surveillance

CBP Was Tracking Your Phone With Ad Data -- And When Their Own Privacy Officers Said Stop, They Were Fired

John Z Black Mar 14, 2026

Privacy & Policy #cbp #dhs #privacy #surveillance #data-broker #foia #government-accountability #location-tracking

CBP bought commercial ad data to track Americans' phones without warrants. When internal privacy officers pushed back on related illegal conduct, they got canned.

The FBI's Warrant-Free Surveillance Just Hit a New High -- Right as Congress Finally Moves to Stop It

John Z Black Mar 14, 2026

Privacy & Policy #section-702 #fisa #fbi #surveillance #privacy #congress #warrantless-search #civil-liberties

The FBI searched Americans' private communications without a warrant 7,413 times last year, up 34%. A bipartisan bill just landed to require warrants going forward.

After the 'Worst Telecom Hack in History,' Washington Is Already Moving On

John Z Black Mar 13, 2026

Policy & Governance #salt-typhoon #telecom #section-702 #nsa #cyber-policy #china #surveillance

Salt Typhoon was called the most significant cyberattack on US telecom infrastructure ever. Policy reform momentum is stalling. Congress is more interested in restricting FBI surveillance than fixing the infrastructure that got hacked.

When 'No' Means Nothing: Privacy Erosion from DHS Surveillance to Duolingo Tracking

John Z Black Mar 11, 2026

Privacy #privacy #surveillance #dhs #duolingo #bytedance #gdpr #tracking

DHS fired the privacy officers who questioned surveillance orders. Duolingo keeps sending your data to ByteDance after you opt out. Your 'no' doesn't work when nobody's enforcing it.