Brian Hofer

Why are Bay Area law enforcement agencies violating state law in record numbers?

Microsoft Gave FBI BitLocker Encryption Keys, Exposing Privacy Flaw The tech giant said providing encryption keys was a standard response to a court order. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.

www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...

No Funding for ICE Surveillance Tech!

I just called all of my Congresspeople using this handy calling tool from @fightforthefuture.org and you should too! Call tonight, call tomorrow, don't stop calling until we abolish ICE

www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-f...

You you can support the fight for privacy here: secure-justice.org/donate

Tech demands ICE out of our cities

If you work for a tech company, you can sign this.
iceout.tech?utm_source=s...

Inside One of the Border Patrol’s Most Violent Sectors Texts and records reveal how Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona privately talk about use of force and accountability — and how to avoid discipline.

Make sure to read our latest investigation with American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop:

Texts and records reveal how Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona privately talk about use of force and accountability — and how to avoid discipline.

Through Feb 14, Portland is accepting comments from anyone on the police bureau's Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) policy directive, now under second review.

This is a great opportunity to engage in local government's public rulemaking process related to surveillance tech use!

Here is the Agreement Giving ICE Medicaid Patients' Data On Tuesday, ICE was allowed to continue using Medicaid data in deportation cases.

www.404media.co/here-is-the-...

Urge Your City Council to SHUT DOWN Flock · Indivisible With the first city council meetings of 2026 beginning, right now is a critical opportunity to urge your council to protect their constituents from Trump's ICE goons. ALPR (Automated License Plate R...

A call to action against #Flock #surveillance today from @seindivisible.bsky.social

'With the first city council meetings of 2026 beginning, right now is a critical opportunity to urge your council to protect their constituents..

Email your city council: "Shut down ALPR cameras."' 📝

#deflock #wa

NYC Wegmans is storing biometric data on shoppers' eyes, voices and faces The supermarket chain says it’s a move to ensure shopper safety. Surveillance experts warn of privacy risks.

gothamist.com/news/nyc-weg...

On the campaign trail, Zohran Mamdani condemned the NYPD's Bloomberg-era 'mosque-raking' program. Will he allow a public accounting of the city's mass surveillance of Muslim communities? A new open records lawsuit is raising this issue back to the fore. My latest

YouTube video by Benn Jordan This Flock Camera Leak is like Netflix For Stalkers

"The final installment of the Flock Trilogy, filmed on a publicly deployed Flock Safety camera."

Benn found nearly 70 #Flock AI surveillance cameras with no user name or password required to access the past 31 days of recorded or live footage! 😩

Cancel Flock! 🚫

#deflock #surveillance #flocksafety

Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves. Flock left at least 60 of its people-tracking Condor PTZ cameras live streaming and exposed to the open internet.

SCOOP: Flock left at least 60 of its AI-powered, people-tracking surveillance cameras exposed and livestreaming to the open internet. We tracked ourselves. The exposure highlights the power of these cameras and types of things they're tracking. Not just cars.

www.404media.co/flock-expose...

Yesterday, I told you that my law firm is litigating 66 voting and election cases in 35 states. By the end of today, it is up to 69 cases in 37 states.

The 2026 midterm elections will be a fight to protect democracy. I started Democracy Docket to keep you informed. Sign up now. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

ICE is using smartwatches to track pregnant women, even during labor: ‘She was so afraid they would take her baby’ Pregnant immigrants in ICE monitoring programs are avoiding care, fearing detention during labour and delivery

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

ICE is using smartwatches to track pregnant women, even during labor: ‘She was so afraid they would take her baby’ Pregnant immigrants in ICE monitoring programs are avoiding care, fearing detention during labour and delivery

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

The economy is FAR WORSE than the government is acknowledging. This holiday season, if you know folks struggling, don't be afraid to leave a mystery box of groceries or some gifts from Santa for the kids on their porch. Maybe drop a grocery store gift card in their mailbox.

Be the Christmas magic.

Everyone needs a buddy caper

😂

Berkeley Police Chief Withholds Evidence of “ICE” Search of City Camera Data Copwatch Calls for Ban on Mass Surveillance

Berkeley Police Chief Withholds Evidence of “ICE” Search of City Camera Data

Homeland Security wants state driver’s license data for sweeping citizenship program • Stateline The Trump administration wants access to state driver’s license data on millions of U.S. residents as it builds a powerful citizenship verification program amid its clampdown on voter fraud and illega...

Homeland Security wants access to driver’s license info for its powerful citizenship data system, and may turn to an obscure data sharing network for it — a move that could avoid having to negotiate with states

My latest for @stateline.org

stateline.org/2025/11/25/h...

What is Militarisation of Tech? Governments are rapidly militarising our societies. They are already increasing military spending, undermining civil rights protections, and reducing social protection programmes.

Our societies are militarising:

1️⃣ Governments are using data-intensive systems for military ends
2️⃣ Non-defence companies are entering the defence sector
3️⃣ Defence tech is seeping into civic spaces
4️⃣ Tech used in conflict is used commercially too

privacyinternational.org/long-read/56...

You voted for this, America.

Reporter’s Notebook: Committee Failure Breaks Flock Momentum For Now--More on Oakland Arms Embargo and OPD's Bearcats Flock Fails at Public Safety Committee Meeting A surprise stalemate at Oakland’s Public Safety Committee Tuesday sapped the trajectory of what many observers believed was an all but assured vote to institutionalize and expand OPD’s Flock surveillance program. OPD’s proposal that would see the department taking over

If you're looking for a cracking good story to read in bed on a federal holiday, this Flock story's got it all.

Please, please do our reader survey It'll take just a minute and help 404 Media figure out how to grow sustainably.

We need your help. Because 404 Media uses Ghost (a privacy-forward stack) we don't know much about our readers. Do they find us through articles, or podcasts? Are readers on Bluesky, Mastodon, both? Please fill this out to help us grow sustainably, it takes 1 min! www.404media.co/please-pleas...

ICE Wants to Go After Dissenters as well as Immigrants The Trump administration is being open about its plans to violate Americans’ First and Fourth Amendment rights.

After 9/11, the U.S. built a huge surveillance infrastructure for counterterrorism. It was abused to target Muslim Americans, but the broad authorities were also used to go after protestors. Immigration enforcement is the new counterterrorism: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Here's the Video for Our Seventh FOIA Forum: Flock Here is the archived video of our FOIA Forum about how to do reporting on Flock.

Here is the video for our latest FOIA Forum, where we told you how to get information about Flock from your local agencies/government. Includes network audits, which are the files that show why exactly cops are using the cameras (helping ICE, for example): www.404media.co/heres-the-vi...

Prosecutor Used Flawed A.I. to Keep a Man in Jail, His Lawyers Say

So we’re just experimenting with AI in criminal cases huh
“The case is among the first in which a prosecutor is accused of filing court papers marred by A.I.-generated mistakes.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...