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As technology becomes more and more integrated into our daily lives, we are willfully giving away our data to private companies. The issue lies in the fact that most users don't actually know where this data is going, and how it is being used.

86%

of Americans willing to discuss government surveillance in person.

42%

willing to post about it online.

Pew Research Center, 2014

As technology becomes more and more integrated into our daily lives, we are willfully giving away our data to private companies. The issue lies in the fact that most users don't actually know where this data is going, and how it is being used.

86%

of Americans were willing to discuss government surveillance in person.

42%

were willing to post about it online.

Pew Research Center, 2014

the research

Scroll to explore

As technology becomes more and more integrated into our daily lives, we are willfully giving away our data to private companies. The issue lies in the fact that most users don't actually know where this data is going, and how it is being used.

86%

of Americans were willing to discuss government surveillance in person.

42%

were willing to post about it online.

Pew Research Center, 2014

Most people would assume that their data lives only within the app they gave it to.

Most people would assume that their data lives only within the app they gave it to.

Unfortunately, it does not.

Unfortunately, it does not.

Most people would assume that their data lives only within the app they gave it to.

Most people would assume that their data lives only within the app they gave it to.

Unfortunately, it does not.

Unfortunately, it does not.

Private companies collect, aggregate, and sell your data—to advertisers, to data brokers, and to government agencies. The ACLU has documented through FOIA litigation that the FBI, DHS, and ICE routinely purchase Americans' location and financial data from commercial brokers without warrants. Because this data is bought rather than subpoenaed, the Fourth Amendment protections that would normally apply don't.

Private companies collect, aggregate, and sell your data—to advertisers, to data brokers, and to government agencies. The ACLU has documented through FOIA litigation that the FBI, DHS, and ICE routinely purchase Americans' location and financial data from commercial brokers without warrants. Because this data is bought rather than subpoenaed, the Fourth Amendment protections that would normally apply don't.

Before the rise of AI, the volume of data being collected made mass surveillance impractical—which is why it was usually a targeted operation. That changed. Palantir's ImmigrationOS, a $30 million contract with ICE, can cross-reference IRS records, Social Security data, passport records, and license plate databases to build a profile of an individual in near real time. Flock Safety scans more than 20 billion license plates every month across 49 states. These are not hypothetical systems. They are operational, contracted, and largely unknown to the public they monitor.

Before the rise of AI, the volume of data being collected made mass surveillance impractical—which is why it was usually a targeted operation. That changed. Palantir's ImmigrationOS, a $30 million contract with ICE, can cross-reference IRS records, Social Security data, passport records, and license plate databases to build a profile of an individual in near real time. Flock Safety scans more than 20 billion license plates every month across 49 states. These are not hypothetical systems. They are operational, contracted, and largely unknown to the public they monitor.

1908

The FBI is founded. Surveillance of political dissidents and civil rights organizers begins almost immediately.

1908

The FBI is founded. Surveillance of political dissidents and civil rights organizers begins almost immediately.

1956

COINTELPRO launches. The federal government monitors and disrupts civil rights organizations, anti-war groups, and Black activists for the next fifteen years.

1956

COINTELPRO launches. The federal government monitors and disrupts civil rights organizations, anti-war groups, and Black activists for the next fifteen years.

2001

The Patriot Act passes 45 days after 9/11. It expands government authority to monitor communications and financial records of citizens with reduced judicial oversight.

2001

The Patriot Act passes 45 days after 9/11. It expands government authority to monitor communications and financial records of citizens with reduced judicial oversight.

2013

Edward Snowden reveals the NSA's PRISM program. Mass collection of internet comms from millions of Americans had been occurring with no individual suspicion required.

2013

Edward Snowden reveals the NSA's PRISM program. Mass collection of internet comms from millions of Americans had been occurring with no individual suspicion required.

2015

The Department of Homeland Security begins monitoring Black Lives Matter on social media. Protests are tracked in real time as demonstrations spread across the country.

2015

The Department of Homeland Security begins monitoring Black Lives Matter on social media. Protests are tracked in real time as demonstrations spread across the country.

2018

Cambridge Analytica becomes public. The personal data of 87 million Facebook users had been harvested without consent and used for political targeting.

2018

Cambridge Analytica becomes public. The personal data of 87 million Facebook users had been harvested without consent and used for political targeting.

2020

Federal agencies compile surveillance files on racial justice protesters and deploy aerial surveillance over American cities. Most of those arrested during protests were charged with nonviolent misdemeanors.

2020

Federal agencies compile surveillance files on racial justice protesters and deploy aerial surveillance over American cities. Most of those arrested during protests were charged with nonviolent misdemeanors.

2025

AI systems now automate what once required hundreds of agents. Palantir's ImmigrationOS cross-references IRS, Social Security, passport, and license plate data to track individuals in near real time.

2025

AI systems now automate what once required hundreds of agents. Palantir's ImmigrationOS cross-references IRS, Social Security, passport, and license plate data to track individuals in near real time.

How to navigate
This web is an attempt to show how your personal data flows through private contractors and into the governments hands. Hover over any node to see details. Scroll to zoom, click and drag to pan. Use the + / − buttons to zoom in and out.

The infrastructure above does not have to be actively used to shape behavior. The awareness of it is enough. According to Jonathan Penney's 2016 article Chilling Effects: Online Surveillance and Wikipedia Use, searches for sensitive topics dropped by approximately 20% in the years following the Snowden revelations—with no evidence anyone was being prosecuted for reading them.


People changed their behavior simply because they knew they could be watched. That dynamic predates AI and the data brokers, and it has only deepened as the scale of surveillance has grown.

The infrastructure above does not have to be actively used to shape behavior. The awareness of it is enough. According to Jonathan Penney's 2016 article Chilling Effects: Online Surveillance and Wikipedia Use, searches for sensitive topics dropped by approximately 20% in the years following the Snowden revelations—with no evidence anyone was being prosecuted for reading them.


People changed their behavior simply because they knew they could be watched. That dynamic predates AI and the data brokers, and it has only deepened as the scale of surveillance has grown.

This gap is the outcome surveillance was always designed to produce, and it is the product of decades of surveillance infrastructure quietly expanding and embedding itself into everyday life.

This gap is the outcome surveillance was always designed to produce, and it is the product of decades of surveillance infrastructure quietly expanding and embedding itself into everyday life.

These systems do not affect everyone equally though, and surveillance systems don't create bias from scratch. They inherit it. Predictive policing algorithms are trained on historical arrest data, which is shaped by decades of discriminatory enforcement.

These systems do not affect everyone equally though, and surveillance systems don't create bias from scratch. They inherit it. Predictive policing algorithms are trained on historical arrest data, which is shaped by decades of discriminatory enforcement.

The result is a feedback loop: over-policed communities generate more data, which the algorithm interprets as higher risk, which directs more policing toward those same communities. The result is a system that doesn't need to be explicitly racist to produce racist outcomes. The data does that work on its own.

The result is a feedback loop: over-policed communities generate more data, which the algorithm interprets as higher risk, which directs more policing toward those same communities. The result is a system that doesn't need to be explicitly racist to produce racist outcomes. The data does that work on its own.

Ensign et al., Runaway Feedback Loops in Predictive Policing, 2018

These systems do not affect everyone equally though, and surveillance systems don't create bias from scratch. They inherit it. Predictive policing algorithms are trained on historical arrest data, which is shaped by decades of discriminatory enforcement.

These systems do not affect everyone equally though, and surveillance systems don't create bias from scratch. They inherit it. Predictive policing algorithms are trained on historical arrest data, which is shaped by decades of discriminatory enforcement.

The result is a feedback loop: over-policed communities generate more data, which the algorithm interprets as higher risk, which directs more policing toward those same communities. The result is a system that doesn't need to be explicitly racist to produce racist outcomes. The data does that work on its own.

The result is a feedback loop: over-policed communities generate more data, which the algorithm interprets as higher risk, which directs more policing toward those same communities. The result is a system that doesn't need to be explicitly racist to produce racist outcomes. The data does that work on its own.

Ensign et al., Runaway Feedback Loops in Predictive Policing, 2018

Ensign et al., Runaway Feedback Loops in Predictive Policing, 2018

77%

77%

higher chance of being flagged as high risk by a predictive policing algorithm if you are Black — even with a similar record to a white defendant.

higher chance of being flagged as high risk by a predictive policing algorithm if you are Black—even with a similar record to a white defendant.

ProPublica, 2016

ProPublica, 2016

700,000+

700,000+

pages of federal surveillance documents obtained through FOIA litigation showing agencies monitored racial justice protesters and labeled them threats.

pages of federal surveillance documents obtained through FOIA litigation showing agencies monitored racial justice protesters and labeled them threats.

Brennan Center for Justice, 2022

17,000+

17,000+

people arrested across 50 cities in the first two weeks of BLM protests in 2020. Most were charged with nonviolent misdemeanors like curfew violations.

people arrested across 50 cities in the first two weeks of BLM protests in 2020. Most were charged with nonviolent misdemeanors like curfew violations.

CBS News / DHS records

77%

77%

higher chance of being flagged as high risk by a predictive policing algorithm if you are Black — even with a similar record to a white defendant.

higher chance of being flagged as high risk by a predictive policing algorithm if you are Black — even with a similar record to a white defendant.

ProPublica, 2016

700,000+

700,000+

pages of federal surveillance documents obtained through FOIA litigation showing agencies monitored racial justice protesters and labeled them threats.

pages of federal surveillance documents obtained through FOIA litigation showing agencies monitored racial justice protesters and labeled them threats.

Brennan Center for Justice, 2022

Brennan Center for Justice, 2022

17,000+

17,000+

people arrested across 50 cities in the first two weeks of BLM protests in 2020. Most were charged with nonviolent misdemeanors like curfew violations.

people arrested across 50 cities in the first two weeks of BLM protests in 2020. Most were charged with nonviolent misdemeanors like curfew violations.

CBS News / DHS records

77%

77%

higher chance of being flagged as high risk by a predictive policing algorithm if you are Black — even with a similar record to a white defendant.

higher chance of being flagged as high risk by a predictive policing algorithm if you are Black — even with a similar record to a white defendant.

ProPublica, 2016

700,000+

700,000+

pages of federal surveillance documents obtained through FOIA litigation showing agencies monitored racial justice protesters and labeled them threats.

pages of federal surveillance documents obtained through FOIA litigation showing agencies monitored racial justice protesters and labeled them threats.

Brennan Center for Justice, 2022

17,000+

17,000+

people arrested across 50 cities in the first two weeks of BLM protests in 2020. Most were charged with nonviolent misdemeanors like curfew violations.

people arrested across 50 cities in the first two weeks of BLM protests in 2020. Most were charged with nonviolent misdemeanors like curfew violations.

Washington Post, 2020

Washington Post, 2020

These are not edge cases or anomalies. They are the predictable outputs of systems built on data that was never neutral to begin with.

These are not edge cases or anomalies. They are the predictable outputs of systems built on data that was never neutral to begin with.

When challenged, these systems are consistently defended with the same justifications. Below are some of the most common claims made in defense of surveillance infrastructure—and what the documented evidence says about each of them.

When challenged, these systems are consistently defended with the same justifications. Below are some of the most common claims made in defense of surveillance infrastructure—and what the documented evidence says about each of them.

What you're told

License plate readers are only used to solve serious crimes.

tap to reveal
What the data shows

In one county alone, outside agencies ran 364,000 searches in a single month. 299 cited immigration enforcement. One city discovered federal agents had been accessing their cameras for months through a program they were never told about.

tap to flip back
What you're told

License plate readers are only used to solve serious crimes.

tap to reveal
What the data shows

In one county alone, outside agencies ran 364,000 searches in a single month. 299 cited immigration enforcement. One city discovered federal agents had been accessing their cameras for months through a program they were never told about.

tap to flip back
What you're told

License plate readers are only used to solve serious crimes.

tap to reveal
What the data shows

In one county alone, outside agencies ran 364,000 searches in a single month. 299 cited immigration enforcement. One city discovered federal agents had been accessing their cameras for months through a program they were never told about.

tap to flip back

what can you do?

what can you do?

Awareness is the first step to doing something about this. You can limit your exposure by opting out of data broker databases, many of which are legally required to honor removal requests, and services like DeleteMe and Privacy Bee continuously scrub your info from the brokers who sell it.


It's important to be deliberate about which apps and platforms you use, and what permissions you grant them. You can support the organizations fighting these battles, and if you feel empowered, contact your representatives about the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act.

Awareness is the first step to doing something about this. You can limit your exposure by opting out of data broker databases, many of which are legally required to honor removal requests, and services like DeleteMe and Privacy Bee continuously scrub your info from the brokers who sell it.


It's important to be deliberate about which apps and platforms you use, and what permissions you grant them. You can support the organizations fighting these battles, and if you feel empowered, contact your representatives about the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ACLU, and the Brennan Center for Justice have filed FOIA lawsuits, challenged warrantless data purchases in federal court, and produced the audits and documentation that made much of this research possible. None of this becomes public without sustained legal pressure, and they are winning some of those fights, but the systems always move faster than the oversight.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the ACLU have filed FOIA lawsuits, challenged warrantless data purchases in federal court, and produced the audits and documentation that made much of this research possible. None of this becomes public without sustained legal pressure, and they are winning some of those fights, but the systems always move faster than the oversight.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this. If you want to go deeper, everything is sourced in my appendix. If you want to see how it all came together, the process is documented in my senior experience.

appendix

senior experience

Thank you for taking the time to read through this. If you want to go deeper, everything is sourced in my appendix. If you want to see how it all came together, the process is documented in my senior experience.

appendix

senior experience