Andrew Guthrie Ferguson
LightNews LightNews
banner
profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson
@profferguson.bsky.social
11K followers 2.8K following 520 posts

Law Prof. GWU, Tech & Justice. Author: “Your Data Will Be Used Against You,” “The Rise of Big Data Policing,” “Why Jury Duty Matters,” and “The Law of Law School.”

Videos

Andrew Guthrie Ferguson is a professor of law at American University Washington College of Law.

Source: Wikipedia
Law 32%
Political science 29%
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
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

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 16h
I honestly don’t know the answer to the question.

I am not judging.

But I also can imagine profs who might use AI to write their articles (substantively write them) and wonder if that warrants some required disclosure (perhaps to disincentive the practice).

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 18h
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts
www.nytimes.com

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 19h
So in the dagger note, one might say. “And thank you to Student A and Student B for their excellent research assistance and to Claude for its drafting help. All errors are mine (except maybe those attributable to Claude who sometimes hallucinates a bit).”

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 21h
“They” is us, no? Disclosure yes. But what are the lines? Writing, drafting, outlining, researching, editing, proofing, blue booking? Is there a difference between affirmative plugging something in to an LLM and using the defaults in Westlaw, Word? Does disclosure cure it?

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 21h
You should definitely disclose in your dagger note that your wife read a draft because it shows true, selfless love. ❤️

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 23h
I fear poking the AI bear, but do you think law profs should have to disclose AI use?

I have yet to use AI (under the old school assumption that I am being paid to create original scholarship and it should be mine alone). I know others have different opinions.

But should folks have to disclose?
coreyryung.bsky.social Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 1d
Every legal academic who loathes AI will do a 180 the moment LLMs can reliably complete all our missing footnotes in Bluebook format with appropriate quotes in parentheticals.
(I'm counting myself among this group)

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 23h
Your data will be used against you. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

mattseybold.bsky.social
Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 1d
A particularly urgent episode of @llassabe.bsky.social’s reliably good pod, featuring @profferguson.bsky.social.
Your Data Will Be Used Against You with Andrew Guthrie Ferguson - American Campus Podcast
How colleges collect our data.References and suggested readings:Andrew Guthrie Ferguson. 2026. Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance. New York University Press.&...
americancampuspodcast.buzzsprout.com

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 1d
I am sure all it will take is a new book on the subject to change hearts and minds. just-tech.ssrc.org/articles/you...
You Are a Warrant Away from Incrimination
In his upcoming book, Your Data Will Be Used Against You, Andrew Guthrie Ferguson examines how the ubiquity of technological self-surveillance both exposes us to potential government overreach and can...
just-tech.ssrc.org

Reposted by David S. Cohen, Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

coreyryung.bsky.social
Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 1d
Every legal academic who loathes AI will do a 180 the moment LLMs can reliably complete all our missing footnotes in Bluebook format with appropriate quotes in parentheticals.
(I'm counting myself among this group)

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 2d
Real-Time Crime Centers offer powerful new AI tech to investigate crime. They are funded/subsidized by fed dollars.

What happens when those cameras are directed against protestors, immigrants, folks seeking medical care?

Local surveillance can be co-opted by federal interests. What is the plan?

Reposted by Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

joshchafetz.bsky.social
Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 2d
Hey @ssrn.bsky.social: why have you stripped the publication information from articles posted on your site?

Reposted by Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

hypervisible.blacksky.app
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 2d
Coincidentally, surveillance backlash is my DJ name.
Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash
Flock off
www.theverge.com

Reposted by Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

wmataenjoyer.bsky.social
miller @wmataenjoyer.bsky.social · 2d
If you haven’t already, you should take the time now to opt your data out of Clearview AIs collection:

www.clearview.ai/privacy-and-...
Privacy & Requests | Clearview AI
www.clearview.ai

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 3d
www.wired.com/story/cbp-si...
CBP Signs Clearview AI Deal to Use Face Recognition for ‘Tactical Targeting’
US Border Patrol intelligence units will gain access to a face recognition tool built on billions of images scraped from the internet.
www.wired.com

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 4d
A good update of an article-type that has been written several times a year for the past 15 years and yet we just keep buying and deploying new policing technologies. www.salon.com/2026/02/08/p...
AI is automating injustice in American policing - Salon.com
AI has raised deep concerns about police power and the erosion of rights, finding scapegoats instead of solutions
www.salon.com

Reposted by Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

nyupress.bsky.social
NYU Press @nyupress.bsky.social · 4d
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson joins the American Campus Podcast to discuss his forthcoming title, "Your Data Will Be Used Against You."

With a focus on higher education, he dives into how colleges harvest and monetize data.

Listen on your favorite podcasting app or directly here:
Your Data Will Be Used Against You with Andrew Guthrie Ferguson - American Campus Podcast
How colleges collect our data.References and suggested readings:Andrew Guthrie Ferguson. 2026. Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance. New York University…
buff.ly

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 4d
Yep.

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 4d
Any idea what percentage of Ring cameras are linked to Real-Time Crime Centers via Fusus? Seems like a new superpower if police could access that pattern matching system.

Reposted by Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, Juanjo Medina

mguariglia.bsky.social
Matthew Guariglia @mguariglia.bsky.social · 4d
Since we're re-litigating Ring's sins: How did they grow so fast?

Until 2016, Ring gave out free/discounted cameras to police & giving cops perks if the public (including victims of crimes) used the officer's discount code to buy cameras--all of which meant Ring essentially made cops salespeople.
Emails from 2016 Show Amazon Ring's Hold on the LAPD Through Camera Giveaways
In March 2016, “smart” doorbell camera maker Ring was a growing company attempting to market its wireless smart security camera when it received an email from an officer in the Los Angeles Police Depa...
www.eff.org

Reposted by Evan Selinger

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 5d
Just arrived today. Can’t wait to read @evanselinger.bsky.social @foxcahn.bsky.social

Reposted by John R. Hutchinson, American Library Association, Alfie Kohn , and 2 more

hypervisible.blacksky.app
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 5d
“No matter how Ring and other surveillance tech companies may downplay it, there’s no world in which finding lost dogs is the final end-use for this technology.”
Opinion | Ring is using lost dogs to make the surveillance state adorable
The same technology the Amazon-owned company uses to find lost dogs could easily be turned against their owners.
www.ms.now

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 5d
Really engaging discussion with @llassabe.bsky.social and @americancampus.bsky.social about how surveillance is used on college campuses.

We are teaching self-surveillance without thinking about it.

americancampuspodcast.buzzsprout.com/2396665/epis...
Your Data Will Be Used Against You with Andrew Guthrie Ferguson - American Campus Podcast
How colleges collect our data.References and suggested readings:Andrew Guthrie Ferguson. 2026. Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance. New York University Press.&...
americancampuspodcast.buzzsprout.com

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 6d
Your data will be used against you… (and then your dog will not have an owner anymore).
phillewis.bsky.social Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 6d
Here's that Ring #SuperBowl commercial:

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Joanna Bryson, Elizabeth Sharrow , and 7 more

phillewis.bsky.social
Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 6d
Here's that Ring #SuperBowl commercial:

Reposted by Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

oregonian.com
The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 8d
“That means that they can track your location, where you go, what you do and especially who you talk to," U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said.
ICE is buying Americans' private data from 'sleazy' brokers, Oregon senator warns
“That means that they can track your location, where you go, what you do and especially who you talk to," U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said.
www.oregonlive.com

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 8d
Quoted in this story about facial recognition technology misuse. www.nbcnews.com/tech/securit...
How ICE agents are using facial recognition technology to bring surveillance to the streets
Witnesses describe an expansion of biometric surveillance as immigration agents use facial scanning and photography to track targets and bystanders.
www.nbcnews.com

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 8d
They should just hire 404Media as the inspector general of government surveillance tech. It would be more efficient and more accurate.
jasonkoebler.bsky.social Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 8d
The inspector general is investigating whether ICE’s surveillance is legal. Even if this doesn’t result in any changes it will likely result in more details about how these systems work and that will hopefully be useful: www.404media.co/inspector-ge...
Inspector General Investigating Whether ICE's Surveillance Tech Breaks the Law
DHS's inspector general is probing ICE's biometric and surveillance programs.
www.404media.co

Reposted by Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

jasonkoebler.bsky.social
Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 8d
The inspector general is investigating whether ICE’s surveillance is legal. Even if this doesn’t result in any changes it will likely result in more details about how these systems work and that will hopefully be useful: www.404media.co/inspector-ge...
Inspector General Investigating Whether ICE's Surveillance Tech Breaks the Law
DHS's inspector general is probing ICE's biometric and surveillance programs.
www.404media.co

profferguson.bsky.social
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 9d
Facial recognition on the streets is bad.

Facial recognition that claims to identify people but can’t is worse.

Facial recognition that skipped over the limited privacy and accuracy protocols that you might hope for is our current reality.

www.wired.com/story/cbp-ic...
ICE and CBP’s Face-Recognition App Can’t Actually Verify Who People Are
ICE has used Mobile Fortify to identify immigrants and citizens alike over 100,000 times, by one estimate. It wasn't built to work like that—and only got approved after DHS abandoned its own privacy r...
www.wired.com