S.T.O.P. Condemns Newly Revealed NYPD Fake Social Media Vendor

S.T.O.P. condemns an MTA pilot program testing AI-driven subway gates that track alleged fare evasion.

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Newly Revealed NYPD Fake Social Media Vendor   (New York, NY - 2/11/2026) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights organization, condemns NYPD’s partnership with NTREPID, a social media surveillance firm NYPD quietly listed in its surveillance technology disclosures last week. NTREPID allows NYPD officers to create and monitor dozens of fake social media accounts, sidestepping judicial oversight to conduct widespread, warrantless surveillance of New Yorkers online. NTREPID has been used by the Department of Defense to surveil social media overseas and spread pro-American propaganda, while its use by local police has been largely unknown until NYPD’s disclosure. S.T.O.P. renewed its call on New York State to pass legislation banning police use of fake social media accounts.   SEE: Daily Mail - NYPD revealed to be using NTREPID fake social media accounts https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15543215/Socialist-Mayor-Zohran-Mamdani-showdown-NYPD-revealed-cops-used-fake-social-media-accounts-ntrepid.html “It’s long past time for New York to unfriend NYPD’s fake social media bots,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Michelle Dahl. “With NTREPID, NYPD is bringing ‘War On Terror’ tactics to the Facebook group chat, sidestepping judicial process and entering private digital spaces by deception. These technologies automate racial profiling online, targeting Black, Brown, and Muslim New Yorkers. New York State must step in and stop NYPD from duping away our First and Fourth Amendment rights.”   S.T.O.P. has repeatedly criticized law enforcement agencies for purchasing and deploying commercial social media surveillance and data extraction tools. In 2023, the organization condemned both the Queens District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD for renewing contracts with social media surveillance firms, warning that these technologies function as digital stop-and-frisk and enable law enforcement to evade meaningful judicial oversight. SEE: Press Release - S.T.O.P. Condemns Queens DA, NYPD for Buying Social Media Data https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/9/8/stop-condemns-queens-da-nypd-for-buying-social-media-data?rq=STOP%20FAKES S.T.O.P. is a lead advocate of the Stop Online Police Fake Accounts and Keep Everyone Safe (STOP FAKES) Act, first-in-the-nation legislation that would bar law enforcement from creating or operating fake social media accounts to surveil New Yorkers. In 2023, S.T.O.P. published an op-ed alongside then-Assembly member Zohran Mandani and state Senator Cordell Cleare demanding passage of the law. SEE: City and State New York - Opinion: New York must say no to social media surveillance https://www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2023/06/opinion-new-york-must-say-no-social-media-surveillance/387335/ The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates to curb excessive government surveillance and expose its discriminatory impacts on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   -- END -- Copyright © 2025 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.