Cops Are Spying on People Who Criticize AI Data Centers Online
A confidential law enforcement bulletin from a Philadelphia-based fusion center reveals police are surveilling Americans who criticize AI data centers on social media, categorizing them as potential "domestic violent extremists." The report acknowledges a lack of specific threats but warns of potential physical and cyber threats to data center infrastructure in the Philadelphia region. Civil rights advocates express concern that this surveillance conflates legitimate First Amendment activity with extremism.
A confidential law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Intercept reveals that police in the Philadelphia regional area are surveilling Americans who criticize artificial intelligence data centers on social media. The Delaware Valley Intelligence Center (DVIC), a fusion center housed within the Philadelphia Police Department, produced an alert categorizing these critics as "domestic violent extremists" (DVEs) who pose a "physical and cyber threat" to AI data centers.
The DVIC's December alert, distributed nationally, acknowledged a "lack of specific information on plans to target AI data centers in the Philadelphia area" but warned that three planned regional facilities could become targets of protests. The bulletin cited hyperbolic online rhetoric, including a user expressing a desire to "burn down" data centers, references to a fictional anti-robot movement, and a Facebook meme discussing a proposed Amazon data center near Berwick, Pennsylvania, as a "potential target."
Philadelphia civil rights lawyer Paul Hetznecker expressed serious concern about the fusion center's report, stating it reflects "a very dangerous attempt to characterize that protected First Amendment activity — activity which is fundamental to our democracy — as something other, something more dangerous." Sgt. Eric Gripp, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, responded that fusion centers aim to help stakeholders understand emerging threats and do not characterize lawful activity as criminal conduct. The article notes that such surveillance adds to growing evidence of counterterror officials scrutinizing data center critics amidst an "upswell in popular pushback" against these facilities.