Power Down Surveillance 2026 Newsletter

Today, we're launching Power Down Surveillance 2026!

Friend, Today, we’re launching Power Down Surveillance 2026 – a $500,000 campaign to vindicate civil rights in the era of mass surveillance. I’m Michelle Dahl, Executive Director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, and I’m reaching out because this is a closing-window moment: the choices made now will shape whether mass surveillance becomes permanent infrastructure. You’ve seen the news: across the country, surveillance technology is scaling faster than oversight. ICE is using surveillance tools to track, target, and terrorize immigrants. Federal agents are expanding their use of private data through license plate readers and facial recognition to intimidate protesters and observers. The NYPD continues to grow its vast network of cameras, drones, and social media monitoring of everyday residents. Even grocery stores are now tracking their customers with facial recognition and biometric surveillance. These systems disproportionately target Black and Brown communities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, Indigenous communities, and people seeking reproductive and gender-affirming care – continuing a long legacy of discriminatory and anti-Black policing. It’s time to draw a line in the sand and say: no more. Power Down Surveillance 2026 is how we meet this moment with the urgency it demands, scaling S.T.O.P.’s work to hold governments and corporations accountable, challenge systemic failures in the courts, advance policies that protect long-standing civil liberties, and equip impacted communities to protect themselves. Your gift powers three S.T.O.P. priorities in the year ahead: 1) New litigation to vindicate First and Fourth Amendment rights to set enforceable limits on abusive surveillance. 2) Public education that mobilizes communities against surveillance harms and helps people protect themselves. 3) Expanded research and rapid response so we can identify emerging threats and act before they become entrenched. If you’re ready to push back against the surveillance state, please make a gift today. Donate to Power Down Surveillance Thank you for standing with us. With your support, we can open new fronts in the fight against surveillance and prevent normalization of these systems before it’s too late. In solidarity,  Michelle Dahl Executive Director P.S. The most effective way to sustain this work is a monthly gift — and a one-time gift today helps us meet the urgency of this moment. Either way, please give if you can. Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2026 STOP, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: STOP 1350 Ave of the Americas Fl 2, Box 1089 New York, NY 10019 Add us to your address book. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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