| This message comes from Esra’a Al Shafei — Mozilla Fellow and founder of Surveillance Watch, an interactive map and database revealing the hidden connections within the opaque surveillance industry. In this special explainer below, Esra’a unpacks how tools like ShadowDragon’s SocialNet quietly collect and weaponize our personal data. We hope you’ll take a moment to read her insights — and then join us in calling on major websites and services to stop enabling this kind of surveillance. |
Hello, What happens when a surveillance company connects all the little data points you leave across the internet — from neighborhood chats to travel reviews, job history to dating profiles? You get a tool like ShadowDragon’s SocialNet. This surveillance technology pulls seemingly harmless data from hundreds of sites — like Instagram, Etsy, LinkedIn, Duolingo, and Tinder. Harmless posts become the building blocks of invasive profiles. They can reveal who you know, what you care about, even where you live and work. ShadowDragon then sells this tool to law enforcement and government agencies. It gives them powerful investigative powers — built entirely from personal data people never thought could be weaponized.1 That’s why the Mozilla community is taking action. We're confronting both ShadowDragon and the companies whose data helps fuel this invasive surveillance system. Will you add your name to demand that 30 widely-used websites — including Instagram, Etsy, LinkedIn, Tinder, and Duolingo — stop allowing our data to be mined? Together, we can win this fight for privacy and protect the right to live and speak freely online. | Your online activity may seem harmless in isolation — but when data from different websites is combined, it can expose your identity, movements, relationships, and beliefs. Here’s what that might look like: - Google + TripAdvisor + Yelp: Reviews you leave or places you search for can reveal patterns — like where you live, work, or travel regularly — even if you never post that information directly.
- Duolingo + LinkedIn + Glassdoor: In some regions, surveillance tools can combine language learning activity on Duolingo with job history to make assumptions about someone’s background or immigration status.
- BabyCenter + Nextdoor: If you post in parenting or neighborhood groups, it could reveal if you are pregnant or have children, where your family is, or what your home life is like.
- Reddit + Substack + Twitter + Bluesky + Facebook/Instagram: What you post, comment on, or follow online can show what you believe in — and that information can be used to target you.
- GoFundMe: Fundraisers for medical bills, legal aid, or immigration fees can signal personal vulnerability — especially for undocumented individuals, refugees, or activists living under discriminatory policies or surveillance.
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No single platform gives it all away. But tools like SocialNet don’t need full access to your inbox to figure out where you live, who you love, or what you believe. All they need is access to massive amounts of public data — and the power to connect the dots. Surveillance tech like this causes real, lasting harm — when scraped data is used to detain and deport immigrants, silence activists, and punish people simply for who they are or what they believe. The 30 websites and services named in this campaign — including Instagram, Etsy, LinkedIn, Tinder, and Duolingo — were publicly identified in a recent 404 Media investigation, revealing that ShadowDragon’s SocialNet is actively scraping data from each of them to power its surveillance system.2 These companies have a responsibility to do everything in their power to protect the people who use their services. We shouldn’t have to use the internet in fear of being profiled, tracked, or targeted just for going about our lives online. This is our data, our conversations, our lives. And we refuse to let them be used against us. Add your name now to demand that these 30 websites and services take urgent action: Block surveillance tools like ShadowDragon, increase transparency and strengthen privacy protections. Thanks for being part of this, and for helping create a safer, more privacy-respecting internet for everyone. 
Esra’a Al Shafei
Senior Fellow
Mozilla
More Information: 1. 404 Media: The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring. 12 March 2025. 2. Ibid. |
