S.T.O.P. Condemns Expanded Biden Admin Surveillance, Warrantless FBI Searches, ICE Tracking Devices

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Expanded Biden Admin Surveillance, Warrantless FBI Searches, ICE Tracking Devices (New York, NY, 5/2/2022) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a privacy and civil rights group, condemns expanded surveillance under the Biden Administration, including 3.4 million warrantless FBI searches of data held by the National Security Administration and Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s newly-reported $7.2 million tracking device contract. The FBI’s warrantless searches allow it to access vast NSA databases of nearly every communication sent by Americans. ICE’s $7.2 million contract with Trust Stamp will purchase 10,000 smartphones configured to track migrants processed at the southern border with GPS and facial recognition. SEE: WSJ – FBI Conducted Potentially Millions of Searches of Americans’ Data Last Year, Report Says https://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-conducted-potentially-millions-of-searches-of-americans-data-last-year-report-says-11651253728?st=s6ddpqbrcdnj2dp&reflink=article_email_share Business Insider - ICE spends $7.2 million to increase facial recognition and location tracking of migrants https://www.businessinsider.com/ice-7-million-contract-trust-stamp-facial-recognition-location-tracking-2022-5 “This tracking technology is not just unconstitutional, it’s dangerous,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “For a president who ran on a platform of restoring the Constitution and rule of law, this is an egregious betrayal. The Biden Administration can’t continue to sit by as federal agencies build the technical systems of authoritarians. We’ve already seen just how dangerously existing presidential powers can be abused. It’s nightmarish to think just how powerful these agencies will become if they continue down this path.” Earlier this year, the civil rights group condemned the FBI for expanding its use of facial recognition with Clearview AI, the controversial facial recognition vendor that has drawn widespread scrutiny for taking the publics’ images from social media and other websites without consent. Last December, S.T.O.P. condemned the FBI for deploying plainclothes officers to infiltrate and surveil AntiFa protests in Portland, OR. SEE: Press Release - S.T.O.P. Condemns FBI Facial Recognition With Clearview AI https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2022/1/11/stop-condemns-fbi-facial-recognition-with-clearview-ai Press Release - S.T.O.P. Condemns FBI Surveillance Of Portland Protests https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2021/12/22/stop-condemns-fbi-surveillance-of-portland-protests The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. -- END --   CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.