Privacy, encryption vs. Surveillance state

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Last week, the Trump administration announced the streamlining of access to illegally seized personal data from unsuspecting Americans, thereby making warrantless domestic spying easier for the spies.

Here is the backstory.

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to privacy. Like other amendments in the Bill of Rights, it doesn’t create the right; it limits government interference with it. President Joe Biden often misquoted the late Justice Antonin Scalia suggesting that Justice Scalia believed that the Bill of Rights creates rights. As Justice Scalia wrote, referring to the right to keep and bear arms but reflecting his view on the origins of all personal liberty, the Bill of Rights secures rights; it doesn’t create them. It secures preexisting rights from interference by the government.

blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com

The Right to be Left Alone | Tenth Amendment Center

Today, the government rarely bothers to obtain a search warrant for surveillance because it is cumbersome to do so and because it is so easy to surveil folks on a massive scale without one.
blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com
 
Call it what it is: a panopticon presidency.

President Trump’s plan to fuse government power with private surveillance tech to build a centralized, national citizen database is the final step in transforming America from a constitutional republic into a digital dictatorship armed with algorithms and powered by unaccountable, all-seeing artificial intelligence.

This isn’t about national security. It’s about control.

According to news reports, the Trump administration is quietly collaborating with Palantir Technologies—the data-mining behemoth co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel—to construct a centralized, government-wide surveillance system that would consolidate biometric, behavioral, and geolocation data into a single, weaponized database of Americans’ private information.

This isn’t about protecting freedom. It’s about rendering freedom obsolete.

blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com

Trump’s Palantir-Powered Surveillance Is Turning America Into a Digital Prison | Tenth Amendment Center

President Trump’s plan to fuse government power with private surveillance tech to build a centralized, national citizen database is the final step in transforming America from a constitutional republic into a digital dictatorship armed with algorithms and powered by unaccountable, all-seeing...
blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com
 
searcher said:
www.eff.org

San Diegans Push Back on Flock ALPR Surveillance

Approaching San Diego’s first annual review of the city's controversial Flock Safety contract, a local coalition is calling on the city council to roll back this dangerous and costly automated license plate reader (ALPR) program.The TRUST Coalition—a grassroots alliance including Electronic...
www.eff.org www.eff.org
Click to expand...

www.eff.org

Victory! Austin Organizers Cancel City's Flock ALPR Contract

Austin organizers turned out to rebuke the city’s misguided contract with Flock Safety— and won. This successful pushback from the community means at the end of the month Austin police will no longer be able to use the surveillance network of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) across the...
www.eff.org www.eff.org
 
Related.

The Shady World of Surveillance Pricing (Ft. Lina Khan)​

Jun 10, 2025
Should corporations be able to weaponize your personal data to rip you off?
Well, they may already be doing that thanks to a shady tactic called “surveillance pricing.”
Former FTC Chair Lina Khan explains what we can do about it.


5:10
 

Washington State Patrol to Find Speeding Hot Spots Using Harvested Phone Data​

Historically, it's been car enthusiasts of the particularly determined variety who have created technological ways to deal with speeding, with mostly legal radar detectors and extra-legal laser jammers being the most popular countermeasures. However, there's a new threat out of the Northwest to the lead-footed among us — and it might be one that isn't easily avoidable.

That's because the Washington State Patrol has revealed it will crack down on speeding by locating areas where fast driving is common using cell phone data, according to local NBC news affiliate KING 5. It sure sounds frightening, but it's not as Enemy of the State as it seems at first, as the way that law enforcement officials in the Evergreen State are using the phone data doesn't involve real-time tracking.

More:

 
Food for thought.

lens.civicus.org

Weaponised surveillance: how spyware targets civil society

Revelations that the Italian government has used spyware against civil society and media – including activists for migrants’ rights – are the latest chapter in a catalogue of evidence that states are spying on people who present no criminal threat, creating a chilling effect on free speech and...
lens.civicus.org lens.civicus.org
 
www.eff.org

How Cops Can Get Your Private Online Data

Can the cops get your online data? In short, yes. There are a variety of US federal and state laws which give law enforcement powers to obtain information that you provided to online services. But, there are steps you as a user and/or as a service provider can take to improve online privacy.Law...
www.eff.org www.eff.org
 
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