‘Surveillance maximalism’: SFPD uses camera technology Israelis used to track Palestinians
The San Francisco Police Department is using camera surveillance technology that was previously deployed by Israeli forces to monitor Palestinians, according to reporting by the San Francisco Standard. Critics have described the department's broader approach to surveillance as 'surveillance maximalism.'
Why this matters: The technology a city uses to watch its streets matters, and so does where that technology came from and what it was built to do. Tools designed to monitor a captive population under military occupation were built for control, not community policing. When a city like San Francisco adopts them, residents should know exactly what those systems can see, store, and share — and who decided that was acceptable. The name 'surveillance maximalism' says the quiet part out loud.
Who should care: Privacy officers · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
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