cops said that the driver, an alleged shoplifter stealing nappies, was trying to run them over. Local witnesses have disputed that account. The officers say they were standing in front of the car. Witnesses say they were chasing it.
Scott Horton@robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 2mo ago

As violent crime in America falls, especially in urban areas of the Northeast and Midwest, homicides perpetrated by police officers skyrocket and American police establish themselves as the most violent part of US society. It seems to be a function of the legal doctrine of impunity.

SASSI South@sassisouth.bsky.social · 2mo ago

"The nearly $583,000 first-year cost — which includes the drones and a Sparrowhawk radar system — is being covered entirely by the St. Louis Police Foundation with no cost to taxpayers in year one." www.ksdk.com/article/news...

St. Louis police want drones in the sky. The mayor says not so fast

The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners approved a drone first responder program Wednesday, but Mayor Cara Spencer and commissioners slammed the rushed process.

ksdk.com

DeFlock Redmond@deflock-redmond.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Using lower level retail thefts to justify mass #surveillance infrastructure. This, in turn, adds to the network effect and further entrenches the technology! "If this sounds like state-funded asset protection for your depressing local shopping mall, that's probably by design" #deflock #alpr

Prices Skyrocket and Retail Profits Soar. So Why Are Cops Focused on Mundane Shoplifting Arrests?

Thousands of pages of records reveal how the worst mall brands in America sold surveillance tech Flock to California.

bayareacurrent.com