Victory! Pen-Link's Police Tools Are Not Secret

September 3, 2025 • 07:46

In a significant win for transparency, government surveillance contractor Pen-Link has settled a public records lawsuit brought by the EFF, agreeing to disclose the pricing and descriptions of surveillance tools sold to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office. The records revealed the department’s $180,000 purchase of the ‘Tangles’ web intelligence platform, a tool for monitoring online activity. Pen-Link had attempted to block the release by claiming the information constituted trade secrets, an argument the EFF countered by demonstrating the information was already publicly available. The case highlights a growing trend of corporations using ‘reverse-public records act’ lawsuits to shield their government contracts from public scrutiny, undermining accountability and the public’s right to know what surveillance technologies their local police are deploying.

Read the article at EFF