DHS buys mass amounts of surveillance data culled from apps, cameras

The Department of Homeland Security has been buying surveillance data that comes in from Ring cameras, other surveillance cameras, phones, and apps. This data is commercially available for purchase from data brokers and "aggregated and analyzed by artificial intelligence," writes Anne Toomey McKenna for The Conversation.

The federal government, through partnerships with private tech companies, is increasing its ability to collect data just as mass surveillance becomes so ubiquitous that the public essentially expects to be surveilled while out in the streets, in their cars, in their homes, on their phones.

While there are "opt-out" options, they do not live up to the hype. The data is analyzed using AI to reveal "detailed, sensitive information" that is used to "predict and manipulate" how people behave, their purchases, and their emotional and mental state.

This was confirmed by FBI Director Kash Patel, who said in a March Senate hearing, "We do purchase commercially available information that’s consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and it has led to some valuable intelligence for us."

The government is not legally permitted to gather all that data themselves, but they can buy the data from that surveillance infrastructure and use it. In March, it was revealed through hacked information that DHS holds a $70 million contract with Cyber Apex Solutions. Cyber Apex Solutions is "focused on filling the security gaps of critical infrastructure in the United States of America."

Per Tech Crunch, DHS also has contracts worth "$59 million for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), which provides AI services for government agencies," and "Underwriters Laboratories [now UL Solutions] was awarded $29 million to provide testing, certification, and market intelligence to customers."

Science Applications International Corporation states on their website that they are "helping federal defense agencies break down silos, boost agility, and unify systems for smarter, faster mission outcomes." UL Solutions is a company engaged in ensuring product safety, testing and certification.

DHS, McKenna writes, "is reportedly funding companies that provide more AI-automated surveillance in airports; adapters to convert agents’ phones into biometric scanners; and an AI platform that acquires all 911 call center data to build geospatial heat maps to predict incident trends. Predicting incident trends can be a form of predictive policing, which uses data to anticipate where, when and how crime may occur."

This comes as the Trump administration has made a huge push in the field of AI. Data centers are springing up across the US even as residents complain of the noise, power drain, and land use. The Trump administration's National AI Legislative Framework states that the US "is committed to winning the AI race to usher in a new era of human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security for the American people."

It lays out six "key objectives," noting that "some Americans feel uncertain about how this transformative technology will affect issues they care about, like their children’s wellbeing or their monthly electricity bill."

Those six are: protecting children and empowering parents, safeguarding and strengthening American communities, respecting intellectual property rights and supporting creators, preventing censorship and protecting free speech, enabling innovation and ensuring American AI dominance, and educating Americans and developing an AI-ready workforce.