Rights Groups Urge Crack Down on US Prison Surveillance Technology

Dozens of rights groups are demanding a crackdown on an artificial intelligence system used to eavesdrop on U.S. prisoners’ phone calls, after a Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation highlighted the risk of rights violations.

Documents from eight states showed prison and jail authorities were using surveillance software called Verus, which scans for key words and leverages Amazon’s voice-to-text transcription service, to monitor prisoners’ phone calls.

California-based LEO Technologies, which operates Verus, says it has scanned close to 300 million minutes of calls going in and out of prisons and jails in the United States, describing the tool as a way to fight crime and help keep inmates safe.

But a coalition of civil and digital rights groups said the surveillance sometimes overstepped legal limits by targeting conversations unrelated to the safety and security of detention facilities, or possible criminal activity.

“This surveillance infringes the rights of incarcerated Americans, many of whom have not been convicted and are still working on their defenses, as well as those of their families, friends, and loved ones,” the groups wrote in a joint letter.

Four different letters were sent to the attorney general’s office in New York State, the state’s Inspector General and the federal Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ provided a $700,000 grant to the sheriff’s office in Suffolk County, New York, to implement a pilot of the AI-powered voice-to-text surveillance system in 2020.

Undersheriff Kevin Catalina, who helps run the Verus program in Suffolk, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the system is crucial for alerting jail authorities to people who are suicidal and to identify gang members behind bars.

“It saves lives,” he said.

A DOJ official said the department is reviewing technology programs receiving federal funding to ensure they are enhancing public safety while respecting constitutional rights.

A spokesperson for the New York State Inspector General’s Office said in emailed comments that they would review the letter and “thoroughly investigate” complaints that are sent in.

More than 50 advocacy groups are part of the campaign, among them the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Worth Rises, the Innocence Project, and Access Now.

They also raised concerns about the prison phone call company Securus, and the possible recording of conversations protected by attorney-client privilege.

A Securus spokesperson said the company is committed to protecting civil liberties, that users can set attorney numbers to private – meaning calls are not recorded and cannot be monitored – and that they act immediately to delete “inadvertent” recordings.

A representative for LEO did not respond to requests for comment on the letters.

“It seems like the regulators have been asleep at the switch at the federal, state and local level,” said Albert Fox Cahn, head of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, which helped draft the letter.

‘Unproven, invasive, and biased’

As Suffolk County was trialing Verus, it also expanded beyond New York, winning state contracts in Georgia and Texas, and in local sheriff’s departments across the United States.

The rights groups urged regulators to block further expansion of surveillance tools in prisons and jails, saying they have the potential to produce racial bias and undermine privacy rights, without any clear track record of success.

In their letter addressed to the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, the groups cited research showing voice-to-text tools have a much higher error rate for Black voices. Black people are disproportionately represented among U.S. prisoners.

“Even absent discrimination, Verus and similar technologies exceed prisons and jails’ lawful surveillance powers,” they wrote.

Documents obtained by the Thomson Reuters Foundation from the pilot site in Suffolk County showed Verus was used to analyze more than 2.5 million calls between its launch in April 2019 and May 2020 – leading to 96 “actionable intelligence reports.”

While Catalina did not specify how many prisoners had been disciplined or faced charges based on those leads, he said the tool had helped prevent 86 suicides.

The rights groups also raised concerns about mission creep, noting the technology had been used to identify conversations that could flag problems for prison or jail administrators – such as complaints about their response to COVID-19.

Catalina said the sheriff’s office reviews all its surveillance strategies on a monthly basis to make sure that their terms used in the Verus system are appropriate, and that it has never found any issues.

The surveillance of detainees’ phone calls is especially troubling in county jails, where people are frequently held before being convicted of any crime, said Bianca Tylek, executive director of criminal justice nonprofit Worth Rises.

“People who are innocent, (who) have the presumption of innocence, who cannot afford bail … should not be subjected to surveillance that no one else is,” said Tylek.

Besides infringing the privacy of incarcerated people and their relatives, AI-powered surveillance in prisons and jails could also lead to increases in the cost of phone calls for prisoners, rights campaigners fear.

The average 15-minute phone call from a jail already costs $5.74, according to a 2019 report from the Prison Policy Initiative, while 2015 research found more than a third of families reported getting into debt to pay for calls or visits.

Worth Rises, which has been pushing to reduce the cost of prison phone calls across the country, is urging state and local law enforcement to offer calls for free.

Emails between LEO and sheriff’s offices, which were obtained through public records requests, show use of LEO’s Verus system could cost as much as 8 cents per minute.

They also give a picture of how the company worked in tandem with law enforcement officials to raise funds – enlisting PR personnel, helping draft federal grant proposals, and making appeals to lawmakers.

In Suffolk County, the Sheriff’s office discussed plans to pass the cost onto prisoners themselves if grant funding ran out, the emails reveal.

The office said that while it had considered passing along the costs to prisoners, they ultimately decided not to.

Tylek said the federal government should not be funding pilots involving systems like Verus, warning that authorities rarely relinquish surveillance powers once they have been granted.

“It (becomes) almost impossible to pull it out,” she said.

Experts Urge US to Update Its Central Asia Strategy

washington — 

U.S. experts agree on the need for Washington to rethink its strategy for Central Asia in light of its withdrawal from Afghanistan but are divided on what shape that new strategy should take.

Until 2001, few Americans knew this remote region. But it played a key role in U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan hosting air bases and helping the coalition transport critical goods.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Lesslie Viguerie said Central Asia is still strategically important, despite the U.S. exit from Afghanistan. “Many things have changed over decades, but our overarching goals remain the same: sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,” Viguerie said.

Lesslie C. Viguerie, the U.S. State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for Central Asian and Pakistan Affairs.

At a recent U.S. Institute of Peace forum, Viguerie said the nations of Central Asia— which include Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — have become more concerned about their own security since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

As the State Department’s top official for the region, he said Washington steadfastly supports political, economic and social reforms.

“Pluralism and democratic governance are the foundational bedrock for a free and prosperous society,” he said. “We continue to advance the rule of law, promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and fight corruption.”

In 2015, Washington created the regionally focused C5+1 forum to discuss common challenges and “to enhance connectivity, economic integration and energy linkages.” That discussion included links with Afghanistan, but whether that continues will largely depend on the actions of the Taliban, officials said.

Viguerie said regional cooperation could help the five nations to deal more effectively with problems as diverse as the pandemic, climate change and disinformation campaigns.

“Recent events in Kazakhstan remind us of the importance of addressing the underlying social and economic factors that can lead to instability,” he said in reference to nationwide protests sparked by a sharp spike in fuel prices.

“We continue to highlight the positive role civil society can play in examining the root causes of economic and social frustrations.”

Mistaken presumption

Richard Hoagland, a former U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, said that while Washington speaks publicly about democracy and economic development, it is more quietly focused on countering Russian and Chinese influence in the region.

In the 1990s, Hoagland recalled, U.S. policy presumed that the nations of Central Asia “would surely become free market democracies if only we could offer enough assistance. But they didn’t. And in retrospect, that’s not the least bit surprising.”

The ways of the West were too foreign to Central Asians who had long lived under repressive rulers, Hoagland said.

Going forward, he said, these five countries will need to resist outside pressure in order to balance their relationships with Moscow, Beijing, Brussels and Washington. “Russia would not be at all displeased to see the West and especially the U.S. pack up its bags and go home.”

Leaders of five Central Asian states hold a virtual forum with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Jan. 25, 2022. (president.uz)

Beijing, the largest investor in the region, made further commitments during a virtual meeting last week between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the five Central Asian presidents. India showcased its own interest in investing in the region during a similar summit a day later.

Presidents of five Central Asian states hold a virtual summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jan. 27, 2022. (president.uz)

Hoagland argued that U.S. concerns over governance and human rights problems should not lead Washington to dial back its relations with the region.

“We need patience,” he said, noting the rise of a new generation in Central Asia, including some with Western education and values.

Jennifer Murtazashvili, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said U.S. strategy for the region does not take current realities into account.

“The U.S. can play a very constructive role in Central Asia but has to understand their needs, desires and goals,” she said at the USIP forum.

She urged Washington not to look at the region through the lens of Russia or China, saying, “We can’t be reactive to what other countries are doing, but proactive.”

Murtazashvili said U.S. engagement with the region should focus on the intersection between economic development and public administration, including efforts to combat corruption and work with emerging civil society. “Without reforms in these areas, it will be difficult for Central Asians to achieve their goals,” she said.

She considers education the biggest area of demand for cooperation with the U.S. because of youthful populations.

Security cooperation first

But Fred Starr, chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, contends that security cooperation should instead be front and center. “A discussion with the countries that honestly includes security, sovereignty, self-government and self-determination is what’s been missing,” he said.

Speaking at the same virtual forum, Starr said Central Asia is the only region in the world that doesn’t have its own intraregional organization without outsiders and urges Washington to support such initiatives.

“The C5+1 is thin. The concept is good, they have meetings, but it’s been very passive by comparison to what China and Russia are doing,” Starr said.

“We have to be more patient and tenacious with those who are underperforming in areas that are important to us,” he added. “Treat them as a region, treat them with respect, foster a regional thinking in our programs.”

Murtazashvili sees Afghanistan as a place with potential to foster positive relationships among Russia, China and the United States. Now that the geopolitical implications of a major foreign presence in Afghanistan no longer overshadow more immediate regional interests, she said, major powers could collaborate on development and investment opportunities in this part of the world.

Afghans wait for food rations from the World Food Program in Pul-e-Alam, Logar province. Afghanistan, Jan. 18, 2022. The Taliban’s sweep to power in August drove billions of dollars in international assistance out of the country.

“Having a Central Asian strategy that was so dependent on what happened in Afghanistan was a huge risk,” she said. “We weren’t seeing the strong mutual interests that many countries in Central Asia had with Afghanistan regardless of who is in power.”

Starr and Murtazashvili recommend the United States make Afghanistan part of a renewed strategy. “Central Asians are more confident in dealing with Afghanistan than we are,” said Murtazashvili, specifically referring to Uzbekistan’s humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan.

Values-based approach

Steve Swerdlow, professor of human rights at the University of Southern California, argues for a values-first strategy toward the region. In an interview with VOA, he said America’s reputation as a defender of human rights and democracy has been damaged in recent years but argued that the Afghan withdrawal frees up the U.S. to reclaim a more values-based approach to Central Asia.

“Washington should speak out more about the harassment of journalists and create greater recognition that support for civil society is a core national interest of the U.S.,” he said.

“Global Magnitsky sanctions against bad guys should be used more in Central Asia in a strategic way,” he added. “Go after corrupt individuals; curtail some of the globalized, offshore asset holdings by” a close circle of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Swerdlow said Washington should utilize the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations to raise human rights issues in Central Asia and negotiate with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as members of the U.N. Human Rights Council about their obligations.

Activists Urge Athletes to Speak Out at Beijing Olympics

BEIJING — 

Human rights activists issued a call to action against the Beijing Olympics on Friday, imploring athletes and sponsors to speak out against what they call the “genocide games.”

Speaking at an online press conference organized by the rights group Human Rights Watch, activists representing Chinese dissidents and the minority Uyghur and Tibetan populations urged international attendants to voice their opposition to China’s hosting of the Games, which begin next week.

“The 2022 Winter Olympics will be remembered as the genocide games,” said Teng Biao, a former human rights activist in China who is now a visiting professor at the University of Chicago.

In this image taken from video footage of an online press conference by Human Rights Watch on AP Video, Teng Biao, visiting professor at the University of Chicago, speaks about the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Jan. 28, 2022.

“The CCP’s purpose is to exactly turn the sports arena into a stage for political legitimacy and a tool to whitewash all those atrocities,” he added, referring to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

China’s crackdown under hardline ruler Xi Jinping has been felt across wide swaths of society. Hong Kong authorities crushed anti-government protests in the city in 2019, and the central government in Beijing passed a national security law aimed at stifling dissent, leading to the arrest of activists and disbandment of civil society groups.

Meanwhile, in the country’s western region of Xinjiang, an estimated 1 million people or more — most of them Uyghurs — have been confined in reeducation camps in recent years, according to researchers.

An independent, unofficial body set up by a prominent British barrister to assess evidence on China’s alleged rights abuses against the Uyghur people concluded in December that the Chinese government committed genocide. China has consistently denied any human rights abuses in the region and has said it carried out its actions to counter extremism in the region in order to ensure people’s safety.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has hit back at the rights group for its continued calls to boycott the Olympics, saying that “the so-called human rights group is biased against China and keen on making mischief. Lies and rumors it fabricated are unpopular. Its egregious acts that harm the Olympic cause will never succeed.”

The Foreign Ministry has also said the Olympics should not be politicized. Yet the competition is already facing a diplomatic boycott led by the U.S., whose relationship with China has nosedived in the past few years.

Activists have failed to achieve a full boycott of the games, but have continued to speak out.

FILE – Human right groups gather on the United Nations international Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, 2021, to call for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 in front of the Bank of China building in Taipei, Taiwan.

“Your silence is their strength. This is what they want more than anything: that the world will play by China’s rules, that we will follow China’s lead, that we will look away from these atrocities and crimes for the sake of business as usual,” said Lhadon Tethong, director of the Tibet Action Institute, at the press conference Friday.

She appealed directly to athletes from the U.S., UK, France and others to speak.

“I personally believe that you should use your platform and your privilege and this historic opportunity. You have to speak out against the wave of genocide,” she said.