Homeland Security Is Monitoring Activists Building Anti-Flock Tech
DHS fusion centers are monitoring anti-surveillance activists, including those behind SparrowMap, a platform that tracks police vehicles. An intelligence report from Massachusetts, circulated by Wisconsin, categorizes these activists as "anti-technology extremism" and "anti-surveillance extremism," which explicitly includes opposition to data centers. This government action suggests potential federal surveillance and prosecution of what are currently law-abiding groups.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fusion centers are actively monitoring anti-surveillance activists, including Matthew Montney Jr., the creator of SparrowMap. This platform uses volunteer cameras to track government and law enforcement vehicles, mirroring the surveillance methods employed by technologies like Flock Safety's automated license plate readers (ALPRs). An intelligence report originating from a Massachusetts fusion center, and subsequently circulated by a Wisconsin center, identified SparrowMap users for advocating surveillance of government vehicles and linked them to potential threats, despite acknowledging that the platform's activities are not illegal.
This monitoring effort is rooted in the 2018 Trump administration's National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), which sought to criminalize opposition to the administration's policies, particularly against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Federal law enforcement, supported by external think tanks such as the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), has increasingly labeled critics of mass surveillance, AI, and data centers under new categories like "anti-technology extremism" and "anti-surveillance extremism." These classifications, typically reserved for domestic terrorists, are now being applied to groups like SparrowMap, which strategically use technology to counteract government surveillance.
Officials such as NYPD Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Ulam Weiner have warned about "anti-technology violence," and MEMRI's Simon Purdue has highlighted "anti-technology and anti-surveillance extremism targeting public infrastructure, including... data centers." This governmental response signals an escalating effort to manage resistance to surveillance and technology, despite widespread public disapproval of technologies like ALPRs and bipartisan political initiatives to regulate them. Montney states SparrowMap aims to enhance transparency and allow "the watchers a taste of how it feels to be watched," highlighting a public demand for government accountability regarding mass surveillance.