IT Blog

The death and destruction of recent days has been chilling, as police departments across America turned on the public they swore to protect and serve. While much of our attention has rightfully been focused on the violence used against our fellow Americans, most of whom are simply exercising their constitutional right to dissent, many have overlooked how technology is fundamentally reshaping how demonstrations are monitored. Police have used everything from Predator drones to facial recognition to track protesters, relying on tools developed for overseas wars to police dissent here at home.

But while policing protest this way may once have been unfathomable, none of us can claim it’s unprecedented. American police have used technology to combat dissent—especially dissent by communities of color—since before there was a United States of America.

The scene will sound familiar to many: Black and Brown New Yorkers are eyed suspiciously as they walk the city streets, with police…