The legislative obsolescence of community control surveillance ordinances

In 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union launched a national initiative to introduce community input and oversight ordinances over governmental procurements of surveillance and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in cities across the United States. Community Control (or input) Over Police Surveillance ordinances have proven that a legislative focus on procurement leaves crucial holes in use and data commodification capacities by local law enforcement agencies, while a 2025 executive order has effectively nullified community input ordinances by making military and homeland security resources, including AI, available to law enforcement agencies to supress political dissent and conduct confrontational immigration raids. Though local budgetary and legislative efforts have been a focal point of abolitionist political organizing related to public safety over the last decade, the advancement of AI and its deployment for unconstitutional activities by multiple tiers of law enforcement agencies necessitates new ways of thinking about proactive dissent against rising authoritarianism.