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Megan Graham

@megankgraham.bsky.social
232 followers 189 following 86 posts

Clinical Prof. + Director of the Technology Law Clinic at University of Iowa College of Law. Expect tech + public defense, general enthusiasm. Views are (likely) mine. she/her

PostsRepliesMedia
Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Excited to be back at @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social to celebrate the Samuelson Clinic’s 25th anniversary! @pamelasamuelson.bsky.social: “Texh lawyers don’t always know about technology when they start. But they know how to learn.” Thanks, Pam, for supporting so many of us as we learned to learn!
Picture of UC Berkeley’s Campanile building
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
New: Govt Fusion Centers are warning police about growing anger over Flock, are monitoring Instagram for anti-Flock posts, and are trying to tie the peaceful political backlash to Flock to the vandalism against them. Docs inside: www.404media.co/the-governme...
404media.co
The Government is Monitoring Anti-Flock TikTok and Instagram Accounts
Documents from law enforcement spy centers show the government is warning cops of "extensive and ongoing chatter on social media" about methods to "physically destroy Flock LPR cameras."
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Minnesota Star Tribune @startribune.com · 20/07/2026
Some police departments in the Twin Cities suburbs left Flock camera data accessible to far-flung law enforcement agencies. Those agencies searched the data for immigration purposes at the height of last winter’s brutal federal crackdown.
startribune.com
Police searched Twin Cities license plate cameras for immigration enforcement during ICE surge
Federal agencies were able to access the typically confidential data through partnerships with law enforcement around the country.
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Zoe Tillman @zoetillman.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Fun fact: If you ever find yourself thinking, "wow there sure are a lot of federal court rulings today," the odds are decent that the day is March 31 or September 30 www.uscourts.gov/data-news/re...
uscourts.gov
Civil Justice Reform Act Report
Gives data for civil cases in the district courts, by judicial officer, on motions pending more than six months, bench trials submitted more than six months, civil cases pending more than three years,...
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Inbox: Trump is announcing the new PCAST membership. It is dominated by CEOs and includes only one academic scientist, John Martinis.
Marc Andreessen
Sergey Brin
Safra Catz
Michael Dell
Jacob DeWitte
Fred Ehrsam
Larry Ellison
David Friedberg
Jensen Huang
John Martinis
Bob Mumgaard
Lisa Su
Mark Zuckerberg
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
😇 (Please and thank you!)
media.tenor.com
a man in a suit and tie is sitting at a desk
Alt: Stephen Colbert saying "Give it to me now" during a Colbert Report episode.
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Jennifer Urban @jenniferurban.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Pleased to share my essay on the role of state privacy law with Cal. law & its Cal. Privacy Protection Agency as a central example. State protections are always important; today they are a critical bulwark against federal overreach. Many thanks, Yale J. Law Tech team! yjolt.org/governing-da...
yjolt.org
Governing Data: The Role of State Privacy Law | Yale Journal of Law & Technology
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Louise Seamster @louiseseamster.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
“Ambient AI listening in the hospital” what could go wrong
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
I'd be interested!
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
The case is still sealed on ECF, but: bsky.app/profile/jake...
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Law school and university "leaders must realize that attempting to appease hostile powers will never buy permanent security, and that caving under political pressure will only undermine their institutions rather than save them." Well said, @gshans.bsky.social! ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...
ballsandstrikes.org
A Law School Dean Signed a Brief Defending Trans Rights. She Lost Her Job Because of It
The revocation of Emily Suski’s job offer at the University of Arkansas sends a chilling message to law professors everywhere.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
The response is also 👀 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Portion of Bruce Fein's Response to Motion to Strike Appearance. It says:

"Counsel does not dispute Mr. Pollack’s declaration or question the accuracy or good faith of his representations to the Court. Counsel makes no allegation of misrepresentation, improper motive, or professional misconduct by Mr. Pollack. Counsel fully accepts that Mr. Pollack has represented to the Court that, as of January 8, 2026, he believes President Maduro has not authorized Counsel to appear on his behalf.

Counsel sought admission and entered an appearance in good faith based upon information received from individuals credibly situated within President Maduro’s inner circle or family indicating that President Maduro had expressed a desire for Counsel’s assistance in this matter. Counsel offers this information not as a factual contradiction of Mr. Pollack’s declaration, but solely to explain the basis for Counsel’s good-faith belief that an appearance was warranted to protect the Defendant’s right to counsel of choice and to ensure that the Court, not interested parties, definitively determines the Defendant’s wishes regarding representation.

Counsel does not request the Court to adjudicate any dispute regarding the reliability or provenance of communications with President Maduro. Instead, Counsel moves the Court to conduct and in camera inquiry to definitively ascertain President Maduro’s representation wishes.

Counsel has had no telephone, video, or other direct contact with President Maduro. Counsel respectfully notes, however, that President Maduro was apprehended under extraordinary, startling, and viperlike circumstances, including deprivation of liberty, custodial restrictions on communications, and immediate immersion in a foreign criminal process in a foreign tongue, fraught with the potential for misunderstandings or miscommunications."
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
For what it's worth, the best gift I gave myself this year was becoming a paid subscriber to @404media.co. The team there is doing incredible journalism on a host of tech/surveillance/privacy/etc. topics. If you're interested in these topics or work on them in any way, it's an invaluable resource.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
🫂 and 🥪
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
To be clear, I am a fan of government transparency and we should have more of it than we do. The people deserve to know what the government is doing. But asserting that the courts and Congress are part of the Executive Branch is not how to get the info. That's an argument for totalitarianism.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
I really recommend folks read the opinion. It talks about the importance of the separation of powers and sketches out the history of how we got and why we have a Judicial Conference and an Administrative Office of the Courts. It explains the need and importance of each.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Today, we got an order in the case against the Judicial Conference and Administrative Office. I'm happy to say that (unsurprisingly) the court held that the Judicial Branch is not part of the Executive Branch. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
#27 in AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. ROBERTS (D.D.C., 1:25-cv-01232) – CourtListener.com
MEMORANDUM OPINION granting 14 Motion to Dismiss See attached Opinion for details. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 12/18/2025. (lctnm1). Modified year on 12/18/2025 (hmc). (Entered: 12/18/2025)
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
The cases are odd because FOIA only covers "agencies," which is defined in 5 USC § 551 and 5 USC 552(f)(1). It doesn't even cover the entire Executive Branch, though it does cover most of it. And regardless, Congress and the courts are explicitly outside the definition.
Image displaying 5 U.S.C. § 551(1), which says: "§ 551. Definitions. For the purpose of this subchapter

(1) "agency" means each authority of the Government of the United States, whether or not it is within or subject to review by another agency, but does not include

(A) the Congress;

(B) the courts of the United States;

(C) the governments of the territories or possessions of the United States;

(D) the government of the District of Columbia;

or except as to the requirements of section 552 of this title

(E) agencies composed of representatives of the parties or of representatives of organizations of the parties to the disputes determined by them;

(F) courts martial and military commissions;

(G) military authority exercised in the field in time of war or in occupied territory; or

(H) functions conferred by sections 1738, 1739, 1743, and 1744 of title 12; subchapter II of chapter 471 of title 49; or sections 1884, 1891–1902, and former section 1641(b)(2), of title 50, appendix."Image of 5 USC § 552(f)(1), which says, "(f) For purposes of this section, the term

(1) "agency" as defined in section 551(1) of this title includes any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including the Executive Office of the President), or any independent regulatory agency."
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
I've been following a pair of odd FOIA cases in D.D.C. brought by America First Legal. The cases argue that the Government Accountability Office (which is part of Congress) and the Judicial Conference and Administrative Office for the Courts (which are in the Judicial Branch) are subject to FOIA.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
It wouldn't have been possible without the students' tireless and hard work. I'm so proud of them and grateful for all they did this semester!
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Automated license plate readers present a host of concerns about pervasive surveillance and drivers' privacy rights. But the issues are also complicated. We hope this report helps break things down so Iowans can better understand what is happening in their communities.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
In the search logs we could locate, law enforcement justified searches by writing things like "sus," "suspicious activity," "terrorism," "snitch," "unwanted person," "Romanian scammers," and "Operation Homeless Intel," among others.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Between Nov. 7 and Dec. 8, those 19 jurisdictions alone have detected/taken pictures of more than 4.2 million vehicles.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
In our research, we identified 19 public transparency portals from agencies in Iowa that have Flock cameras. Over the last month, those 19 agencies have shared their ALPR data with 62 agencies in Iowa alone. They've shared their data with dozens of agencies outside the state too.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Of the agencies that responded to our request, Cedar Rapids has the largest number of ALPR cameras with 76. West Des Moines has 64 cameras. Clinton County has 58.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Flock Safety is the largest vendor of ALPRs (at least to government agencies) in the state. They sell ALPRs to 27 of the agencies we surveyed. Axon has contracted with 7 of the agencies and Motorola with another 4.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Most of the agencies we sent requests to shared information with us, though a small group did not. And we learned a ton from what was disclosed.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
The students requested records about automated license plate readers from 48 agencies across Iowa. Cities, towns, counties, rural areas. They wanted to get a better sense of what is happening on the ground across the state.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
I am so incredibly proud of the work my students did on this @acluofiowa.bsky.social report about automated license plate readers in Iowa. www.aclu-ia.org/publications...
aclu-ia.org
Automatic License Plate Reader Report Raises Concerns About Expansion of Government Surveillance in Iowa - ACLU of Iowa
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Free Law Project ⚖ @free.law · 02/12/2025
We are launching a Justice Initiatives Division within Free Law Project focused on turning open law into real-world impact. Our goal is to fill the voids in the legal system that lead to gaps in fair justice. This is a big one. 🧵 free.law/2025/12/01/j...
free.law
Announcing Free Law Project's Justice Initiatives Division
Free Law Project is launching a new division—Justice Initiatives—to bring together our advocacy, partnerships, and technology development under one mission: transforming how people experience the lega...
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
@chrisgeidner.bsky.social pulled the key parts of the opinion from earlier this week out.
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dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
NEW: DHS secretly obtained Chicago police data on 900 residents accused of gang ties. It was quietly deleted after intelligence officers violated rules against domestic spying. The handoff came well after city inspectors formally announced CPD's gang data was deeply flawed and infected w/ bias.
wired.com
DHS Kept Chicago Police Records for Months in Violation of Domestic Espionage Rules
The Department of Homeland Security collected data on Chicago residents accused of gang ties to test if police files could feed an FBI watchlist. Months passed before anyone noticed it wasn’t deleted.
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Elizabeth Joh @elizabethjoh.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
I don’t know, man. Why are we baking this into legal practice like we’ve established it’s better than the world we have now
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
"[T]he innocence of basic questions around criminal propensity is only skin deep." Sitting with @cbo.bsky.social's excellent reflections on the legacy of the "Crime Gene Conference" this morning. I encourage you to do the same. undark.org/2025/10/16/o...
undark.org
Reflecting on the ‘Crime Gene’ Conference, 30 Years Later
Opinion | The missteps made by a controversial 1995 conference on genetics and criminal behavior remain unaddressed today.
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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 01/10/2025
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
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Adam Rose @adamrose.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
FAA has issued MASSIVE temporary flight restriction which prohibits drones (i.e., photography) over Chicago. They did similar around federal buildings in Los Angeles since June protests, but really no comparison... Chicago's TFR covers 900x more area than ones in LA! 🧵👇 tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=d...
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
The fall semester is officially underway! We are kicking off with clinic orientation today and I'm so excited for the group we have and the work they're going to do!
media.tenor.com
a man is riding a segway in an office with the words welcome aboard below him
ALT: a man is riding a segway in an office with the words welcome aboard below him
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Excited to announce an upcoming event w @nyuengelberg.org! My first back at @nyulaw.bsky.social! "Fixing a Broken System: The Path to Public Pharma in New York" 5:30-7 pm Thur Sep. 25, 2025 @ NYU Co-hosted w T1International & @racepowerpolicy.org! Zoom & IRL, free & open to all! Join us!
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
We just translated a wave of our ICE coverage into Spanish. No paywall, no email signup necessary. From leaks about Palantir's work with ICE to ICE's new facial recognition app, we think there is a massive public interest in this info. Read why and support us here: www.404media.co/were-publish...
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
ICYMI: Last week, I had a great conversation on @pdefenselesspod.bsky.social about the work the Technology Law Clinic is doing at Iowa Law and how tech lawyers can collaborate with public defenders to amplify expertise. Check it out!
open.spotify.com
375 | The Law Clinic Helping Public Defenders Fight Back Against New Police Technology w/Megan Graham
Public Defenseless · Episode
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Elizabeth Joh @elizabethjoh.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
I’m not the only one, for sure, but it’s wild to see the question I asked myself 15 years ago—“what’s the worst thing they could do with tech-charged surveillance”—unfold in real time
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Thanks! There are a bunch of resources out there, but a few articles/sites that may help you get started: www.404media.co/the-open-sou...; deflock.me; www.nacdl.org/getattachmen...; www.nacdl.org/Media/ALPRs-4A
404media.co
The Open Source Project DeFlock Is Mapping License Plate Surveillance Cameras All Over the World
DeFlock has mapped the locations of more than a thousand ALPRs around the United States and thousands more around the world.
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Public Defenseless Podcast @pdefenselesspod.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Today, I spoke with Iowa Clinical Law Professor @megankgraham.bsky.social At her clinic, Megan works with Public Defender offices to identify and challenge a wide array of new technologies police and prosecutors are using in the criminal legal system. open.spotify.com/episode/4tzm...
open.spotify.com
375 | The Law Clinic Helping Public Defenders Fight Back Against New Police Technology w/Megan Graham
Public Defenseless · Episode
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
I had a very fun conversation on @pdefenselesspod.bsky.social about the Iowa Tech Law Clinic's work, emerging policing tech, and trying to support public defenders' work when you're not a line defender. Check it out!
podcasts.apple.com
375 | The Law Clinic Helping Public Defenders Fight Back Against New Police Technology w/Megan Graham
Podcast Episode · Public Defenseless · 07/15/2025 · 1h 6m
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logan koepke @jlkoepke.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Meta's datacenter project in NE Louisiana, now called Hyperion, could take between 2 to 5 gigawatts of electricity. "To get a sense of the scale we’re talking about, a new, large nuclear reactor has about a gigawatt of capacity." heatmap.news/sparks/meta-...
heatmap.news
Meta’s AI Buildout Will Require More Than 2 Gigawatts of New Gas-Fired Electricity — At Least
CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the company’s expanding ambitions in a Threads post on Monday.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
I’m going to be very honest and clear. I am fully preparing myself to die under this new American regime. That’s not to say that it’s the end of the world. It isn’t. But I am almost 50 years old. It will take so long to do anything with this mess that this is the new normal for *me*.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Putting out there that among many other messes, the current legislative budget bill cuts GAO's budget by 48%. GAO folks are wonky public service nerds who conduct actual oversight, identify inefficiencies, and make the government work better. If you've got time to call your electeds, please do!
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 19/06/2025
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
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Megan Graham @megankgraham.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Very cool sounding job opening at @legaldefensefund.bsky.social for a Justice in Public Safety Project Counsel! Surveillance tech + law enforcement policy + racial justice + a bunch of other good work thrown in. They're looking for someone with 5+ years experience. www.naacpldf.org/about-us/car...
naacpldf.org
Justice in Public Safety Project Counsel
The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the country’s first and foremost civil and human rights law organization. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, who subsequently became the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, LDF was launched at a time when the nation’s aspirations for equality and due process […]
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Jennifer Raff @jenniferraff.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
I am sitting in a public library working on a grant, and a grandmotherly woman is patiently teaching a small boy how to read at the table next to me. Another woman is knitting nearby. The children’s section is packed with kids. Things in my country are bleak, but libraries are where I find hope. ❤️
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