Chilling Dissent
LAPD Surveilled Gaza Protests Using This Social Media Tool
Police records obtained by The Intercept show Dataminr tracked Gaza-related protests and other constitutionally protected speech.
Sam Biddle
Sam Biddle is a technology reporter focusing on issues of surveillance, privacy, and corporate power. He was previously a senior writer at Gawker, and his work has also appeared in GQ, Vice, and the New York Times magazine, among other outlets.
Contacts:
- sam.biddle@theintercept.com
- @sambiddle.99 on Signal
- @sambiddle.com on Bluesky
- @samfbiddle on X
Posts:
It’s Tax Season — The Perfect Time for Trump to Sell This “Critical” IRS Computing Center
Last year, the IRS Martinsburg site was “viewed as a high priority.” Now, under the Trump administration, it's “functionally obsolete.”
The IRS Is Buying an AI Supercomputer From Nvidia
How exactly the IRS will use the SuperPod AI hardware is unclear. But it comes amid a push for automation in government.
The War on Immigrants
ICE Wants to Know If You’re Posting Negative Things About It Online
ICE wants to hire contractors to monitor social media for threats. Those who criticize the agency could be pulled into the dragnet.
Washington’s TikTok Ban Hypocrisy: Internet Censorship Is Good, Now
With the Supreme Court approving the TikTok ban, the U.S. is embracing the type of internet authoritarianism it long opposed.
Leaked Meta Rules: Users Are Free to Post “Mexican Immigrants Are Trash!” or “Trans People Are Immoral”
Under Meta’s relaxed hate speech rules, users can now post “I’m a proud racist” or “Black people are more violent than whites.”
She Joined Facebook to Fight Terror. Now She’s Convinced We Need to Fight Facebook.
Hannah Byrne joined Facebook to combat far-right extremism. She’s now convinced the tech giant can’t be trusted with such power.
Israel’s War on Gaza
Documents Contradict Google’s Claims About Its Project Nimbus Contract With Israel
A previously undisclosed email and new documents show the Project Nimbus deal isn’t covered by Google’s general terms of service.
The War on Immigrants
These Tech Firms Won’t Tell Us If They Will Help Trump Deport Immigrants
The Intercept asked companies that store personal data if they will help Trump conduct mass deportations. Few had anything to say.
Meta-Powered Military Chatbot Advertised Giving “Worthless” Advice on Airstrikes
The marketing of a new military tech tool powered by Meta’s artificial intelligence is “irresponsible” and “clumsy,” experts said.