EOY Connections Newsletter

STOP's Game of Connections

Friend,

As the holiday season arrives, we’re taking a moment to reflect on our fight against mass surveillance in 2025. While the NYPD continued to abuse discriminatory surveillance technologies and ICE arrested our neighbors simply existing in their communities, we held fast to the principles that launched this work in 2019: standing up for the privacy rights of all New Yorkers.

With your support, we made substantial progress this year. We continued our fight against the NYPD’s invasive usage of surveillance technology with the passage of numerous legislative policies, closing loopholes in the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act and requiring the NYPD to be fully transparent about their FOIL requests. We uncovered information about students’ OMNY cards being tracked by the MTA across the city. We released reports exposing how DHS-backed fusion centers drive deportation by enabling ICE to coopt local police data. And we’re not stopping anytime soon.

We’re entering the new year with hope and an ever-strong commitment to our ideals. In 2026, S.T.O.P. will build upon our existing litigation, advocacy, and research efforts, while launching new initiatives to meet emerging threats. Your support enables us to keep challenging surveillance pipelines and protect all New Yorkers, especially the communities most at risk. Every dollar you give maintains our stable foundation and prepares us for rapid response time periods when the government announces their next mass surveillance development.

Make a change with a gift today!

As we look back on our progress this year and S.T.O.P.’s growth as an organization, we invite you to try your hand at our custom S.T.O.P. Connections game, inspired by the New York Times Connections. Hints are included at the end of this newsletter.

Play S.T.O.P.'s Connections now!

Your consistent dedication, time, and care for our work and the safety of all New Yorkers is integral to S.T.O.P.’s continued success. With your support, we will enter 2026 with the strength and determination to protect our rights to privacy and bring us all closer to freedom from the watchers.