Power & Secrets Monitor

State Surveillance Legislation

• 🔥 Illinois Biometric Ban Proposal: Illinois House Bill 5521 would prohibit law enforcement from using facial...

Rapid gains in policing: Body cams surged from 25% of local govts in 2015 to 75%+ by 2024; CCTV/AI enables real-time alerts and case resolutions.

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Emerging trend of state-level pushback on mass surveillance tools:

• Illinois bill HB 5521 bans police use of facial recognition, biometrics, blocks...

Memetic warfare escalates: US official accounts flood social media with SpongeBob jokes, Wii Sports explosions, and patriotic clips to mock foes and...

• China Targets: Beijing pursues dissidents abroad via routine Interpol notices and UN forums, threatening victims' safety
• Coin Laundry: Crypto...

• Key win for businesses: 3rd Circuit ruled federal courts lack jurisdiction under PA's WESCA for website cookie/pixel tracking claims due to no...

Stanford's role in the surveillance state:

• Hosts 40 Flock Safety ALPR cameras on campus, including lawsuit-hit Shopping Center.
• Cameras feed data...

State-level collusion alleged in new court filings:

• Deputies Javarrea Pouncy and DeMarkes Grant beat naked detainee Jarius Brown in DeSoto Parish...

Key surveillance pushes on cultural spaces:

• 2017 Win: MaCCNO's "Culture Not Cameras" defeated NOPD mandate for real-time cameras at bars and music...

State Challenges to Federal Immigration Actions

• 🔥 El Paso County Lawsuit Approval: El Paso County Commissioners Court unanimously approved the...

• Gaining speed: State efforts to enable lawsuits against federal officials.
• Key shield: Federal officers excluded from Section 1983 civil...

A rising trend of local governments demanding transparency on federal warehouse conversions into ICE detention centers:

• Georgia tensions: DHS...

Key failures in NC's 2025 audit of $28B federal awards:

• DHHS leads issues: Zero FFATA reports for 228 SSBG subawards ($39.4M) and 171 TANF subawards...

NYS Senate's S8102 updated Feb 2026 requires age assurance on all internet devices (phones, laptops, IoT) at activation, retroactive to old...

Emerging pattern of UN evasion in US-backed ops:

• Stonewalling USAID IG: Six UN agencies refuse employee data and Hamas interaction details for...

Key privacy reversal in local corrections surveillance:

• Incident: Sept 2025, outside agency's active body cam recorded unrelated inmate's medical...

Federal ORR custody failed a 3-year-old migrant girl: sexually abused by older child in Texas foster home after border crossing.

• Family in dark:...

Kilian Kagle resigned as chief FOIA officer and senior privacy official at DOJ's Civil Rights Division, roles overseeing transparency and Privacy Act...

CREW filed a lawsuit against the DOJ on April 6, 2026, demanding records on Trump's $230 million FTCA claim to enforce accountability for government officials. This pushes transparency on executive branch tort claims.

North Carolina's Single Audit reveals 19 findings and $342,093 in questioned costs amid $43.9 billion in federal awards for FY ended June 30, 2025—with Medicaid over half. State spending scrutiny intensifies.