The best Surveillance newsletters

A German-language newsletter from netzpolitik.org covering digital rights, surveillance, and internet regulation. Recent issues address AI-based video surveillance in Berlin, coalition plans on police and digital policy, and EU proposals for age verification online.

An Irish newsletter covering data policy, surveillance law, politics and media, written as sharp commentary on current events. Readers get close readings of legislation and critical analysis of how the Irish government and tech industry behave.

Le Pavé numérique is a French weekly newsletter covering technology news and digital culture, with a mix of commentary, investigative reporting on online extremism, and video-show summaries. Readers get a sharp, opinionated overview of tech stories and occasional in-depth special reports.

A weekly brief and monthly digital rights report on human rights developments in China, Hong Kong and Tibet, covering political prisoners, transnational repression, surveillance and censorship. Issues also include organizational updates and occasional Chinese-language editions.

HardPressed is an investigative newsletter that publishes documents obtained through public records requests and original reporting on law enforcement in the Seattle area. Recent issues cover a federal ATF intelligence center, state and federal responses to anti-ICE protests, and Microsoft's outreach to federal prosecutors on trafficking technology.

Micah Lee's newsletter covers security, privacy and open-weight AI tools, aimed at journalists, researchers and activists. Recent issues include critiques of OpenAI and Anthropic, a security analysis of Flock ALPR cameras, and coverage of the designation of the Italian hacker collective Autistici/Inventati.

Privacy Guides is a non-profit publication offering impartial reviews, guides and essays on digital privacy tools and surveillance issues. Its excerpts cover legal limits on data collection, privacy-respecting gaming and DRM, and secure whistleblowing platforms.

Zack Whittaker's weekly cybersecurity newsletter covers surveillance, sanctions, privacy and scams with news-driven write-ups and analysis. Readers get concise explanations of current security stories and practical advice on protecting themselves.

Interviews and commentary on US foreign policy, state surveillance, civil liberties, and Israel's war on Gaza, presented from a left, anti-establishment perspective. Issues pair guest conversations, often with investigative journalists, with promotion of host Chris Hedges' books and the reader-supported publication.

PUML is a left-leaning newsletter critiquing San Francisco's Democratic establishment, tech billionaires and their political networks, with a focus on surveillance, data centers and election endorsements. Each issue reads as an opinionated investigation into local politics and the influence of figures like Flock Safety, GrowSF and major donors.

A sharp, opinionated newsletter that examines AI from technical, social and economic angles, including critiques of enterprise model training, the economics of AI pricing and bubble risks. It also tracks surveillance and civil liberties issues, often drawing on history such as Orwell.

Touch Grass is an opinionated newsletter from the Fight for the Future team covering digital rights, surveillance, and internet freedom. Each issue pairs news hooks, such as India's takedown of the Bitchat messaging app and the US restrictions on Anthropic models, with a sharp argument about what they mean for online life.

Collapse Life publishes commentary on surveillance technology, economic and social instability, and cultural trends, along with a weekly news map and a podcast. It also offers practical resilience advice for readers who distrust mainstream narratives.

Techlore is a privacy and security newsletter tied to the Go Incognito course by Henry, covering course launches, promotions, and a weekly digest of surveillance and digital rights news such as proposed US website-blocking bills and government hacks. Readers get course updates alongside concise commentary and links on privacy policy.

Freedom Research is a consortium newsletter that curates news round-ups on digital identity, immigration, encryption, social media rules and free speech, with a clear skeptical stance toward state power. Each issue gathers a few stories from other outlets and adds commentary framed around individual liberties.

A subscription-supported independent newsletter that publishes critical investigations into surveillance technology, US intelligence history, and American imperialism. Readers get skeptical, long-form takes on how corporations and government agencies track people and intervene abroad.

Spectacles is a newsletter of video-essay scripts about democracy, surveillance and politics, such as police use of Flock license-plate cameras, drug policy in Portugal, and satire of politicians. Each issue mixes commentary with sponsor reads and clips from news coverage, so the original analysis is uneven.