Minnesota Operation Safety Net

Minnesota Operation Safety Net (OSN) is a multi-agency task force consisting of US federal, state, and local police. 

Announced in February 2021, the OSN  was set up ostensibly to maintain public order during the trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd.

Risks and harms 🛑

Minnesota Operation Safety Net has been accused of enabling the excessive use of force by law enforcement, infringing on the rights of peaceful protesters, and exacerbing tensions between communities and authorities.

A Technology Review investigation revealed US law enforcement agencies had been monitoring journalists and activists involved in protests in Minnesota following the murder of George Floyd and the trial of Derek Chauvin under the guise of government surveillance programme Operation Safety Net (OSN). 

Announced in February 2021 as an attempt to ensure public safety during what was likely to be a volatile and potentially explosive environment surrounding the trial, the investigation revealed the initiative went way beyond its publicly announced scope to include the widespread use of tools to monitor social media, track cell phones, and collect detailed images of people’s faces. 

The three-part series details how OSN continued to monitor and gather data on activists and journalists, including people not suspected of committing a crime, almost a year after it had supposedly shut down once Chauvin's trial had ended and the verdict had been announced in April 2021.

Minnesota officials denied that OSN continues. However, the Technology Review discovered presentations, emails and other intelligence indicated otherwise under the name OSN 2.0. 

While the demonstrations in Minneapolis during the trial were largely peaceful, OSN faced significant criticism from civil rights groups and prominent national and local politicians regarding what they saw as the quasi-militaristic nature of its response. 

Investigations, assessments, audits 🧐

• https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/03/03/1046676/police-surveillance-minnesota-george-floyd/

• https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/03/17/1047413/secret-police-surveillance-protesters-george-floyd-operation-safety-net/

• https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/03/23/1047899/secret-police-app-minnesota-police-journalists-protests-data/

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://twitter.com/ilhanmn/status/1383568440116486144

• https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/profile/news/15535/31739

• https://takeactionminnesota.org/statement-community-organizations-call-on-walz-frey-carter-and-hutchinson-to-stop-operation-safety-net-immediately/

• https://www.npr.org/sections/trial-over-killing-of-george-floyd/2021/04/21/989446758/doj-to-investigate-minneapolis-police-for-possible-patterns-of-excessive-force

• https://alphanews.org/stanek-hits-walz-for-alleged-secret-spying-effort-detailed-in-mit-report/

• https://www.techdirt.com/tag/operation-safety-net/

• https://slate.com/podcasts/what-next-tbd/2022/03/how-minnesota-spied-on-protesters

• https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/332354-report-minnesota-secretly-runs-a-surveillance-program-to-track-activists-and-journalists

• https://www.minnpost.com/minnpost-picks/2022/03/minnpost-picks-on-police-surveillance-in-the-twin-cities-basic-income-for-violence-prevention-and-blink-182s-accent/

• https://truthout.org/articles/investigation-shows-police-are-still-secretly-surveilling-minnesota-activists/

• https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/operation-safety-net-success-or-nightmare/

• https://www.heise.de/hintergrund/Wie-eine-Polizei-App-in-den-USA-Daten-von-Aktivisten-und-Journalisten-sammelt-6625150.html

• https://www.heise.de/hintergrund/Operation-Safety-Net-Wie-die-US-Polizei-Aktivisten-ueberwachte-6606888.html