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United Auto Workers v. U.S. Department of State | Electronic Frontier Foundation
webThis EFF legal case challenges a Trump administration AI-powered social media surveillance program targeting noncitizens' speech, directly relevant to AI governance, automated surveillance, and the use of AI tools by governments to monitor and suppress protected expression.
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Importance: 52/100otherprimary source
Summary
Three major labor unions (UAW, CWA, AFT), represented by EFF, sued the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security over a 2025 program using AI and automated tools to surveil social media of visa holders and lawful permanent residents based on viewpoint. The lawsuit argues the program violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act. The case seeks to halt what plaintiffs describe as unconstitutional ideological surveillance that has chilled speech among both citizens and noncitizens.
Key Points
- •Trump administration used AI and automated technologies to monitor social media of noncitizens lawfully present in the U.S., targeting viewpoints the government disfavors.
- •Three major labor unions sued Departments of State and Homeland Security, represented by EFF and co-counsel including Muslim Advocates.
- •The lawsuit alleges violations of the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, filed in the Southern District of New York.
- •The surveillance program has had a chilling effect on speech by both noncitizens and citizens, including union members and their families.
- •Case highlights risks of government deployment of AI for viewpoint-based surveillance and suppression of protected expression.
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United Auto Workers v. U.S. Department of State | Electronic Frontier Foundation
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EFFecting Change: Can't Stop the Signal on April 16
United Auto Workers v. U.S. Department of State
LEGAL CASE
United Auto Workers v. U.S. Department of State
In 2025, Trump administration officials—primarily at the Departments of State and Homeland Security—created a mass surveillance program to monitor constitutionally protected speech by noncitizens lawfully present in the U.S. Using AI and other automated technologies, the program has surveilled the social media accounts of visa holders and lawful permanent residents with the goal of identifying and punishing those who express viewpoints the government doesn't like. And the list of viewpoints the government doesn’t like just keeps on growing. This has been paired with a public intimidation campaign, silencing not just noncitizens with immigration status, but also the families, coworkers, and friends with whom their lives are integrated.
Three labor unions, represented by EFF and co-counsel, sued the Departments of State and Homeland Security because this viewpoint-based surveillance program violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act. We seek to stop this unconstitutional surveillance program which has silenced and frightened both citizens and noncitizens, and hampered the ability of the unions to associate with their members and potential members. We filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The plaintiffs are United Automobile Workers (UAW), Communications Workers of America (CWA), and American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Our co-counsel are Muslim Advocates (MA) and the Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic (MFIA).
Updates
Three major labor unions, represented by EFF and co-counsel, hav
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