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.