Jay Stanley
@jaystanley.bsky.social
Emerging technology and science for ACLU
We’ve seen plenty of “show me the man, I’ll find you the crime” kind of abuse at the hands of the Trump Administration. But here's a reminder that such abuse can rear its head anywhere — and when it does, license plate reading programs are a natural tool for that...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org
February 3, 2026 at 10:24 PM
We’ve seen plenty of “show me the man, I’ll find you the crime” kind of abuse at the hands of the Trump Administration. But here's a reminder that such abuse can rear its head anywhere — and when it does, license plate reading programs are a natural tool for that...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
Reposted by Jay Stanley
Airspace over Homeland Security Dept. vehicles is to be designated “national defense airspace.” How drone operators are supposed to comply with the changes @jaystanley.bsky.social reports is one question. But another…. “national defense airspace”? Over DHS vehicles? Via @faineg.bsky.social
Great piece from @jaystanley.bsky.social of the ACLU on the shocking overreach of the FAA’s new rules that ban drones from flying within 3000 feet of even concealed and moving ICE and DHS vehicles:
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
Trump Administration Claims Sweeping New Power to Take Down Any Drone it Doesn’t Like | ACLU
Baffling order is likely a move to block drone photography of DHS operations in violation of First Amendment
www.aclu.org
January 30, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Airspace over Homeland Security Dept. vehicles is to be designated “national defense airspace.” How drone operators are supposed to comply with the changes @jaystanley.bsky.social reports is one question. But another…. “national defense airspace”? Over DHS vehicles? Via @faineg.bsky.social
Under this ridiculous order, if ICE decides to drive underneath/near your drone with no notice, you could be liable for criminal charges and/or a $10,000 fine.
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
Trump Administration Claims Sweeping New Power to Take Down Any Drone it Doesn’t Like | ACLU
Baffling order is likely a move to block drone photography of DHS operations in violation of First Amendment
www.aclu.org
January 29, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Under this ridiculous order, if ICE decides to drive underneath/near your drone with no notice, you could be liable for criminal charges and/or a $10,000 fine.
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
Retailers using face recognition against their customers are taking government suggestions on who to alert against. This raises 2 questions:
A) Is this leading to construction of a nationwide look-out infrastructure?
B) Are these companies helping Trump's brutal and lawless immigration campaign?
A) Is this leading to construction of a nationwide look-out infrastructure?
B) Are these companies helping Trump's brutal and lawless immigration campaign?
Retailers Secretively Using Face Recognition to Spot “Persons of Interest” — Including For the Government | ACLU
Are Wegmans and other retailers participating in the Trump war on immigrants?
www.aclu.org
January 20, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Retailers using face recognition against their customers are taking government suggestions on who to alert against. This raises 2 questions:
A) Is this leading to construction of a nationwide look-out infrastructure?
B) Are these companies helping Trump's brutal and lawless immigration campaign?
A) Is this leading to construction of a nationwide look-out infrastructure?
B) Are these companies helping Trump's brutal and lawless immigration campaign?
Flock charges its critics with wanting to "see murderers go free" and "normalize lawlessness." But at this moment in history, it's not privacy advocates who are wanting those things...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
Flock CEO Goes Ballistic on Critics as More Americans Question Mass Driver Surveillance | ACLU
CEO attacks motives of people who care about privacy, says they are trying to “normalize lawlessness” and “let murderers go free”
www.aclu.org
January 16, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Flock charges its critics with wanting to "see murderers go free" and "normalize lawlessness." But at this moment in history, it's not privacy advocates who are wanting those things...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
The big push for state digital driver's licenses is effectively a movement to increase the power of big companies and government to control individuals.
How to Give the Government New Power to “Un-Person” Someone, in Three Easy Steps | ACLU
States That Adopt Digital Driver’s Licenses Need to Rethink How IDs are Revoked
www.aclu.org
January 5, 2026 at 7:51 PM
The big push for state digital driver's licenses is effectively a movement to increase the power of big companies and government to control individuals.
Using an LLM with your secure messaging service, as Meta proposes, brings new risks to the architecture that protects privacy and security.
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
Secure Messaging and AI Don’t Mix | ACLU
A Privacy Failure Waiting to Happen
www.aclu.org
December 23, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Using an LLM with your secure messaging service, as Meta proposes, brings new risks to the architecture that protects privacy and security.
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
We can debate the moral complexities of individual responsibility for the misuse of LLMs, but policymakers need to be realistic that lapses are inevitable and take steps to limit certain uses of AI.
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
The AI Trapdoor Lying in Wait for Workers | ACLU
“The pilots were well aware of which lever to pull. It was ‘human error’ that caused the mistake. But laying the blame on the pilots wasn’t ever going to solve the problem.”
www.aclu.org
December 2, 2025 at 4:02 PM
We can debate the moral complexities of individual responsibility for the misuse of LLMs, but policymakers need to be realistic that lapses are inevitable and take steps to limit certain uses of AI.
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
"Basically, he said that it’s a tool that isn’t going to be used — and if it is used, then 'you’re failing in the training department, big time.'"
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
Another Police Use of AI | ACLU
Axon’s “Policy Chat” product seeks to give officers guidance on department policies and procedures
www.aclu.org
December 1, 2025 at 5:02 PM
"Basically, he said that it’s a tool that isn’t going to be used — and if it is used, then 'you’re failing in the training department, big time.'"
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
@ACLU demanding more information on violations of photographer's rights, including DHS policy directives, training materials, legal analyses, and communications
www.aclu.org/news/free-sp...
www.aclu.org/news/free-sp...
Immigration Agents are Retaliating Against People Who Record Them | ACLU
We’re filing a FOIA to find out how deep the problem goes
www.aclu.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:44 PM
@ACLU demanding more information on violations of photographer's rights, including DHS policy directives, training materials, legal analyses, and communications
www.aclu.org/news/free-sp...
www.aclu.org/news/free-sp...
Perspective on AP report revealing how DHS uses AI and mass surveillance across the nation to target, detain, and seize money from innocent drivers
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
New Report Highlights How CBP and Border Patrol are Becoming a Repressive Internal Intelligence Agency | ACLU
AP report reveals how the agency uses AI and mass surveillance across the nation to target, detain, and seize money from innocent drivers
www.aclu.org
November 24, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Perspective on AP report revealing how DHS uses AI and mass surveillance across the nation to target, detain, and seize money from innocent drivers
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
What happens when your device can only run what the government decides is OK? How we have gotten dangerously close to this kind of totalitarian control
Your Smartphone, Their Rules: How App Stores Enable Corporate-Government Censorship | ACLU
Big Tech Oligopoly helps the Trump Administration crack down on free speech
www.aclu.org
November 18, 2025 at 8:19 PM
What happens when your device can only run what the government decides is OK? How we have gotten dangerously close to this kind of totalitarian control
A breakdown of the new “Mobile Fortify” face recognition program, including lists of
a) The reasons it’s problematic,
b) The vast array of data that the agencies can connect to
c) Some of the unanswered questions that remain about the program.
a) The reasons it’s problematic,
b) The vast array of data that the agencies can connect to
c) Some of the unanswered questions that remain about the program.
Face Recognition and the ‘Trump Terror’: A Marriage Made in Hell | ACLU
ICE and CBP are smashing their way not only through car windows but also through any constraints on the use of face recognition
www.aclu.org
November 13, 2025 at 4:11 PM
A breakdown of the new “Mobile Fortify” face recognition program, including lists of
a) The reasons it’s problematic,
b) The vast array of data that the agencies can connect to
c) Some of the unanswered questions that remain about the program.
a) The reasons it’s problematic,
b) The vast array of data that the agencies can connect to
c) Some of the unanswered questions that remain about the program.
Utah is the only state where political leaders are thinking through the potentially disastrous effects of the current effort to create a national digital ID through the driver's license system.
There’s Only One State That is Asking the Right Questions About Digital Identity | ACLU
A digital ID system involves value-laden choices that should be made through explicit political discussion and debate
www.aclu.org
November 7, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Utah is the only state where political leaders are thinking through the potentially disastrous effects of the current effort to create a national digital ID through the driver's license system.
Exciting news: you can now subscribe to an ACLU newsletter to keep up with with ACLU technology policy blog posts and other news! Subscribe here:
action.aclu.org/signup/free-...
action.aclu.org/signup/free-...
Subscribe to the Free Future Newsletter
Subscribe to the Free Future newsletter to see the latest updates on emerging technology and science from Jay Stanley.
action.aclu.org
November 7, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Exciting news: you can now subscribe to an ACLU newsletter to keep up with with ACLU technology policy blog posts and other news! Subscribe here:
action.aclu.org/signup/free-...
action.aclu.org/signup/free-...
A bureaucratic wall is being built between Americans and the information they have a right to access
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
Digital Driver’s Licenses Threaten to Create a “Great Internet Lockdown” | ACLU
Two trends threaten the creation of an online identity infrastructure that would transform the internet
www.aclu.org
November 4, 2025 at 3:31 PM
A bureaucratic wall is being built between Americans and the information they have a right to access
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
www.aclu.org/news/privacy...
We shouldn't get rid of police audit logs but we also shouldn't think they're worth more than they are
Surveillance Supporters Tout Police Audit Logs But They’re Not an Effective Check and Balance | ACLU
If an officer had just left the word "abortion" out of an audit log, a vital national story would never have come to light
www.aclu.org
October 31, 2025 at 5:59 PM
We shouldn't get rid of police audit logs but we also shouldn't think they're worth more than they are
Some US prisons and jails have started using non-consensual, non-removable biometric wrist straps on prisoners to monitor their pulse, blood oxygenation level, skin temperature, activity level, and location.
What does the ACLU think of this? I look at the issue in a post on our Free Future blog
What does the ACLU think of this? I look at the issue in a post on our Free Future blog
Biometric bracelets for prisoners | ACLU
Invading privacy as well as "barking up the wrong tree"
www.aclu.org
October 29, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Some US prisons and jails have started using non-consensual, non-removable biometric wrist straps on prisoners to monitor their pulse, blood oxygenation level, skin temperature, activity level, and location.
What does the ACLU think of this? I look at the issue in a post on our Free Future blog
What does the ACLU think of this? I look at the issue in a post on our Free Future blog
Appalling... apparently "military grade" AI has fallen short...
Gun-Toting Police Swarm, Handcuff Young Black Man After AI Mistakes Doritos Bag For a Gun | ACLU
Deploying AI in Inappropriate Ways Can and Does Get People Hurt
www.aclu.org
October 27, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Appalling... apparently "military grade" AI has fallen short...
News about the driver-surveillance company Flock just keeps coming in: findings from Massachusetts and Virginia, new deals with big companies, and more:
Flock Can Share Driver-Surveillance Data Even When Police Departments Opt Out, And Other Flock Developments | ACLU
The company’s default agreement with police departments grants the company license to share people’s license plate data
www.aclu.org
October 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
News about the driver-surveillance company Flock just keeps coming in: findings from Massachusetts and Virginia, new deals with big companies, and more:
Digital driver’s licenses — now being built in many states — have a big problem that almost nobody is addressing: the threat of an explosion of ID demands from all quarters. There is a body of existing state laws that points toward a solution.
State Barcode Laws | ACLU
State regulation of who may scan barcodes from driver’s licenses and what scanners can do with the data point the way toward vital protections against abuses of digital IDs
www.aclu.org
October 17, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Digital driver’s licenses — now being built in many states — have a big problem that almost nobody is addressing: the threat of an explosion of ID demands from all quarters. There is a body of existing state laws that points toward a solution.
Generally people should have privacy from government, and the government should be an open book to the people — not the other way around.
Sweeping Ban on Drone Flights Across Chicago Looks Suspiciously Like an Attempt to Ban Press Coverage | ACLU
We can’t let government block drone photography of newsworthy events simply by claiming a need to fly their own aircraft in an area or claiming the existence of vague “security threats”
www.aclu.org
October 3, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Generally people should have privacy from government, and the government should be an open book to the people — not the other way around.
Reposted by Jay Stanley
The Practical Nomad: Edward Hasbrouck's blog
The Practical Nomad: Edward Hasbrouck's blog
hasbrouck.org
September 28, 2025 at 9:05 PM
There are a growing number of companies that are engaging in mass surveillance that could prove useful to the Trump Administration’s efforts to target immigrants. They have human rights responsibilities.
Surveillance Businesses Have Human Rights Responsibilities | ACLU
The Trump Administration's immigration abuses are human rights violations
www.aclu.org
September 22, 2025 at 2:59 PM
There are a growing number of companies that are engaging in mass surveillance that could prove useful to the Trump Administration’s efforts to target immigrants. They have human rights responsibilities.
The coming battles over being identified versus not being identified
Digital Driver’s Licenses Could Make “Surveillance Pricing” Much Easier for Companies | ACLU
The coming battles over being identified versus not being identified
www.aclu.org
September 15, 2025 at 4:10 PM
The coming battles over being identified versus not being identified