This section on surveillance tools used by law enforcement is discussion focused, and intends to get students to think critically about the relationship between surveillance, privacy, and transparency. It begins with lecture canvassing a variety of law enforcement surveillance technology, based on research from from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Afterward, the module opens into an activity to investigate surveillance technology used in a location of their choice, followed by a discussion of their interpretation of law enforcement surveillance technologies they've discovered.
Prerequisites
Threat modeling
Legal requests in the U.S.
Estimated time
60-70 minutes
Objectives
- Upon successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to distinguish between technology commonly used by law enforcement to conduct surveillance in physical spaces.
- Students will be able to identify which of these tools are used in a specific physical location, based on publicly-accessible reporting tools.
Why this matters
The technical capabilities of law enforcement actors may affect journalists' threat models when conducting work in risky situations. For example, when meeting a sensitive source their location may be tracked through a constellation of surveillance equipment, or their phone numbers and current call or text data may be scooped up when covering protests.
Homework
(Before class)
- Read this, on police use of automated license plate readers: "Eyes on the Road" (Bonus: make sure to also look through their interactive map as well: "Follow the trail of a license plate")
- Read this, on policy processes behind law enforcement use of surveillance technology: "Surveillance Policy Making by Procurement"
- Read this, debating the use of law enforcement surveillance technology, by Hamid Khan, Ken Montenegro, and Myke Cole: In McSweeney’s End of Trust - "Should Law Enforcement Use Surveillance?”
- Read this, on organizing to prevent untargeted police surveillance, by Camille Fassett: "It Takes a Village"
- Read a seminal piece by Justices Warren and Brandeis: "The Right to Privacy"
Sample slides
Credit to Dave Maass and the Electronic Frontier Foundation for these slides, with minor modifications.
Law enforcement surveillance tech (Google Slides)
Activities
Have students open up Atlas of Surveillance and report back for the group with surveillance technology used in a location where they've lived in the U.S. (e.g., where their hometown is; the campus).
Questions for discussion
- In terms of their ability to compromise journalistic work, which one of these technical law enforcement capabilities is most concerning to you? What makes it concerning?
- If that's not especially concerning, why is that?
- Out of respect for peoples' privacy, are there any issues you think should be "off the table" for journalistic coverage? If so, what are those issues, and why do you think they should be off the table?
- We often talk about privacy for people, but transparency for institutions. Why the distinction? Are there times when individual actions demand transparency, and when institutions have a meaningful claim to privacy?
