Summary: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expanding its online surveillance capabilities by investing $5.7 million in an AI-driven social media monitoring platform called Zignal Labs. This technology can analyze billions of public posts daily, potentially tracking individuals for deportation and chilling free speech. Civil liberties groups warn this represents a significant threat to democracy and privacy rights.
ICE’s New AI-Powered Social Media Surveillance
As ICE continues its raids across the United States, the agency is rapidly building an extensive online surveillance system. Federal records obtained by The Lever reveal that ICE has contracted Zignal Labs, an AI-powered social media monitoring platform, for $5.7 million. Will Owen, communications director at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), describes this move as an “assault” on democracy and free speech.
How Zignal Labs Technology Works
Zignal Labs offers a “real-time intelligence” platform capable of ingesting and analyzing vast amounts of publicly available data, including social media posts. According to a pamphlet shared by The Lever, the platform uses machine learning, computer vision, and optical character recognition to process over 8 billion posts daily in more than 100 languages. This data is sorted into “curated detection feeds” that ICE could use to flag individuals for deportation.
The technology can capture geolocated images and videos, providing alerts to operators. For example, Zignal Labs analyzed a Telegram video to identify the precise location of an ongoing operation in Gaza by recognizing emblems and patches, enabling real-time notifications. This means ICE could potentially trace someone’s location from a video posted on TikTok or a photo on Facebook.
The Broader Context of Social Media Surveillance
ICE acquired this contract through Carahsoft, a company that supplies IT solutions to government agencies. Zignal Labs has also worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US Secret Service, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Transportation. Despite outreach, Zignal Labs has yet to comment publicly on its contract with ICE.
Social media surveillance is not new. In 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union found police using a CIA-backed tool called Geofeedia to monitor police brutality protests across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. However, ICE’s substantial funding allows it to deploy advanced tools that could lead to widespread arrests and deportations.
Concerns from Civil Liberties Advocates
Will Owen warns, “With billions of dollars to spend on spyware, it’s extremely alarming to think how far ICE will go in surveilling social media. ICE is a lawless agency that will use AI-driven social media monitoring not only to terrorize immigrant families but also to target activists fighting back against their abuses. This is an assault on our democracy and right to free speech, powered by the algorithm and paid for with our tax dollars.” He adds, “The scale of this spying is matched by an equally massive chilling effect on free speech.”
ICE’s Expanding Surveillance Workforce
Earlier this month, Wired reported that ICE plans to hire nearly 30 workers to monitor content on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, and other platforms. Their goal is to “locate individuals who pose a danger to national security, public safety, and/or otherwise meet ICE’s law enforcement mission.” Documents indicate that some workers may need to investigate a target’s family, friends, or coworkers to determine their whereabouts. ICE intends to station about 12 contractors in Vermont and 16 staff members in California, with some required to be available at all times.
Government-Wide Social Media Monitoring Efforts
David Greene, civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, explains that automated and AI-powered tools enable the government to “monitor social media for viewpoints it doesn’t like on a scale that was never possible with human review alone,” leading to a chilling effect on free speech.
Beyond social media, 404 Media reports that ICE uses license plate-scanning cameras and tools that track millions of phones. The Trump administration’s surveillance initiatives extend beyond ICE; Citizenship and Immigration Services proposed requiring citizenship or residency applicants to provide social media handles. Since 2019, the State Department has required some visa applicants to list social media accounts, expanding this requirement in 2023.
The Impact on Free Speech and Privacy
The US government has started using AI to monitor social media posts that conflict with its viewpoints. In March, it launched a “Catch and Revoke” initiative targeting student visa holders posting content supporting Hamas or other designated terror groups. The State Department recently revoked visas of six individuals accused of “celebrating” the shooting of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk. ICE also arrested nine street vendors in New York City shortly after a conservative influencer tagged ICE in a post about the vendors.
With AI social media monitoring tools like Zignal Labs, ICE no longer needs influencers to flag individuals for deportation, making it increasingly risky to express opinions freely online.
What This Means for the Future
Sacha Haworth, executive director of the Tech Oversight Project, states, “This is another example of Big Tech CEOs partnering with an increasingly authoritarian federal government as part of Trump’s ongoing attempts to clamp down on free speech. This should terrify and anger every American.”
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