This investigative series from MIT Technology Review offers an unprecedented look at the way local and federal law enforcement employed advanced technology tools to create a surveillance system for monitoring protests in the Minneapolis metro area in the wake of George Floyd's murder. The system spread far beyond the confines of its publicly declared mission, and gathered personal data on journalists and demonstrators. And it's not going anywhere: by all indications, the system is built to last. It's a sign of how technology is changing policing, making anonymous protesting—a key protected component of the right to free speech in the United States—increasingly hard to maintain.
Cops built a shadowy surveillance machine in Minnesota after George Floyd’s murder
After protests around George Floyd’s murder ended, a police system for watching protesters kept going
Inside the app Minnesota police used to collect data on journalists at protests
CREDITS
Reporting: Tate Ryan-Mosley, Sam RichardsEditing: Michael Reilly, Mat Honan, Bobbie Johnson Copy editing: Linda Lowenthal, Sara Shay Art direction: Stephanie Arnett, Emily Luong Fact checking: Matt Mahoney