Halloween Newsletter 2023

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

Happy Halloween!  Are you in need of a last-minute Halloween costume? S.T.O.P. is here to help with some surveillance tech costumes you can throw together with items from around the house.   A Deepfake – Of literally anybody!   With Mayor Eric Adams endorsing deepfakes, there’s never been a better time to get in on the action. How? Imitate anyone! Sure, wearing a photorealistic mask of a stranger may sound creepy, but if it’s good enough for the mayor, why not try it too?  A Peeping .Com   Child surveillance laws are cropping up all around the nation, proposing to keep children safe online by incentivizing companies world-wide to impose age and identity verification barriers to online access. Realistically, there is no sure way to verify identity online, meaning these laws would only encourage companies to use intrusive and novel technologies to spy on users, ultimately harming children and adults. There’s a sinister irony in this figure emerging from the government’s pursuit of safety — Why not animate the horrors of techno-solutionism this Halloween night? A Pumpkin Cache  Increasingly, technological gadgets are becoming proficient data-trackers, and cars are no exception. In fact, car companies are even legally permitted to sell their customers’ personal data, raising major privacy concerns and threatening due process. On an orange shirt, draw the trace lines found on a circuit board, and the look is complete! It is almost as easy to make as it is for cars to steal your data! Do this with a group of friends to really hone in on the pun.  The Ghost of K5   He perished in the recent floods, no? K5, an NYPD robocop championed by Mayor Adams as he strives to transform NYC into a paradigmatic surveillance state, was rolled out last month and instantly generated controversy. This wholly autonomous robot is already patrolling NYC subway stations, constantly recording video footage between the hours of 12 AM and 6 Am. We’re certainly spooked by Mayor Adam’s new BFF.   A "Fly on a Pole"  Instead of “flies on the wall,” New York City has flies on poles: those unsightly white NYPD boxes perched on every street corner, equipped with two buggy black eyes that NYPD operators can direct to the windows of your apartment and workplace. This costume, easily fashioned with a cardboard box and some paint, hosts a terrifying mix of creepy and unconstitutional capabilities that will make your friends want to draw the blinds and hide under the covers.  In an ideal world, these creepy surveillance tools and practices would only come out to haunt us on Halloween night. Support S.T.O.P. today as we fight to exorcise this tech of nightmares from reality.  In solidarity, Allie Lennard Communications Intern Share Tweet Forward