Torin Monahan
LightNews LightNews
banner
torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan
@torinmonahan.bsky.social
1.3K followers 350 following 37 posts

Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Studies surveillance, tech, platforms. Co-Editor-in-Chief of Surveillance & Society.
https://www.torinmonahan.com/

Videos

Torin Monahan is co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Surveillance & Society, a former director of the Surveillance Studies Network, and a professor of communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is best known for his work on the social and cultural dimensions of surveillance systems. .. more

Political science 41%
Sociology 25%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan @torinmonahan.bsky.social · 1d
Steph Brown [@stephjayb.bsky.social] has just won the 2025 Surveillance Studies Book Prize for Watching Women: Militant Suffragists Write the British Surveillance State, 1905–1924. This is an incredible book that everyone should read. Congrats, Steph!!

ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/su...
Image of book cover: Watching Women by Stephanie Brown

torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan @torinmonahan.bsky.social · 2d
Just received this incisive new book about government #surveillance abuses and crimes during the 1970s. Totally prescient for today’s world. @mguariglia.bsky.social iglia.bsky.social & @brianhochman.bsky.social ochman.bsky.social have made a major contribution here!

wwnorton.com/books/the-ch...
Photo of book: The Church Committee Report

torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan @torinmonahan.bsky.social · 17d
In case you missed it over the holidays, Surveillance & Society published a great new issue. There’s a section on “Global Futures of Digital Confinement,” a dialogue on 25 years after the “surveillant assemblage,” and much more! #surveillance #openaccess
ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/su...
Screenshot of Surveillance & Society journal page.

Reposted by Torin Monahan

andrewlevesque.bsky.social
Andrew Levesque @andrewlevesque.bsky.social · 23d
A group of Home Depot (HD.N) investors is asking the company to review its partnership with surveillance firm Flock Safety and state how its data is used and shared with law enforcement, following reports by an independent media outlet that the vendor's data has…
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Amid ICE raids, some Home Depot investors want to know how law enforcement uses its surveillance data
Home Depot locations have become hotbeds for ICE arrests.
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Torin Monahan

ubisurv.net
keep your electric eye on me @ubisurv.net · 25d
Iran’s Case Should Put an End to Illusions About Digital Sovereignty, by @azadehakbari.bsky.social for @techpolicypress.bsky.social. Important not just for #Iran, but to counter the growing tendency to see #nationalism as a solution to platform #capitalism.

www.techpolicy.press/irans-case-s...
Iran’s Case Should Put an End to Illusions About Digital Sovereignty
Iran’s case shows why digital sovereignty won’t solve internet shutdowns or unchecked private dominance over digital infrastructure, writes Azadeh Akbari.
www.techpolicy.press

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Fabián Muniesa, Kris Inwood , and 13 more

keanbirch.bsky.social
Kean Birch @keanbirch.bsky.social · 26d
I'm co-chairing the Society for Social Studies of Science @4sweb.bsky.social Conference in Toronto, Oct 2026. #STS #scipol #innovation

Theme: "TechnoPower • Technoscientific Futures".

Open panel submissions portal is open! ls!

Deadline: 2nd February 2026

www.4sonline.org/about_the_co...
About the Conference
www.4sonline.org

torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan @torinmonahan.bsky.social · Jan 10
This looks great! Thanks for sharing and for the nice feedback on my work too.

Reposted by Torin Monahan

mmodernity.bsky.social
Modernism/modernity @mmodernity.bsky.social · Dec 23
New on Print Plus: Stephanie J. Brown writes on the deployment of images that depict and enact surveillant mechanisms in her article, "Suffrage Journalism against State Brutality: Surveillance Art in Votes for Women and The Suffragette, 1910–1914": modernismmodernity.org/articles/bro...

Reposted by Torin Monahan

savasavasava.myatproto.social
rom comrade @savasavasava.myatproto.social · Dec 17
found the tab open and realized that I forgot to share @aerialeverything.cryptoanarchy.network's excellent article on the impact of genAI imagery on truth and how we perceive truth.

www.heliotropejournal.net/helio/bythem...
By the Machine for the Machine: Virilio’s Logistics of Perception in the Age of Generative AI — HELIOTROPE
By Tracy Valcourt In War and Cinema , first published in 1984, Paul Virilio defined the notion of a “logistics of perception,” a circulating system which he considered essential to the development o...
www.heliotropejournal.net

Reposted by Torin Monahan

asaskat.bsky.social
ASA SKAT @asaskat.bsky.social · Dec 15
📝 Our Fall 2025 issue of the SKAT Newsletter is out!

See inside for information about SKAT sessions at #ASA2026, a call for award nominations, Q&As with book authors, and more.

asaskat.com/wp-content/u...
asaskat.com

Reposted by Paul M. Schwartz, Daniel J. Solove, Serge Egelman , and 3 more

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · Dec 11
Preorder today. “Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance.” #books

Reposted by Torin Monahan

benpatrickwill.bsky.social
Ben Williamson @benpatrickwill.bsky.social · Nov 29
All these edtech and AIed testbeds don't follow the evidence-based "what works" policy model that's dominated education for years. They're *making* AI work in real-world school settings to generate insights for policy and tech. Schools are AI testing labs now.

torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan @torinmonahan.bsky.social · Nov 27
"Critics of adversarial fashion say because the surveillance state is so complex and wide-reaching, anti-surveillance fashion is more effective at raising awareness than actually changing the status quo." Yes, I'm one of the critics! #surveillance #resistance
How to Disappear: The Rise of Anti-Surveillance Fashion
Read our reporting on adversarial fashion. We put the top anti-surveillance fashion to the test including Reflectacles, AntiAI Clothing, Yelo Pomelo, Cap_able Design, Oogaly, and RiotAssembly.
www.mozillafoundation.org

Reposted by Roopika Risam, Torin Monahan

wolvendamien.bsky.social
Dr. Damien P. Williams can't think of a fun display name right n @wolvendamien.bsky.social · Nov 16
Regardless of how many researchers highlight the cultural trends against "AI" data centers, & the increasingly widepread public awareness of the unequal economic & environmental harms of these systems, a lot of tech-pilled ppl will only pay attention once it shows up somewhere like WIRED.

So here:
The Data Center Resistance Has Arrived
A new report finds that local opposition to data centers skyrocketed in the second quarter of this year.
www.wired.com

Reposted by Torin Monahan

stopspyingny.bsky.social
S.T.O.P.—Surveillance Technology Oversight Project @stopspyingny.bsky.social · Nov 13
BREAKING: Amnesty International, S.T.O.P. Lawsuit Reveals NYPD Surveillance Abuses #BanTheScan @amnestyuk.bsky.social

"New York promises to be a sanctuary city, but we’ve created nothing short of a surveillance state." - S.T.O.P. Executive Director Michelle Dahl

www.stopspying.org/latest-news/...
Amnesty International, S.T.O.P. Lawsuit Reveals NYPD Surveillance Abuses — S.T.O.P. - The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
www.stopspying.org

Reposted by Torin Monahan

boycottcitizens.bsky.social
Boycott Citizens @boycottcitizens.bsky.social · Nov 12
Here's how ICE is planning to use private contractors and local law enforcement to extend its reach deeper into our communities.

Sources & more in comments 🧵
An infographic titled “Paid to Pursue: ICE’s Plan to Turn Private Contractors and Local Law Enforcement Into a Vast Bounty-Hunting Network.” It explains how ICE aims to expand deportation efforts by using private firms and local police. ICE Collects Personal Data: ICE accesses large amounts of personal data from government agencies and data brokers such as Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis, along with surveillance tools like facial recognition and social media monitoring. ICE Creates Profiles: Using a Palantir-built case management system, ICE turns this data into detailed AI-driven profiles, including visa status, physical characteristics, and information from license plate readers. Private Contractors Track Immigrants: ICE gives private firms lists of 50,000 immigrants at a time to verify their locations through skip tracing. Contractors access ICE’s case system, ImmigrationOS, to locate up to 1.5 million people, earning base pay per verified address plus bonuses for speed and accuracy. ICE Gives Target Lists to Local Law Enforcement: ICE shares verified target lists with hundreds of state and local agencies through its 287(g) program, which deputizes local officers to enforce federal immigration laws. DHS offers bonuses of up to $1,000 per officer for successful identifications. At the bottom, a section titled “The 287(g) Program” explains that the program authorizes local officers to identify, arrest, and process individuals for deportation. It notes that the number of 287(g) agreements grew sharply during the Trump administration and that critics warn these partnerships promote racial profiling and harm community trust. The graphic concludes that fighting the spread of 287(g) agreements is one of the most important ways to help keep communities safe.

Reposted by Torin Monahan

eff.org
Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · Nov 1
Alongside armored vehicles, local police are getting surveillance technology with help from the federal government. Learn what tech law enforcement have in your area with EFF's Atlas of Surveillance, where we’ve documented thousands of examples: atlasofsurveillance.org/
Atlas of Surveillance
Documenting Police Tech in Our Communities with Open Source Research
www.atlasofsurveillance.org

Reposted by Torin Monahan

stopspyingny.bsky.social
S.T.O.P.—Surveillance Technology Oversight Project @stopspyingny.bsky.social · Oct 31
"If they have this much money, this much ability to peer into everyone’s private lives, it raises some fundamental questions about where American democracy is going." @foxcahn.bsky.social #ICE

www.aljazeera.com/video/digita...
How ICE is ramping up its surveillance
Al Jazeera's Linh Nguyen looks at how ICE is expanding its surveillance network.
www.aljazeera.com

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet, Torin Monahan, Kathleen Kennedy , and 1 more

hypervisible.blacksky.app
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · Oct 26
Roomba should have been a warning.
Man Alarmed to Discover His Smart Vacuum Was Broadcasting a Secret Map of His House
One man's robot vacuum was constantly communicating with its manufacturer, sending a detailed 3D map of his house halfway across the world.
futurism.com

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Elaine Treharne, Torin Monahan

safiyanoble.bsky.social
Safiya Umoja Noble @safiyanoble.bsky.social · Oct 24
This is one of the best analyses of the total grift and scammery of AI in education I’ve seen, and it is a MUST Read: “Higher Ed’s Rush To Adopt AI Is About So Much More Than AI - defector.com/higher-eds-r...
Higher Ed’s Rush To Adopt AI Is About So Much More Than AI | Defector
If you don’t work at a university or have college-age kids, you may have missed the flurry of news stories and social media banter about AI adoption in higher ed, stories which have snowballed into th...
defector.com

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, McKenzie Wark, Torin Monahan

jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · Oct 2
What an unsurprising decision by corporations that desperately need to make money with AI. If every other company with a chatbot isn't already doing this, then expect them to be following Meta's lead soon. The chatbot is not your friend; it's a corporate listening device. www.ft.com/content/22f7...
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/22f7afc3-8ac0-4ca1-9877-fd3f8ddcc986?desktop=true&segmentId=7c8f09b9-9b61-4fbb-9430-9208a9e233c8#myft:notification:daily-email:content Meta will use conversations people have with its chatbots to personalise advertising and content across its platforms, in a sign of how tech companies plan to make money from artificial intelligence. The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp on Wednesday said it would use the content of chats with its Meta AI to create advertising recommendations across its suite of apps. “People will already expect that their Meta AI interactions are being used for these personalisation purposes,” said Christy Harris, privacy and data policy manager at Meta.

torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan @torinmonahan.bsky.social · Sep 27
In my experience, climate committed youth are especially unaware of the impact meat eating has on the planet.

“Food and agriculture contribute one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions – second only to the burning of fossil fuels.”

#vegetarianism
Meat is a leading emissions source – but few outlets report on it, analysis finds
Sentient Media reveals less than 4% of climate news stories mention animal agriculture as source of carbon emissions
www.theguardian.com

torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan @torinmonahan.bsky.social · Sep 24
Quite disturbing unlawful collection of DNA by CBP.
US border patrol collected DNA from thousands of US citizens for years, data shows
CBP officers took DNA samples from about 2,000 citizens, some as young as 14 and many who never faced criminal charges, new analysis shows
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Torin Monahan

emilymbender.bsky.social
Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · Sep 12
Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 Episode 62

www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...

Come to hear @mharrisondupre.bsky.social , @alexhanna.bsky.social and I dismantle the misplaced enthusiasm for chatbots in therapy, stay for the literal word sausages.

torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan @torinmonahan.bsky.social · Sep 11
Surveillance functions in anticipatory and reactive modalities: 1) to preemptively interrupt pro-Palestinian speech; 2) to punish and terrorize individuals for their expressions of dissent.

tinyurl.com/4fr95zxy
View of Silencing Dissent: Surveillance and Police Actions on University Campuses during Pro-Palestinian Protests
tinyurl.com

torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan @torinmonahan.bsky.social · Sep 11
In my latest piece in Surveillance & Society, I investigate #Colombia University’s police crackdown on protesters; #UCLA’s tolerance for terror inflicted by vigilante counterprotesters; and the broader punishment and dismissal of professors voicing criticism of Israel’s war in #Gaza.

torinmonahan.bsky.social
Torin Monahan @torinmonahan.bsky.social · Sep 11
🚨New Publication Alert: “Silencing Dissent: Surveillance and Police Actions on University Campuses during Pro-Palestinian Protests” 🚨

This article explores #surveillance, #violence, and #dissent on university campuses in the United States.

tinyurl.com/4fr95zxy
Screenshot of Surveillance & Society article: "Silencing Dissent: Surveillance and Police Actions on University Campuses during Pro-Palestinian Protests"

Reposted by Göran Bolin, Torin Monahan, David Murakami Wood

survstudiesnet.bsky.social
Surveillance Studies Network @survstudiesnet.bsky.social · Sep 2
Surveillance & Society has published a great new issue—w/ articles on data leaks, ceasefire monitoring, campus #protests, & much more! The journal is always fully #openaccess.

Check it out, and please spread the word: ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/su...
Three police officers standing in front of Gaza solidarity encampment tents at Columbia University. (Photo credit: Wm3214 via Wikimedia Commons.)

Reposted by Torin Monahan

sandiegotrust.bsky.social
San Diego TRUST Coalition @sandiegotrust.bsky.social · Sep 1
Flock lied to cities and it has come out that federal immigration agents had direct access to Flock's networks. www.9news.com/article/news...
www.9news.com

Reposted by Timnit Gebru, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, David Lazer , and 5 more

kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · Aug 26
Why publish one story about A.I. gone wrong when you can publish two?

Here's my other story today on how the NYPD used facial recognition tech to arrest the wrong man for public lewdness.

The perp was 5'6''. Cops charged Trevis Williams, who is 6'2''.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/n...
How the N.Y.P.D.’s Facial Recognition Tool Landed the Wrong Man in Jail
www.nytimes.com