Emile Ayoub
@emileayoub.bsky.social
Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center | Lakers enthusiast | LA raised, NY based, 🇱🇧 heritage | UCI Law ‘16, UCLA ‘12 | views my own
By running AI agents to continuously monitor social media platforms, police departments can collect, analyze, and infer much more information much more quickly than having an individual officer sit and review social media posts. Scaling surveillance in this way undermines the Fourth Amendment.
NYPD is using “sock puppet” software that creates fake online identities. The "increased scope and speed of surveillance that these tools offer undermines" Fourth Amendment protections, says @emileayoub.bsky.social.
Mamdani faces first showdown with NYPD – will he risk alienating police?
As an assembly member, Mamdani backed the Stop Fakes Act. Now, the NYPD has admitted to spying online – but wielding actual power as mayor is complex
www.theguardian.com
February 17, 2026 at 10:55 PM
By running AI agents to continuously monitor social media platforms, police departments can collect, analyze, and infer much more information much more quickly than having an individual officer sit and review social media posts. Scaling surveillance in this way undermines the Fourth Amendment.
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
A federal trial starts today in N. Texas, & every American who cares about the First Amendment should be watching. Nine protesters face charges — incl. "providing material support" to terrorists — related to a demonstration outside an ICE detention facility on July 4. 1/ www.ms.now/news/antifa-...
Trump wants to prosecute anti-fascists as terrorists. This Texas trial will test his power.
A July 4 shooting at an ICE detention center could change the way the federal government prosecutes activists.
www.ms.now
February 17, 2026 at 7:17 PM
A federal trial starts today in N. Texas, & every American who cares about the First Amendment should be watching. Nine protesters face charges — incl. "providing material support" to terrorists — related to a demonstration outside an ICE detention facility on July 4. 1/ www.ms.now/news/antifa-...
CBP wants to collect social media handles from the roughly 14.5 million travelers visiting annually from countries deemed our “close allies.”
This proposal comes after the administration has openly declared its intent to use social media to screen people for speech it doesn’t like. 1/
This proposal comes after the administration has openly declared its intent to use social media to screen people for speech it doesn’t like. 1/
Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision; Arrival and Departure Record (Form I-94) and Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)
The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review an...
www.federalregister.gov
February 17, 2026 at 7:21 PM
CBP wants to collect social media handles from the roughly 14.5 million travelers visiting annually from countries deemed our “close allies.”
This proposal comes after the administration has openly declared its intent to use social media to screen people for speech it doesn’t like. 1/
This proposal comes after the administration has openly declared its intent to use social media to screen people for speech it doesn’t like. 1/
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
Trump backed off calling Renee Good & Alex Pretti domestic terrorists because people didn't like it. But as I wrote, the admin is still doubling down on the use of domestic terrorism investigations to scare Americans away from using their First Amendment rights. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Trump’s Version of “Domestic Terrorism” vs. the First Amendment
The administration has given itself permission to prosecute people and organizations for their political views.
www.brennancenter.org
February 16, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Trump backed off calling Renee Good & Alex Pretti domestic terrorists because people didn't like it. But as I wrote, the admin is still doubling down on the use of domestic terrorism investigations to scare Americans away from using their First Amendment rights. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
Meta's plan for launching glasses that people can use to secretly identify strangers on the street is to do it "during a dynamic political environment" when people who care about why that's bad are "focused on other concerns."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Meta's plan for launching glasses that people can use to secretly identify strangers on the street is to do it "during a dynamic political environment" when people who care about why that's bad are "focused on other concerns."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
Presidents can't cancel elections. But the administration can attempt to undermine the midterms, @seanmorales-doyle.bsky.social warns in @nytopinion.nytimes.com. It's up to voters, election officials, state law enforcement and advocates to ensure our elections are free and fair.
Opinion | Trump Says He Wants to Cancel Elections, but Here Is the Real Threat
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Presidents can't cancel elections. But the administration can attempt to undermine the midterms, @seanmorales-doyle.bsky.social warns in @nytopinion.nytimes.com. It's up to voters, election officials, state law enforcement and advocates to ensure our elections are free and fair.
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
Criticize the government online? DHS might demand Google hand over your info. Our latest EFFector breaks down Homeland Security's unlawful subpoenas targeting critics—plus our campaign for end-to-end encryption and a bill to stop government face scans. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
🗣 Homeland Security Wants Names | EFFector 38.3
Criticize the government online? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) might ask Google to cough up your name. By abusing an investigative tool called "administrative subpoenas," DHS has been
www.eff.org
February 11, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Criticize the government online? DHS might demand Google hand over your info. Our latest EFFector breaks down Homeland Security's unlawful subpoenas targeting critics—plus our campaign for end-to-end encryption and a bill to stop government face scans. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
DHS has a Fourth Amendment problem.
@hannahajames.bsky.social of the @brennancenter.org explains why the agency’s new policy allowing ICE to enter homes to conduct arrests is not only a break from past practice, it violates the Constitution.
www.justsecurity.org/130497/dhs-w...
@hannahajames.bsky.social of the @brennancenter.org explains why the agency’s new policy allowing ICE to enter homes to conduct arrests is not only a break from past practice, it violates the Constitution.
www.justsecurity.org/130497/dhs-w...
DHS Warrantless Home Entry Memo’s Fourth Amendment Problem
A leaked ICE memo authorizes warrantless home raids, defying DHS policy and raising grave Fourth Amendment concerns.
www.justsecurity.org
February 3, 2026 at 2:04 PM
DHS has a Fourth Amendment problem.
@hannahajames.bsky.social of the @brennancenter.org explains why the agency’s new policy allowing ICE to enter homes to conduct arrests is not only a break from past practice, it violates the Constitution.
www.justsecurity.org/130497/dhs-w...
@hannahajames.bsky.social of the @brennancenter.org explains why the agency’s new policy allowing ICE to enter homes to conduct arrests is not only a break from past practice, it violates the Constitution.
www.justsecurity.org/130497/dhs-w...
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
We just published database: @aclu.org plaintiffs' sworn declarations of ICE enforcement actions in Minnesota
Devastating
Racial profiling-arrests-headlock-handcuffs-shackles
Mostly US citizens
A big lesson here for Justice Kavanaugh. I believe he'll get it
www.justsecurity.org/130745/minne...
🧵
Devastating
Racial profiling-arrests-headlock-handcuffs-shackles
Mostly US citizens
A big lesson here for Justice Kavanaugh. I believe he'll get it
www.justsecurity.org/130745/minne...
🧵
February 5, 2026 at 1:39 PM
We just published database: @aclu.org plaintiffs' sworn declarations of ICE enforcement actions in Minnesota
Devastating
Racial profiling-arrests-headlock-handcuffs-shackles
Mostly US citizens
A big lesson here for Justice Kavanaugh. I believe he'll get it
www.justsecurity.org/130745/minne...
🧵
Devastating
Racial profiling-arrests-headlock-handcuffs-shackles
Mostly US citizens
A big lesson here for Justice Kavanaugh. I believe he'll get it
www.justsecurity.org/130745/minne...
🧵
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
Sen. SCHIFF: We prohibited disclosing or selling of customer data to government agencies—but it doesn’t cover third party data brokers. Should we allow the government to get info by buying it without a warrant?
Privacy and civil liberties expert: It’s a loophole.
Privacy and civil liberties expert: It’s a loophole.
January 29, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Sen. SCHIFF: We prohibited disclosing or selling of customer data to government agencies—but it doesn’t cover third party data brokers. Should we allow the government to get info by buying it without a warrant?
Privacy and civil liberties expert: It’s a loophole.
Privacy and civil liberties expert: It’s a loophole.
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
This is outrageous and un-American. Full stop. Let's start with the basics: being an observer or a protester does not make you a "domestic terrorist," as I explained shortly after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good. 1/12 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...
January 24, 2026 at 3:12 PM
This is outrageous and un-American. Full stop. Let's start with the basics: being an observer or a protester does not make you a "domestic terrorist," as I explained shortly after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good. 1/12 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
The Trump administration is invoking “domestic terrorism” to tarnish Renee Good’s name and intimidate opponents. But those claims can’t change the facts or the law. bit.ly/49EiY8b
Labeling Renee Good a “Domestic Terrorist” Distorts the Law
The Trump administration’s misuse of the term reached new levels after an ICE officer killed Good in her car.
www.brennancenter.org
January 19, 2026 at 11:02 PM
The Trump administration is invoking “domestic terrorism” to tarnish Renee Good’s name and intimidate opponents. But those claims can’t change the facts or the law. bit.ly/49EiY8b
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
Location data from phone companies requires a warrant. But ICE believes this data doesn't, because people give it up "voluntarily." That's according to this internal ICE legal analysis shared with us. Ignores that people don't know what apps are tracking them www.404media.co/inside-ices-...
![The AdID itself is created by the operating system on the device and
serves as an anonymized identifier provided to these applications for marketing purposes. Although it is difficult to verify for any particular piece of data,
(b)(5)
(b)(5)
DIN:N:N:R:N:N:N:N:N:R:N:N:2:D:N:2:R:2:2:R:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2121212:21212:21212:2:=:=
(b)(5)
] From what we've been told, the AdID
information offered by Ventel does not contain any information generated by the carrier or the device manufacturer, and the device owner can prevent the transmission of AdID locational information by removing the application from the device or by manipulating the device's settings to disable location services. Ventel's data suppliers also guarantee that the information is lawfully acquired.
In Carpenter v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment protects cell-site location information (CSLI) that is automatically generated and recorded by the carrier whenever a cellular device is in use. In reaching this decision, the Court declined to extend the third-party doctrine to CSLI, holding that "[gliven the unique nature of cell phone location records, the fact that the information is held by a third party does not by itself overcome the user's claim to Fourth Amendment protection." Carpenter v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 2206, 2217 (2018). The Court found CSLI to be different because of the exhaustive nature of the information collected by carriers, the special consideration given to location information in Supreme Court precedent, the pervasiveness of cellphones in daily life, and the fact that "a cell phone logs a cell-site record by dint of its operation, without any affirmative act on the part of the user beyond powering up." Id. at 2019-2220.
However, the Supreme Court made clear their decision "is a narrow one" and that it does not address matters such as tower dumps or "business records that might incidentally reveal location information." Id. at 2220. The Court also ma…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vk7rduhvom3rq6dyluce5wzf/bafkreicpqggaej3c4o7umnodpk3xkyl254fewadoejpdce3af5etqwfmy4@jpeg)
January 8, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Location data from phone companies requires a warrant. But ICE believes this data doesn't, because people give it up "voluntarily." That's according to this internal ICE legal analysis shared with us. Ignores that people don't know what apps are tracking them www.404media.co/inside-ices-...
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
This kind of persistent, warrantless government surveillance is the exact sort of thing the Fourth Amendment should protect against. SCOTUS agrees. And yet: commercial data brokers enable it every day. The dangers are only escalating. www.wired.com/story/opinio... (h/t @jshermcyber.bsky.social)
Data Brokers Are a Threat to Democracy
Unless the federal government steps up, the unchecked middlemen of surveillance capitalism will continue to harm our civil rights and national security.
www.wired.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:31 PM
This kind of persistent, warrantless government surveillance is the exact sort of thing the Fourth Amendment should protect against. SCOTUS agrees. And yet: commercial data brokers enable it every day. The dangers are only escalating. www.wired.com/story/opinio... (h/t @jshermcyber.bsky.social)
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
Congress has had *multiple* opportunities to ban government agencies from buying data like this - data that would require a warrant to get, under any other circumstances.
The Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act passed the House with a bipartisan majority in 2024. The Senate never took it up.
The Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act passed the House with a bipartisan majority in 2024. The Senate never took it up.
New: we've obtained material explaining how an ICE surveillance system, called Webloc, works. Draw shape on a map, see all phones available there, follow them home. All without warrant
“This is a very dangerous tool in the hands of an out-of-control agency.” www.404media.co/inside-ices-...
“This is a very dangerous tool in the hands of an out-of-control agency.” www.404media.co/inside-ices-...
Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods
404 Media has obtained material that explains how Tangles and Webloc, two surveillance systems ICE recently purchased, work. Webloc can track phones without a warrant and follow their owners home or t...
www.404media.co
January 8, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Congress has had *multiple* opportunities to ban government agencies from buying data like this - data that would require a warrant to get, under any other circumstances.
The Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act passed the House with a bipartisan majority in 2024. The Senate never took it up.
The Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act passed the House with a bipartisan majority in 2024. The Senate never took it up.
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
NEW: EPIC published updates to a series of one-pagers about threats posed by data brokers—an industry of shadowy companies that trade in personal data—to provide concise, high-level summaries of key issues and current protections across specific communities.
epic.org/updated-epic...
epic.org/updated-epic...
December 16, 2025 at 8:00 PM
NEW: EPIC published updates to a series of one-pagers about threats posed by data brokers—an industry of shadowy companies that trade in personal data—to provide concise, high-level summaries of key issues and current protections across specific communities.
epic.org/updated-epic...
epic.org/updated-epic...
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
Originalism’s creep in the courts may seem inevitable. But litigators do have tools to push back – and for the first time, my colleagues @tomtmwolf.bsky.social, @cisozaki.bsky.social and I have collected the many moves litigators can make in a single resource: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Countering Originalism
This guide offers lawyers strategies, arguments, and citations to address originalist claims they encounter in litigation.
www.brennancenter.org
December 11, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Originalism’s creep in the courts may seem inevitable. But litigators do have tools to push back – and for the first time, my colleagues @tomtmwolf.bsky.social, @cisozaki.bsky.social and I have collected the many moves litigators can make in a single resource: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
New from me for the @wired.com Politics Newsletter. I broke down how the push to combine data across the government in the name of immigration enforcement has lots of possible unintended consequences, not just for undocumented immigrants, but for everyone.
www.wired.com/story/dhs-da...
www.wired.com/story/dhs-da...
The DHS Data Grab Is Putting US Citizens at Risk
As the US government rapidly merges data from across agencies in service of draconian immigration policies, citizens increasingly risk being caught up as well.
www.wired.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
New from me for the @wired.com Politics Newsletter. I broke down how the push to combine data across the government in the name of immigration enforcement has lots of possible unintended consequences, not just for undocumented immigrants, but for everyone.
www.wired.com/story/dhs-da...
www.wired.com/story/dhs-da...
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
1/ The AI provisions in the annual defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), need more attention. They will shape AI’s impact on national security for decades to come. Here’s the good, the just plain weird, and the really really bad:
December 10, 2025 at 5:50 PM
1/ The AI provisions in the annual defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), need more attention. They will shape AI’s impact on national security for decades to come. Here’s the good, the just plain weird, and the really really bad:
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
new: government contractors are increasingly invoking trade secrets protections to shield products like gunshot detection, dna analysis, and facial recognition from public scrutiny.
via max blaisdell + matt chapman
via max blaisdell + matt chapman
Trade secrets protections shield information from public view
When a government contractor’s right to privacy outweighs the public’s right to know
chicagoreader.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:53 PM
new: government contractors are increasingly invoking trade secrets protections to shield products like gunshot detection, dna analysis, and facial recognition from public scrutiny.
via max blaisdell + matt chapman
via max blaisdell + matt chapman
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
The fall semester has been SUPER busy for the members of the Historians Council on the Constitution. Walk with me through this 🧵for highlights from the historians' work on some of the most pressing legal issues of the day, from agency independence to voting rights... @brennancenter.org
December 2, 2025 at 5:38 PM
The fall semester has been SUPER busy for the members of the Historians Council on the Constitution. Walk with me through this 🧵for highlights from the historians' work on some of the most pressing legal issues of the day, from agency independence to voting rights... @brennancenter.org
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
New: cops used Flock AI-enabled cameras to monitor No Kings protests around the country. Also monitored No Hands protests and protests against DOGE.
"Should serve as a warning of how it may be used in the future to suppress dissent."
www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
"Should serve as a warning of how it may be used in the future to suppress dissent."
www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
Cops Used Flock to Monitor No Kings Protests Around the Country
A massive cache of Flock lookups collated by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) shows as many as 50 federal, state, and local agencies used Flock during protests over the last year.
www.404media.co
November 21, 2025 at 2:14 PM
New: cops used Flock AI-enabled cameras to monitor No Kings protests around the country. Also monitored No Hands protests and protests against DOGE.
"Should serve as a warning of how it may be used in the future to suppress dissent."
www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
"Should serve as a warning of how it may be used in the future to suppress dissent."
www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
The FBI infiltrated an encrypted chat of immigration court watchers in New York. Then it issued intelligence calling them violent extremists—terrorists.
As I told @theguardian.com, this targeting of people who show up for immigrants is straight COINTELPRO:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
As I told @theguardian.com, this targeting of people who show up for immigrants is straight COINTELPRO:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal
Exclusive: Agency accessed private conversations of New York ‘courtwatch’ group that was observing public hearings
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The FBI infiltrated an encrypted chat of immigration court watchers in New York. Then it issued intelligence calling them violent extremists—terrorists.
As I told @theguardian.com, this targeting of people who show up for immigrants is straight COINTELPRO:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
As I told @theguardian.com, this targeting of people who show up for immigrants is straight COINTELPRO:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Important report and 🧵 on police departmens' growing use of data fusion tools.
Thread 🧵🧵🧵👇👇👇
Happy to share that @iveydyson.bsky.social and I have a report out today on the use of AI-driven data fusion tools by police departments. 1/23 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Happy to share that @iveydyson.bsky.social and I have a report out today on the use of AI-driven data fusion tools by police departments. 1/23 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
The Dangers of Unregulated AI in Policing
New data fusion tools risk embedding biases and chilling free speech.
www.brennancenter.org
November 20, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Important report and 🧵 on police departmens' growing use of data fusion tools.
Reposted by Emile Ayoub
DHS's domestic intelligence unit got part of a discredited Chicago gang database amid efforts to put people on a watchlist. The agency operates under lax rules that it STILL broke. It's effectively unreformed and a way around local "sanctuary" laws.
By @dell.bsky.social w/ @brennancenter.org docs:
By @dell.bsky.social w/ @brennancenter.org docs:
NEW: DHS secretly obtained Chicago police data on 900 residents accused of gang ties. It was quietly deleted after intelligence officers violated rules against domestic spying.
The handoff came well after city inspectors formally announced CPD's gang data was deeply flawed and infected w/ bias.
The handoff came well after city inspectors formally announced CPD's gang data was deeply flawed and infected w/ bias.
DHS Kept Chicago Police Records for Months in Violation of Domestic Espionage Rules
The Department of Homeland Security collected data on Chicago residents accused of gang ties to test if police files could feed an FBI watchlist. Months passed before anyone noticed it wasn’t deleted.
www.wired.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:52 AM
DHS's domestic intelligence unit got part of a discredited Chicago gang database amid efforts to put people on a watchlist. The agency operates under lax rules that it STILL broke. It's effectively unreformed and a way around local "sanctuary" laws.
By @dell.bsky.social w/ @brennancenter.org docs:
By @dell.bsky.social w/ @brennancenter.org docs: