Matthew Guariglia
@mguariglia.bsky.social
Historian of race, policing, surveillance, and technology. Senior Policy Analyst at EFF. Sometimes teach at Emory. Book on race and the origins of modern policing out now! My views are not my employers.
MatthewGuariglia.com
MatthewGuariglia.com
Pinned
Hello new followers! I wrote a book--Police and the Empire City--which explores how the New York City police department's encounters with race, immigration, and empire shaped how modern police use technology, recruit, do violence, and operate generally.
www.dukeupress.edu/police-and-t...
www.dukeupress.edu/police-and-t...
If you’re looking for signals of good tech policy from the Mamdani administration look no further than his transition team including @alondra.bsky.social and @ruha9.bsky.social
Honored to serve on Mayor-elect @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social Transition Committee on Technology. For too long, too many New Yorkers have been left behind. NYC deserves governance that centers affordability, equity, and the public good-looking forward to the work ahead. www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news...
NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announces transition committees
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced Monday the creation of 17 transition advisory committees made up of more than 400 people.
www.cbsnews.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:00 PM
If you’re looking for signals of good tech policy from the Mamdani administration look no further than his transition team including @alondra.bsky.social and @ruha9.bsky.social
Ok, Bluesky. I have a lot of big projects coming out in the next few months and the powers that be have decreed I need new platforms to share things on.
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
November 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Ok, Bluesky. I have a lot of big projects coming out in the next few months and the powers that be have decreed I need new platforms to share things on.
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
The UW Center for an Informed Public is looking for postdocs (for 2026-2028) from across diverse disciplines whose research sheds light on the challenges of our modern information environment, promotes civic health, and/or helps people/communities navigate online spaces: apply.interfolio.com/177901
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:26 PM
The UW Center for an Informed Public is looking for postdocs (for 2026-2028) from across diverse disciplines whose research sheds light on the challenges of our modern information environment, promotes civic health, and/or helps people/communities navigate online spaces: apply.interfolio.com/177901
When I started working in policy I was (naively) mad at how decision/law makers ignore expertise/evidence...but it's still wild to see how experts have spent 5 years shouting "THE AI BUBBLE WILL BURST" and are ignored for the sake of large short-term profit. The paper trail of warning is massive.
November 24, 2025 at 3:41 PM
When I started working in policy I was (naively) mad at how decision/law makers ignore expertise/evidence...but it's still wild to see how experts have spent 5 years shouting "THE AI BUBBLE WILL BURST" and are ignored for the sake of large short-term profit. The paper trail of warning is massive.
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
Was an honor to have @hypervisible.blacksky.app on our podcast to talk about spying on ourselves, spying on each other, Flock, Ring, food delivery robots, and general surveillance culture:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kBg...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kBg...
How Big Tech Has Convinced Us to Surveil Ourselves and Each Other
YouTube video by 404 Media
www.youtube.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Was an honor to have @hypervisible.blacksky.app on our podcast to talk about spying on ourselves, spying on each other, Flock, Ring, food delivery robots, and general surveillance culture:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kBg...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kBg...
Whenever I see local police collaborating with ICE, or taking anti-immigrant stances themselves, I think about this line of argument from Police and the Empire City about how police in the early 1900s celebrated the rise of deportation as a possible solution for solving xenophobic crime panics.
November 24, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Whenever I see local police collaborating with ICE, or taking anti-immigrant stances themselves, I think about this line of argument from Police and the Empire City about how police in the early 1900s celebrated the rise of deportation as a possible solution for solving xenophobic crime panics.
The makeup of the current SF board makes it one of the *least* capable governing bodies to deal with this crisis. The majority have written a hardline criminal justice system in SF a monetary and behavioral blank check.
women in an SF jail were forced to strip while sheriff’s deputies watched and filmed on body cameras missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-s...
‘Nauseated’: S.F. supervisors demand action after alleged mass strip search of women in jail
Supervisors want action after Mission Local reported that women held in a San Francisco jail were allegedly strip searched en masse.
missionlocal.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:55 AM
The makeup of the current SF board makes it one of the *least* capable governing bodies to deal with this crisis. The majority have written a hardline criminal justice system in SF a monetary and behavioral blank check.
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
Ok, Bluesky. I have a lot of big projects coming out in the next few months and the powers that be have decreed I need new platforms to share things on.
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
November 20, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Ok, Bluesky. I have a lot of big projects coming out in the next few months and the powers that be have decreed I need new platforms to share things on.
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
So-called "smart" devices are pushed heavily for the holidays, but be mindful of what you're opting that gift recipient into. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Think Twice Before Giving Surveillance for the Holidays
With the holidays upon us, it's easy to default to giving the tech gifts that retailers tend to push on us this time of year: smart speakers, video doorbells, bluetooth trackers, fitness trackers,
www.eff.org
November 22, 2025 at 5:02 PM
So-called "smart" devices are pushed heavily for the holidays, but be mindful of what you're opting that gift recipient into. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
Here are the law enforcement agencies who searched Flock Safety's ALPR database related to this year's No Kings protests.
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
November 22, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Here are the law enforcement agencies who searched Flock Safety's ALPR database related to this year's No Kings protests.
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
This is a big win. Sacramento was indiscriminately sifting through people’s electricity usage looking for signs of grow lights in an attempt to find people growing marijuana.
Not anymore! Get a warrant, pals!
Not anymore! Get a warrant, pals!
VICTORY! EFF’s clients just ended a dragnet government surveillance program that spied on Sacramento residents’ electricity data. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Victory! Court Ends Dragnet Electricity Surveillance Program in
For more than a decade, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District coordinated with police to sift through the granular smart meter data of residents without suspicion to find evidence of cannabis
www.eff.org
November 22, 2025 at 3:00 AM
This is a big win. Sacramento was indiscriminately sifting through people’s electricity usage looking for signs of grow lights in an attempt to find people growing marijuana.
Not anymore! Get a warrant, pals!
Not anymore! Get a warrant, pals!
This is a big win. Sacramento was indiscriminately sifting through people’s electricity usage looking for signs of grow lights in an attempt to find people growing marijuana.
Not anymore! Get a warrant, pals!
Not anymore! Get a warrant, pals!
VICTORY! EFF’s clients just ended a dragnet government surveillance program that spied on Sacramento residents’ electricity data. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Victory! Court Ends Dragnet Electricity Surveillance Program in
For more than a decade, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District coordinated with police to sift through the granular smart meter data of residents without suspicion to find evidence of cannabis
www.eff.org
November 22, 2025 at 3:00 AM
This is a big win. Sacramento was indiscriminately sifting through people’s electricity usage looking for signs of grow lights in an attempt to find people growing marijuana.
Not anymore! Get a warrant, pals!
Not anymore! Get a warrant, pals!
If you haven't watched the Robert Redford & Barbara Streisand 1973 masterpiece The Way We Were in awhile, I suggest you open up a bottle of wine and do that right now.
November 22, 2025 at 2:36 AM
If you haven't watched the Robert Redford & Barbara Streisand 1973 masterpiece The Way We Were in awhile, I suggest you open up a bottle of wine and do that right now.
Looking over the AHA conference program, this feel like the first year in a while where carceral studies and police & prison histories are really on the decline in popularity….usurped by what I think is a trend toward broader histories/political economies of violence and guns.
November 22, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Looking over the AHA conference program, this feel like the first year in a while where carceral studies and police & prison histories are really on the decline in popularity….usurped by what I think is a trend toward broader histories/political economies of violence and guns.
I was interviewed for @theintercept.com about the FBI’s attempt to find new AI capabilities for their drones including face recognition, license plate reading, and always-flawed firearms detection.
The FBI Wants AI Surveillance Drones With Facial Recognition
An FBI procurement document inquires about AI surveillance on drones, raising concerns about a crackdown on protests.
theintercept.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:04 PM
I was interviewed for @theintercept.com about the FBI’s attempt to find new AI capabilities for their drones including face recognition, license plate reading, and always-flawed firearms detection.
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
NEW: The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of NY immigrants' rights volunteers organizing court watch+ labeled activists “anarchist violent extremist actors.”
Joint FBI/NYPD report shows law enforcement accessed private planning convo of ppl monitoring ICE
Docs obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org
Joint FBI/NYPD report shows law enforcement accessed private planning convo of ppl monitoring ICE
Docs obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org
The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal
Exclusive: Agency accessed private conversations of New York ‘courtwatch’ group that was observing public hearings
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:50 PM
NEW: The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of NY immigrants' rights volunteers organizing court watch+ labeled activists “anarchist violent extremist actors.”
Joint FBI/NYPD report shows law enforcement accessed private planning convo of ppl monitoring ICE
Docs obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org
Joint FBI/NYPD report shows law enforcement accessed private planning convo of ppl monitoring ICE
Docs obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
“It’s essentially technology tailor-made for political retribution and harassment.”
The FBI Wants AI Surveillance Drones With Facial Recognition
An FBI procurement document inquires about AI surveillance on drones, raising concerns about a crackdown on protests.
interc.pt
November 21, 2025 at 7:52 PM
“It’s essentially technology tailor-made for political retribution and harassment.”
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
WIRED is hiring for a senior politics reporter who will write our weekly newsletter; detailed job description below. This role will be based in New York or DC and report to me; the salary range is $95,000 - $132,000. condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CondeC...
November 21, 2025 at 2:21 PM
WIRED is hiring for a senior politics reporter who will write our weekly newsletter; detailed job description below. This role will be based in New York or DC and report to me; the salary range is $95,000 - $132,000. condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CondeC...
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
Cops around the country searched Flock Safety ALPR databases related to the No Kings protests.
It's no secret that 2025 has given Americans plenty to protest about. But as news cameras showed protesters filling streets of cities across the country, cops were watching those streets through different lenses: Flock Safety license plate readers that tracked every car. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
How Cops Are Using Flock Safety's ALPR Network to Surveil Protesters
Through an analysis of 10 months of nationwide searches on Flock Safety's servers, we discovered that more than 50 federal, state, and local agencies ran hundreds of searches through Flock's national
www.eff.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Cops around the country searched Flock Safety ALPR databases related to the No Kings protests.
Ok, Bluesky. I have a lot of big projects coming out in the next few months and the powers that be have decreed I need new platforms to share things on.
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
November 20, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Ok, Bluesky. I have a lot of big projects coming out in the next few months and the powers that be have decreed I need new platforms to share things on.
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
To that end, if you prefer a visual medium, please follow me on Instagram: @mguarig.
www.instagram.com/mguarig?igsh...
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
Feds now claim a "system crash" that happened immediately after ICE was sued is the reason why 10 days of footage from inside the Broadview Detention Center has been lost.
Unreal hearing on this earlier:
www.404media.co/ice-says-cri...
Unreal hearing on this earlier:
www.404media.co/ice-says-cri...
ICE Says Critical Evidence In Abuse Case Was Lost In 'System Crash' a Day After It Was Sued
The government also said "we don't have resources" to retain all footage and that plaintiffs could supply "endless hard drives that we could save things to."
www.404media.co
November 20, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Feds now claim a "system crash" that happened immediately after ICE was sued is the reason why 10 days of footage from inside the Broadview Detention Center has been lost.
Unreal hearing on this earlier:
www.404media.co/ice-says-cri...
Unreal hearing on this earlier:
www.404media.co/ice-says-cri...
Chicago: Did you know that police departments in the Chicago area coordinate on Slack? Now that I know it's accessible to public records requests, request away:
Their server is called CHI-INTEL and requests should be sent to the department that runs it, the Cook County Sheriff.
Send away!
Their server is called CHI-INTEL and requests should be sent to the department that runs it, the Cook County Sheriff.
Send away!
It *is* possible to get cross-jurisdictional and multi-police department Slack chats out of departments via public records requests. Here's a glimpse at the Chicago-area police Slack chat with people responding with the 👀 emoji to the news that there's been an ICE-involved shooting.
November 20, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Chicago: Did you know that police departments in the Chicago area coordinate on Slack? Now that I know it's accessible to public records requests, request away:
Their server is called CHI-INTEL and requests should be sent to the department that runs it, the Cook County Sheriff.
Send away!
Their server is called CHI-INTEL and requests should be sent to the department that runs it, the Cook County Sheriff.
Send away!
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨
We're suing the city of San Jose for its pervasive ALPR surveillance program. With nearly 500 ALPRs, the SJPD allows its officers to search millions of records, all without a warrant. These unconstitutional searches must be stopped. Read the complaint: www.eff.org/cases/siren...
We're suing the city of San Jose for its pervasive ALPR surveillance program. With nearly 500 ALPRs, the SJPD allows its officers to search millions of records, all without a warrant. These unconstitutional searches must be stopped. Read the complaint: www.eff.org/cases/siren...
SIREN and CAIR-CA v. San Jose
The San Jose Police Department has blanketed the city’s roadways with nearly five hundred Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs). The police department uses this unblinking surveillance network to
www.eff.org
November 18, 2025 at 6:43 PM
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨
We're suing the city of San Jose for its pervasive ALPR surveillance program. With nearly 500 ALPRs, the SJPD allows its officers to search millions of records, all without a warrant. These unconstitutional searches must be stopped. Read the complaint: www.eff.org/cases/siren...
We're suing the city of San Jose for its pervasive ALPR surveillance program. With nearly 500 ALPRs, the SJPD allows its officers to search millions of records, all without a warrant. These unconstitutional searches must be stopped. Read the complaint: www.eff.org/cases/siren...
Reposted by Matthew Guariglia
You mean to tell me those dancing robot videos were copaganda.
A $100,000 Robot Dog Is Becoming Standard in Policing — and Raising Ethical Alarms
Spot, the four-legged robot from Boston Dynamics Inc., is perhaps best known for its viral dance routines to songs like “Uptown Funk.” But beyond its playful antics, Spot’s ability to climb stairs and...
www.bloomberg.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:42 AM
You mean to tell me those dancing robot videos were copaganda.
If you want a book about the try-fail-try-again adventures of a very racist and xenophobic NYPD and how they adapted to mass immigration in New York in the early 20th century, may I suggest Police and the Empire City.
November 20, 2025 at 12:27 AM
If you want a book about the try-fail-try-again adventures of a very racist and xenophobic NYPD and how they adapted to mass immigration in New York in the early 20th century, may I suggest Police and the Empire City.