## CBP's Surveillance Tower Proposal Sparks Privacy Debate in San Clemente The **Customs and Border Protection (CBP)** is facing pushback over its proposal to install an **Anduril Industries** surveillance tower in San Clemente, California. The tower, a **Sentry** model from Anduril's Autonomous Surveillance Tower (**AST**) program, is intended to monitor the coastline for illegal maritime activity. However, its location 1.5 miles inland raises concerns about the potential for widespread surveillance of the city's 62,000 residents.  ### Technology and Capabilities According to CBP documentation, the **AST** system utilizes advanced computer vision algorithms to autonomously detect, identify, and track items of interest. It can differentiate between humans, animals, and vehicles without human intervention, transmitting alerts with location and images to operators. With a potential range of up to nine miles, the camera could cover the entire city and potentially reach neighboring Dana Point. ### Privacy Concerns and Data Retention Residents and organizations like **Oakland Privacy** are voicing strong opposition to the tower, citing concerns about privacy violations and the militarization of the border region extending further inland. City officials have also expressed concerns, suggesting a prohibition on surveilling neighborhoods in the lease agreement. However, CBP rejected this proposal, stating that while they would configure the tower to "avoid" scanning residential areas, they would maintain the capability to track individuals in those areas during active smuggling events. The data collected by the **Anduril** towers, including images, is a major point of contention. While CBP initially suggested a 30-day retention period, documents also indicate that data will be held indefinitely for algorithm training. This raises concerns about taxpayers funding the collection of their own data for commercial purposes. The **Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)** filed a Freedom of Information Act (**FOIA**) request with **National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)**, but NARA stated that there were no records of these discussions.  The proposed Anduril surveillance tower. Source: City of San Clemente ### Precedent and Expansion This isn't the first instance of CBP deploying surveillance towers along the California coast. Towers have already been identified in Del Mar and San Diego County. CBP has also applied to install towers in other coastal locations. The **Migrant Rights Network** has documented similar **Anduril** towers along the southeast coast of England, indicating a broader trend of increased border surveillance.  Anduril Maritime Sentry in San Diego, where the border fence meets the ocean. ### Fighting Back CBP is significantly expanding its surveillance capabilities, with plans to potentially install 1,500 more towers in the coming years, despite reports highlighting the ineffectiveness and wastefulness of these systems. The **EFF** and other organizations are actively fighting back against this expansion, advocating for greater transparency and accountability in border surveillance practices. <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1bxUGeOT6vVXu0jFQhDLxgktLFLVOKsI&amp;usp=sharing"><i>Click here</i></a><i> to view EFF's ongoing map of CBP surveillance towers.</i>