U.S. federal agencies are surveilling and categorizing anti-technology activism as domestic extremism, with DHS, FBI, and fusion centers circulating reports on 'anti-tech violent extremism' as a new threat category.

More than 1,000 pages of unpublished reports from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and fusion centers obtained by WIRED document a national shift to surveil anti-technology extremists. A New York Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau report warns that 'the chaotic atmosphere that may result from emergent AI technology in the next five years may fuel large-scale protests that devolve into civil unrest and anti-tech violent extremist activity, especially in large urban areas such as New York City.'

The term 'anti-tech violent extremism' does not appear in any publicly available DHS or FBI domestic extremism reports or guides and represents a novel grouping of a wide range of ideologies under a single extremist category. Intelligence analysts are flagging as suspicious activities including 'expressed/implied threat,' 'observation/surveillance,' 'photography,' 'testing/probing of security,' and 'attempted intrusion'—activities that legal experts say could easily be carried out by peaceful protesters.

The effort follows President Donald Trump's National Security Presidential Memo 7, which instructs the Department of Justice to target anyone holding 'anti-American,' 'anti-Christian,' and 'anti-capitalism' beliefs. Open source intelligence companies that contract with federal law enforcement agencies, such as SITE Intelligence, are also scouring the web for alleged anti-technology sentiment and circulating bulletins to fusion centers about online discussions.