Dave Maass 🔦

Dave Maass 🔦

@maassive.bsky.social

Investigations at EFF, researching border and police tech. Scholar in res. at UNR Reynolds School of Journalism. I also wrote the graphic novel Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis (https://a.co/d/gHsJzAa). New Insta: maassinpublic

1.3K followers229 following246 posts

Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

Give yourself the gift of sci-fi joy.

Dave Kellett@davekellett.bsky.social

Bluesky pals! I have a sci-fi graphic novel called DRIVE, & it's my favorite thing I've ever done! If you need a long, escapist read at the moment the entire thing is free to read, here: drivecomic.com (THIS PAGE: First Up: Admiral Cayetano Cruz )

Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

Just want to call out Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department yet again as one of the worst law enforcement agencies in the country when it comes to responding to public records requests.

Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

Police, vendors and elected leaders have promised policy safeguards for ALPRs for more than a decade--and cops just adopted meaningless Lexipol boilerplate policies. Then they ignored those policies. 1/

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Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

After problems were revealed about Vigilant Solutions (ICE deals, indiscriminate sharing, abuse, underhanded business practices), many cities changed to Flock Safety, which was billing itself as the ethical, more accountable alternative. Same surveillance, different profiteer. 5/

Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

It's going to happen all over again with any police department that switches to Axon or another vendor. They're just hoping this moment will pass and by the time the inevitable scandals emerge with the next system, potentially years later, they can pretend like it took them by surprise. 6/

Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

Police, vendors and elected leaders have promised policy safeguards for ALPRs for more than a decade--and cops just adopted meaningless Lexipol boilerplate policies. Then they ignored those policies. 1/

View full thread
Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

Police, vendors and elected leaders have promised policy safeguards for ALPRs for more than a decade--and cops just adopted meaningless Lexipol boilerplate policies. Then they ignored those policies. 1/

Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

They are proposing more of the same, with the hopes it will mollify the public and they can quietly return back to the way it was, perhaps with less transparency. 2/

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

Electronic Frontier Foundation
@eff.org

If surveillance at the US-Mexico border is so all-seeing, why isn't it saving lives? @technologyreview.com and the Times of San Diego used EFF's map of border tech to conduct this first-of-its-kind analysis of the relationship between surveillance and migrant deaths.

technologyreview.comThe US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?Surveillance towers, increasingly powered by AI, promised faster responses to crossings. Our investigation of deaths near the towers found they are failing to deliver.

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

Niall Firth
@niallfirth.bsky.social

A brilliantly-reported and vitally important investigation from us today. Jaw-dropping, heart-breaking findings. So proud of the team, but especially @jamesodonnell.bsky.social and @eileenguo.bsky.social www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/21/1...

technologyreview.comThe US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?Surveillance towers, increasingly powered by AI, promised faster responses to crossings. Our investigation of deaths near the towers found they are failing to deliver.
Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

So proud that our data helped inform this important investigation.

MIT Technology Review@technologyreview.com

After mapping nearly 4,000 locations where human remains were found against information on nearly 600 surveillance towers, we discovered that a humanitarian crisis at the border has unfolded in view of the government’s own cameras.

trib.alThe US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?Surveillance towers, increasingly powered by AI, promised faster responses to crossings. Our investigation of deaths near the towers found they are failing to deliver.

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

404 Media
@404media.co

EFF’s investigation found cops across dozens of jurisdictions writing “LMAO,” “LOL,” “Hehe,” “Haha,” “idk,” “blah,” “TBD,” and “robbery I don’t remember the case number leave me alone” in Flock’s “reason” box for searches.

404media.coCops Search Thousands of Flock Cameras for Reasons of ‘LMAO,’ ‘IDK,’ ‘Hehe,’ and ‘asdfg’The EFF found cops writing “idiot,” “WEIRD KID,” "blah," "leave me alone," and button mashing in Flock's 'reason' box.

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

Electronic Frontier Foundation
@eff.org

1/3 Here's a riddle: Why did a Goshen Police Department officer search 6,474 automated license plate reader (ALPR) networks, representing data from 82,413 cameras, on May 7, 2025? www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

eff.orgThe High Crime of “LMAO”: How Cops Are Treating Mass Surveillance AsWith no warrant requirements, limited guardrails, and deficient audit processes, ALPR databases have fostered a culture of unrestricted access to everyone’s location information. This culture of
Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

We keep going through Flock Safety data and finding outrageous search "reasons" - this time we're highlighting the times cops typed in "LOL," "IDK," or just mashed the keyboard. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

eff.orgThe High Crime of “LMAO”: How Cops Are Treating Mass Surveillance As a JokeWith no warrant requirements, limited guardrails, and deficient audit processes, ALPR databases have fostered a culture of unrestricted access to everyone’s location information. This culture of abuse...

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

Electronic Frontier Foundation
@eff.org

The 2026 EFF Awards go to @accessnow.org, @7amleh.bsky.social, @deflock.org, and New Media Rights. Four EFF allies, four fights, one goal: tech that serves freedom and justice for everyone. (1/6)

eff.org2026 EFF Award Winners: Access Now, 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, DeFlock, and New Media RightsEFF is pleased to announce that Access Now, 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, DeFlock, and New Media Rights have received 2026 EFF Awards for their vital work in ensuring t...
Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

In my mind, the first person to raise the alarm about ALPRs was freelance journalist Jon Campbell, who wrote a series of investigative reports for alt weeklies and other pubs circa 2012. I don't think he's on social media and I don't think he's doing journalism anymore, but hats off to you, bro!

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

404 Media
@404media.co

Police in Wisconsin used Flock to determine that a man “travels to Michigan frequently,” where marijuana is legal, then back to Wisconsin, where it is illegal. They used it as probable cause justification to search his car for weed. www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...

404media.coCops Used Flock to Track a Man Across State Lines to Create Pretext to Search His Car for Weed"The vehicle travels to Michigan frequently which is a known source state for marijuana as it is legal there," a probable cause justification reads.
Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

I'm wearing two hats at Dragon Con this year! We're discuss our graphic novel with the Atlanta Opera on the Alt History track. There will be live singing! Then on the Electronic Frontier Forums track I'll be discussing drones and giving my virtual tour of surveillance at the US-Mexico border.

Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

The new EFF clawback shirt is the thing to wear this anti-surveillance summer. It’s so good.

Electronic Frontier Foundation@eff.org

Yep, we've got the hacker wardrobe on lockdown 🔒 That's why our new #DEFCON 34 and Claw Back t-shirts come in your favorite non-color: black 🖤 Grab one—or both—when you support our work today! eff.org/vv

Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

San Diego folks: don't sleep on this talk about safely covering the border on Aug 17.

Freedom of the Press Foundation@freedom.press

How do journalists safely cover the U.S./Mexico land border? Join us in-person in San Diego for a look at the intersection of investigative reporting, digital security, and legal implications of border reporting. 📍California Western School of Law 🗓️ 8/17, 5 p.m. PT RSVP: freedom.press/sandiego26

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

Drew Harwell
@drewharwell.com

New: We found 50 cops who misused Flock cameras and other license-plate readers for personal purposes, often to spy on their girlfriends or ex-wives. He "watched every single move I made. ... Who do you turn the chief of police in to?" wapo.st/3S6rTuo

wapo.stShe left her ex. He secretly tracked her through a network of policing cameras.Flock’s array of license-plate cameras was built to fight crime. But at least 50 law enforcement officers were charged with or accused of misusing it and other systems.

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

Electronic Frontier Foundation
@eff.org

"The number one group of people being surveilled by this technology are people who live at the border," EFF’s @maassive.bsky.social told @reason.com. "It's not migrants, it's not the cartels, it's people who live there."

reason.comHomeland Security is spending $1 billion on 'autonomous' border surveillance towersThe department plans to triple the number of surveillance towers along the U.S.-Mexico border over the next decade.

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

Electronic Frontier Foundation
@eff.org

EFF’s @maassive.bsky.social spoke with @cnn.com about the anti-ALPR sentiment sweeping the nation. “Once people start learning about the massive scale of the data that’s being collected and who it’s being accessed by, it starts to freak them out.”

cnn.comFlock cameras are getting mobbed | CNNFrom coast to coast, Americans across the political spectrum have been taking official or vigilante action against the always-on, searchable camera network.

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

404 Media
@404media.co

By filing Freedom of Information requests, 404 Media has obtained bodycam footage and documents that uncover stories about tech that powers ICE and how cops abuse Flock. You can FOIA too! On July 30th at 1 pm ET, we will teach you how to file a FOIA request live: www.404media.co/our-new-foia...

Dave Maass 🔦 reposted

Electronic Frontier Foundation
@eff.org

We're talking about the 10th anniversary of Watch Dogs 2 at San Diego Comic-Con. Here's how the game predicted the rise of surveillance in society.

eff.orgHow the Watch Dogs Video Game Series Mirrored and Predicted Real-World Digital Rights IssuesWhen Ubisoft's Watch Dogs 2 was released in 2016, it was a headtrip for those of us working on digital-rights issues in the Bay Area. During the day, I'd fight tech-authoritarianism from EFF's San Fra...
Dave Maass 🔦
@maassive.bsky.social

This dude was one of the first ever to contribute to the Atlas pilot, proving that it was a viable project.

Electronic Frontier Foundation@eff.org

The Atlas of Surveillance, our database mapping police surveillance tech across the U.S., turns six this week! Want to know how police are keeping tabs on you and your neighbors? Search for your town on the Atlas of Surveillance: www.atlasofsurveillance.org