Minneapolis did not start the surveillance conversation. It made the surveillance conversation impossible to ignore.
An ICE enforcement operation in early 2025 killed Renee Macklin Good. Not in a policy brief. In a neighborhood. That forced millions of Minnesotans to ask a question most had never considered: how much does the government actually know about where I go and who I talk to?
More than you think.
The MCDPA
The Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act took effect July 31, 2025. It gives residents the right to access, correct, delete, and opt out of the sale of their personal data.
Before the MCDPA, Minnesota residents had zero legal mechanism to demand companies stop selling their information. Now they have the right to confirm processing, access data, correct it, delete it, get a portable copy, and opt out of targeted advertising, data sales, and profiling. The Attorney General enforces the law.
The Surveillance Landscape
The MCDPA covers commercial data collection. The infrastructure that made Minneapolis a flashpoint goes far beyond that.
License plate readers. Automated cameras log plate, time, location, and direction for every vehicle that passes. Local police have searched these databases on behalf of ICE despite policies prohibiting it.
Facial recognition. Minneapolis PD has used facial recognition in investigations. No statewide restrictions exist on government use.
Data brokers. Your name, address, phone, email, employment history, and property records sit on hundreds of broker sites. Government agencies can purchase this data without a warrant.
Phone location data. Your phone broadcasts your location constantly. Government agencies have purchased commercial location databases compiled from app data — tracking people without warrants.
Social media monitoring. Law enforcement monitors public posts. Minneapolis became ground zero for this question after the 2020 protests.
Why This Hits Everyone
You do not need to be undocumented to be affected. These systems collect data on everyone. Drive past a plate reader, your movements are logged. Appear in an online photo, your face may be indexed. Sign up for anything with your real name, data brokers have you.
What Minnesota Residents Should Do
Step 1: Exercise MCDPA rights. Submit deletion requests to data brokers. Cite the Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act by name. Start with Spokeo, BeenVerified, WhitePages, Radaris, TruePeopleSearch, FastPeopleSearch.
Step 2: Run a facial recognition audit. Search yourself on PimEyes, FaceCheck.ID, Google Lens, Yandex, TinEye. Submit opt-out requests for every database that has your face.
Step 3: Check vehicle exposure. Use DeFlock.me to map plate readers in your area. Opt out of plate lookup sites. Review connected car data sharing settings.
Step 4: Kill ad tracking. iPhone: Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking > off. Android: Settings > Privacy > Ads > Delete advertising ID.
Step 5: Harden social media. Private profiles. Disable face tagging. Strip EXIF metadata. Disconnect linked accounts.
Step 6: Monitor for re-listing. Data brokers re-acquire information constantly. One-time cleanup is not permanent. Re-check quarterly or set up ongoing monitoring.
The Bottom Line
Minneapolis did not build the surveillance infrastructure. It exposed it. The cameras, databases, facial recognition systems, and data brokers were already running. The MCDPA addresses one slice — commercial data collection. Plate readers, facial recognition, and location tracking operate outside its scope.
Protecting your privacy means addressing all of these vectors. Not just the ones a single law covers.
— J. Daniel, Dark Scrub