DHS Funds Surveillance Technology in US Cities, Report Says

Technology companies including Microsoft Corp., Motorola Solutions Inc. and Palantir Technologies Inc. have sold tens of millions of dollars in surveillance equipment to local authorities using Department of Homeland Security grants, according to a new report by a coalition of advocacy groups.

Much of the funding goes to products that hoover up data on citizens, such as social media monitoring software, as well as gunshot detection technology that utilizes microphones installed in urban areas.

“This is a funding stream that supercharges surveillance and policing, and does it in a way that bypasses traditional oversight processes that we have,” said ...