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Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

texasobserver.org

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Re: Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

#111

Post by HNisCIS »

OGEnthusiast wrote: post #28
therobots927 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You get it. I’m also concerned that we’re past the point of no return.

We're already past the point of no return IMO. It's why people are having fewer kids.

I personally don't think we are, a few hundred people were able to storm the capital, many were eventually arrested but if they had more numbers and pressed a coup wasn't off the table. The issue is the level of needed "right time, right place" is increasing and Americans are too comfortable right now to take the risks necessary.

Re: Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

#112

Post by HNisCIS »

reactordev wrote: post #41
HNisCIS wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah seems like that's quite explicitly the goal. The question is, what means or method are they trying to hide and is it hyper illegal or just something they don't want to be pubic knowledge?

Both. It’s both hyper illegal and they don’t want you to know how they do it. It’s Pegasus 2.0

Thinking on it, I suspect it's a case of a larger number of smaller techniques. Cops aren't very good at keeping secrets so it can't be something that is widely pervasive, but every department has their stupid little trick

Re: Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

#113

Post by uselesswords »

ninkendo wrote: post #102
john-h-k wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The increasing fraction of “zingy catchphrase” HN comments compared to actually nuanced takes is depressing. Feels like a horrible mix of Reddit and tumblr

Yeah we’re not supposed to talk about how “HN is turning into Reddit”, but it already has. For years now. A typical comment here has been indistinguishable from a typical Reddit comment for many years, with the exception that humor is a lot less common here (although even that has changed a ton.) The argument is that “HN is turning into Reddit” has been said since the beginning of HN… but that doesn’t make it wrong.…

Its the inevitable result when you allow politics to enter a forum. It used to be posts that were overtly political were considered off-topic, but that has become more normalized. Hell ignoring this post, the top story right now is "American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis" which is just another political post masquerading. I wish we would just ban politics or maybe find a middle-ground like allowing overtly political posts one day a week. It's probably too late to save HN though, the community has already normalized these posts.

Re: Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

#114

Post by [deleted] »

greyface- wrote: post #77
mulmen wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Such consequences will never come from the state. Seattle’s consent decree directly contradicts this. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-returns-fu...

The idea that the SPD consent decree constituted "severe consequences", or was successful at all, is a joke. https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2026/01/video-cops-rallie...

[deleted]

Re: Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

#115

Post by esseph »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #104
esseph wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incorrect, that would be the: https://tmd.texas.gov/state-guard ;) they are NOT the National Guard. They are the militia of Texas. (Texas State Guard aka TXSG). Subordinate to the state gov, only. However TX considers it more complicated than that: The Organized Militia: Consisting of the Texas Army National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, and the Texas State Guard. The Unorganized Militia: This consists of all…

Pretty sure we used the same link and you’re explaining it as though I’m wrong Smdh

Yours goes to the Texas Army National Guard page.

Mine goes to the TXSG (Texas State Guard)

Re: Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

#116

Post by [deleted] »

uselesswords wrote: post #113
ninkendo wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah we’re not supposed to talk about how “HN is turning into Reddit”, but it already has. For years now. A typical comment here has been indistinguishable from a typical Reddit comment for many years, with the exception that humor is a lot less common here (although even that has changed a ton.) The argument is that “HN is turning into Reddit” has been said since the beginning of HN… but that doesn’t make it wrong.…

Its the inevitable result when you allow politics to enter a forum. It used to be posts that were overtly political were considered off-topic, but that has become more normalized. Hell ignoring this post, the top story right now is "American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis" which is just another political post masquerading. I wish we would just ban politics or maybe find a middle-groun…

[deleted]

Re: Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

#117

Post by potato3732842 »

plagiarist wrote: post #72
potato3732842 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> where are the well regulated militias? They keep getting arrested because some fed informants show up and convince them to kidnap a governor of whatever before they can become "Well regulated".

This is really strong passive voice. I have to wonder if they were actually on track towards the "well regulated" part if some feds were able to convince them to kidnap a governor.

It was mostly a joke, since these sorts of groups have always, like going back 40+yr, been magnets for law enforcement who always seem to push them to do illegal things.

Second, the incident I'm referencing is well documented. You should look it up. It's basically the "feds radicalize then arrest muslim man, pat themselves on back for catching terrorist" playbook but for white people.

Re: Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

#118

Post by potato3732842 »

antidamage wrote: post #49
topspin wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why are they comfortable saying this? They receive recognition for the results. Phone data was used in a large fraction of the cases against rioters in the 2021 capital attack. The Powers That Be were grateful that law enforcement were able to use phone data to either initially identify attackers or corroborate other evidence, and ultimately put people in prison. The justice system makes cases with this every day,…

I don't like being devil's advocate on this because I am strongly against the invasion of privacy at that point in the investigation, but without that data, they'd just take a bit longer to have identified the members of the insurrection. There's varying degrees of data you can glean from cellular networks as well, right down to "it was definitely this person, the phone logs show a FaceID unlock at X time" and that a…

>they'd just take a bit longer to have identified the members of the insurrection

They'd have had to enjoin more parties, probably to include state agencies. Any party can push back, stall or blow the whistle if they feel something wrong and risky to them is happening. Which is exactly the opposite of what the feds want. They want to act unilaterally, on anything and everything.

Re: Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

#119

Post by potato3732842 »

Terr_ wrote: post #90
15155 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Constitution explicitly states the government may grant "Letters of Marque and Reprisal" to private citizens. What are those private citizens attacking enemy ships with exactly - strong words?

Was... was that nonsense supposed to be some kind of "gotcha"? Giving the federal government the option to deputize individuals as international agents does not even remotely suggest that States were agreeing to completely abolish all their local gun-laws for all time. That's like claiming the permission to establish a national postal service somehow bars States from having DUI laws, because any drunkard could maybe…

The point is that they implicitly expect private entities/individuals to be able to own and deploy "go toe to toe with the the state equivilent" quality units (though I don't think they expected the same quantity at that quality).

Re: Texas police invested in phone-tracking software and won’t say how it’s used

#120

Post by antidamage »

potato3732842 wrote: post #118
antidamage wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't like being devil's advocate on this because I am strongly against the invasion of privacy at that point in the investigation, but without that data, they'd just take a bit longer to have identified the members of the insurrection. There's varying degrees of data you can glean from cellular networks as well, right down to "it was definitely this person, the phone logs show a FaceID unlock at X time" and that a…

>they'd just take a bit longer to have identified the members of the insurrection They'd have had to enjoin more parties, probably to include state agencies. Any party can push back, stall or blow the whistle if they feel something wrong and risky to them is happening. Which is exactly the opposite of what the feds want. They want to act unilaterally, on anything and everything.

Without getting too political, the US is observably turning agencies over to their own people for exactly reasons like this, the feared "deep state".

I suspect we're about to see all kinds of abuses of information in the US.

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