Author Archive

Sidney Fussell

Staff Writer

Sidney Fussell is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covers technology.
Science & Tech

The Endless Aerial Surveillance of the Border

New reports suggest that drone activity at the southern border is spreading to nearby cities, erasing the line between police procedures and immigration enforcement.

  • Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic
Ideas

Why Hong Kong Protesters Are Sawing Down Sensor-Laden Lampposts

The government confirms that the hardware could spy on citizens, but says protesters’ fears are unfounded.

  • Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic
Ideas

ICE and the Ever-Widening Surveillance Dragnet

ICE agents have used facial-recognition technology on state driver’s-license photos, turning a public database into a de facto criminal database.

  • Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic
Ideas

The CBP Theft Is Exactly What Privacy Experts Said Would Happen

The more information the government collects, the more attractive that information is to bad actors.

  • Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic
Science & Tech

The Push to ‘Predict’ Police Shootings

Tracking officers’ stress exposure and body-camera practices could help keep them from pulling the trigger.

  • Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic
Ideas

Kentucky Is Turning to Drones to Fix Its Unsolved-Murder Crisis

Only 52 percent of the state’s homicides result in an arrest when the victim is black. Could automating police work help?

  • Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic
Science & Tech

Police-Grade Surveillance Technology Comes to the Playground

After Parkland, schools are installing gunshot-detection systems typically used in cities like Oakland and Chicago. But are they worth the expense?

  • Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic