Sacramento’s power company and law enforcement agencies have been running an illegal mass surveillance scheme for years, using our power meters as home-mounted spies. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is seeking to end Sacramento’s dragnet surveillance of energy customers and have asked for a court order to stop this practice for good.
  • partial_accumen@lemmy.worldEnglish
    301·
    13 days ago

    This scheme has targeted Asian customers. SMUD analysts deemed one home suspicious because it was “4k [kWh], Asian,” and another suspicious because “multiple Asians have reported there.”

    So we know racist police officers appear to enforce the crime of “Driving while black”, but Sacramento has now expanded this to a new crime of “Asian while at home using air conditioning”.

    • WhyIHateTheInternet@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      13 days ago

      Which is dumb as hell because it’s hot as fuck here. I live here and regularly have my AC running nearly non-stop in the summer, as well as everyone else. I’m white so I guess I’m safe?? That’s so fucked up.

    • over_clox@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      13 days ago

      They’ve been doing this since at least 2012 here in the USA, to spot marijuana growing facilities.

      Tell me something new.