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·
    6 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·
      6 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·
      6 days ago

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

      Tell me something new.

  • flandish@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    6 days ago

    also note those home monitoring devices that attach to your breakers and monitor the signatures of specific devices. nothing stopping a power meter from doing similar.

    • MysteriousSophon21@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      4 days ago

      This is called Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) and it can literally identify what appliances you’re using and when based on their electrical “fingerprints” - creepy af how much these “smart” meters can actually see into your home.