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Electronic Freedom Foundation’s Atlas of Surveillance Helps You Watch Those Who Watch Us
by Michael Dean Thompson
The Electronic Freedom Foundation (“EFF”), working with journalism students at the University of Nevada, Reno (“UNR”), created the Atlas of Surveillance as a pilot from counties along the U.S. border with Mexico in 2019. Its task was to track how the police use technology …
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More from this issue:
- They Called 911 for Help. Police and Prosecutors Used a New Junk Science to Decide They Were Liars., by Brett Murphy
- Indiana Supreme Court: Defendant Who Was Both Victim of Crime and Suspect in Unrelated Crime Entitled to Pirtle Warning Prior to Police Asking for Consent to Search Home, by Anthony Accurso
- Federal Habeas Corpus: How to Raise a Fourth Amendment Claim, by Dale Chappell
- Seventh Circuit: State Court Decision Not Entitled to AEDPA Deference Due to Incorrect Legal Standard, Pro Se Habeas Petition Granted Based on Trial Counsel’s Failure to Present Expert Witness on Determinative Issue of Guilt Resulting in IAC, by Jacob Barrett
- Colorado Supreme Court: Police Lacked Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop Based on Alleged Unsafe Lane Change, by Anthony Accurso
- California Court of Appeal: Right to Withdraw Plea 23 Years After Entered Because Counsel Failed to Properly Advise of Immigration Consequences and Defendant Mistakenly Believed Permanent Resident Status Barred Adverse Immigration Consequences, by David Reutter
- California Court of Appeal Affirms Grant of Suppression Motion Where Officer’s Pat Search of Defendant Based on High Crime Area, Baggy Clothes, Criminal Record, and Suspect in Separate Case, by Douglas Ankney
- New Jersey Supreme Court: Edwards Violation When Police Fail to Cease Interrogation After Suspect Makes Ambiguous Invocation of Right to Counsel and ‘Initiates’ Request for Further Communication with Police, by Jacob Barrett
- Missouri Supreme Court: Use of Out-of-Court Statement Admitted at Trial Exceeded Limited Purpose of Exception to Rule Against Hearsay Upon Which It Was Admitted, by Matthew Clarke
- Your Car Knows a Lot About You, and the Police Are Listening, by Michael Thompson
- Ohio Supreme Court: Defendant Has Reasonable and Legitimate Basis to Withdraw Guilty Plea Before Sentencing When He Discovers Evidence That Would Have Affected Decision, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal: ‘Actual Killer’ Under Felony-Murder Rule Means Person ‘Who Personally Killed the Victim”, by Harold Hempstead
- Attorney General Garland Orders Federal Prosecutors to End Sentencing Disparities Between Crack and Powder Cocaine, by Matthew Clarke
- Governor of Oregon Leaves Legacy of Reformation While Leaving Office, by Kevin Bliss
- Nevada Supreme Court: Trial Court Erred in Denying Motion to Substitute Counsel Where Ample Evidence Showed Counsel Was Unprepared and Motion Timely, by Harold Hempstead
- Seventh Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Present Entrapment Defense Where ‘Some Evidence’ Exists of Government Inducement and Lack of Predisposition to Commit Crime, by Douglas Ankney
- Minneapolis Police Department Surveillance Operation Kneels on the Neck of the First Amendment, by Casey Bastian
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Denial of Faretta Request Without Finding of ‘Severe Mental Illness’ Denied Defendant Sixth Amendment Right to Self-Representation, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Detective Who Arrested Anti-Police-Slogan Sidewalk Chalkers, but Not Other Chalkers Whose Content Wasn’t Anti-Police, Even Though There Was Probable Cause to Arrest, by Matthew Clarke
- Massachusetts Supreme Court: Commonwealth Failed to Show GPS Monitoring as Condition of Probation Is Constitutional, by Anthony Accurso
- Sixth Circuit Announces Nonretroactive Change in Sentencing Law Is Not an ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reason’ Warranting a Sentence Reduction under Compassionate Release Statute, by Douglas Ankney
- Oregon Supreme Court: Federal Law Prohibits Elected DA’s Delegation of Wiretap Authority and Overbroad Initial Search Warrant Requires Suppression of Evidence Obtained as Result of Over 20 Subsequent Warrants, by Mark Wilson
- Invasions of Privacy for People on Electronic Monitoring Is a Warning of Worse Things to Come, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- The District of Colombia: Inside the Most Expansive Surveillance Network in America, by Casey Bastian
- Florida Supreme Court Settles Circuit Split, Holding Dual DUI Convictions Regarding Single Victim in Single Incident Violates Double Jeopardy, by David Reutter
- Houston Cop from Fatal Raid Lied in Other Cases, by Jayson Hawkins
- Electronic Freedom Foundation’s Atlas of Surveillance Helps You Watch Those Who Watch Us, by Michael Thompson
- Was the DNA at the Crime Scene Left by the Perpetrator – or by a Pet?, by Douglas Ankney
- New York Police Department Joins Crowdsourced Surveillance Ring Neighbors App, by Michael Thompson
- Registry of Approved Standards Adds Two New 3D Firearm Analysis Standards, by Casey Bastian
- FBI Heist Made Public, by Jayson Hawkins
- New San Francisco Ordinance Allows Police to Access Private Security Cameras, by Kevin Bliss
- Cruel and Unusual: Residency Restrictions Force Registrant to Die Among Strangers, by Eike Blohm, MD
- News in Brief
More from Michael Thompson:
- Report: Incarcerated Population in Rural Jails and Prisons At Risk of Losing Hospital Access, Feb. 1, 2026
- FCC Releases Final Version of Order Gutting 2024 Phone Cap Regulations, Feb. 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Ripped Off Prisoner, Feb. 1, 2026
- Los Angeles County Restricts Opioid Treatment, Feb. 1, 2026
- Federal Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Are Facing Retaliation by Trump, Feb. 1, 2026
- The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity, Feb. 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments on Rastafarian Hair-Cutting Case, Jan. 1, 2026
- Wisconsin Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Detainee’s Jail Food Lawsuit, Jan. 1, 2026
- Soaring Medical Costs in Washington Jails, Jan. 1, 2026
- Police AI and “Sycophancy”: New Evidence Tools May Tell Cops Exactly What They Want to Hear, Dec. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Federal Funds Now Available for Police Drone Purchases, Jan. 1, 2026. Federal Legislation, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- Mass Surveillance for Profit: Flock’s AI Reports “Suspicious” Movement to Police, Dec. 15, 2025. Contractor Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Protests, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- Police AI and “Sycophancy”: New Evidence Tools May Tell Cops Exactly What They Want to Hear, Dec. 15, 2025. junk science, Police State-Surveillance, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, Exculpatory Evidence - Disclosure Obligations.
- ICE Amasses Mass Surveillance Arsenal Targeting U.S. Citizens and Protesters, Nov. 15, 2025. Protests, First Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Electronic Surveillance.
- FCC Issues Proposed Rule Permitting Cellphone Jammers in Prisons and Jails, Nov. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Telephone Rates, Cell Phone Access, Federal Legislation, Police State-Surveillance.
- DHS Has Been Quietly Collecting DNA From U.S. Citizens for Years, Funneling It Into FBI’s CODIS Without Oversight, Oct. 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, Police State-Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Police/Govt Misconduct, Suspicionless Searches.
- Protecting Your Digital Privacy, Oct. 15, 2025. Police State-Surveillance, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Electronic Surveillance, Digital Devices.
- Drones and License Plate Readers: Police Creating Warrantless Aerial Surveillance Networks, Oct. 15, 2025. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Warrantless Searches, Curtilege, Electronic Surveillance.
- How Tyranny Becomes Entrenched: 9/11 and the Police State’s Endless Power Grabs, Oct. 15, 2025. Government Misconduct, War on Terror, Censorship, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- Special Digital Currencies Issue: Bitcoin and CBDCs What Is Bitcoin? The Answer to Government Surveillance and Control Through Money An Essential Introduction, Glossary of Multidisciplinary Terminology, and Colorful History, Aug. 15, 2025. Money/Property, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Money Laundering/Structuring.





