{"id":3205,"date":"2026-07-03T15:49:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T15:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=3205"},"modified":"2026-07-03T15:49:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T15:49:06","slug":"world-cup-america-250-surveillance-drones-cameras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=3205","title":{"rendered":"While you\u2019re watching the World Cup, the feds may be watching you"},"content":{"rendered":"


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It\u2019s a big year for America. It\u2019s the semiquincentennial, otherwise known as America250, and the United States is cohosting the World Cup<\/a>. But spectators at these events \u2014 and the millions of people who live in the cities hosting them \u2014 may not realize that they, too, are being watched.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From Kansas City to New York, the US cities hosting the World Cup have been ramping up their surveillance capabilities in the months leading up to the tournament. Security measures are at an all-time high in Washington, DC, which isn\u2019t hosting the World Cup<\/a>, but is home to a series of spectacles<\/a> this summer. The Fourth of July festivities in the nation\u2019s capital will have an unprecedented level of surveillance. Law enforcement agencies say they can\u2019t take any risks during these once-in-a-lifetime events \u2014 but privacy advocates warn that some of this surveillance won\u2019t be limited to this summer\u2019s celebrations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Both the Fourth of July fireworks on the National Mall and the July 19th World Cup final in New Jersey have been designated National Special Security Events<\/a> (NSSE) by the Department of Homeland Security, the most stringent security designation the agency gives. This isn\u2019t unusual for major sporting events \u2014 the Super Bowl is always given an NSSE designation \u2014 but it\u2019s a first for the Fourth of July. The UFC fight at the White House<\/a> in June was also an NSSE, as was the official UFC watch party on the Ellipse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Attendees at the Fourth of July fireworks show on the National Mall will have to pass through airport-style security checkpoints and won\u2019t be allowed to bring folding chairs or coolers. Counter-drone measures will be in place, The Washington Post <\/em>reports<\/a>, as will bomb technicians, countersnipers, and medical personnel from several federal agencies. While attendees will notice these security measures, others could be close to invisible \u2014 including camera networks that track their biometrics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The measures at the National Mall appear to be a response to criticisms of lax security at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner, which was infiltrated by a gunman<\/a> who allegedly shot at a Secret Service agent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There will be similar measures in place at the World Cup final, which Donald Trump is expected to attend \u2014 and where he will reportedly present the trophy<\/a> to the winning team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis is going to be security-o-rama regardless of whether the president goes,\u201d Jules Boykoff, author of Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing, and the FIFA Greed Machine<\/em>, told The Verge<\/em>. \u201cIf the president goes, that\u2019s just an extra lacquering of security.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Boykoff, a professor of political science at Pacific University, said there may be an increased ICE presence at the World Cup final as well, and pointed out that ICE arrested rapper 21 Savage<\/a> at the 2019 Super Bowl \u2014 another NSSE \u2014 claiming he overstayed his visa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Anne Toomey McKenna, an attorney who specializes in privacy and biometric surveillance, said the NSSE declaration may also make it easier to justify collecting communications data under the looser standard of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, instead of the more stringer requirements of the Wiretap Act.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House task force for the World Cup \u2014 and son of Rudy Giuliani \u2014 has said there will be heightened security at all the World Cup matches, even the ones Trump doesn\u2019t attend. \u201cYou\u2019ll have multiple perimeter checks from security. You\u2019ll have checks while you get onto public transportation to make sure you\u2019re a valid ticket holder,\u201d Giuliani told<\/a> the Atlantic Council\u2019s Frederick Kempe. \u201cSoccer fans \u2014 or futb\u00f3l <\/em>fans \u2014 they generally like to come to stadiums late, in the 15, 20 minutes or so before the game.\u201d But Giuliani said ticket holders should know that gates open three hours before kickoff and plan to arrive early so they don\u2019t miss kickoff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The surveillance isn\u2019t limited to one-off events and in fact involves building up a massive apparatus across the country. Through FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security gave $250 million in grants to states that are hosting World Cup matches, much of which was used to buy counter-drone equipment, according to The New York Times<\/em><\/a>. The FBI has also been training local law enforcement agencies on drone mitigation. According to Giuliani, the Fan Fests in all 11 host cities will be covered by counter-drone technology. It\u2019s unclear whether these cities are using the same tech that led to an airspace closure in El Paso<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This is going to be security-o-rama regardless of whether the president goes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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New York City \u2014 technically one of the host cities, even though the matches are taking place across the river in New Jersey \u2014 spent $6.5 million on counter-drone technology. In Kansas City, Missouri, authorities have confiscated at least 16 drones since the World Cup began.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe general rule with the World Cup and Olympics is that local and national police forces use the sports mega event like their own private cash machine,\u201d Boykoff said. \u201cThe World Cup creates a state of exception that allows for all manner of securitization processes.\u201d And in many cases, once these tools are in place, they remain. Paris, for example, enabled AI video surveillance<\/a> ahead of the 2024 Olympics \u2014 and is keeping it in place<\/a> through the end of 2027 despite privacy concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Similar camera systems have been installed throughout the US ahead of the World Cup, even in areas far beyond stadiums. Kansas City also planned on putting cameras equipped with facial recognition on some city buses, even though the state government refused to fund the project over privacy concerns. The city initially went through with the program anyway, saying it would help identify missing persons and could thwart human trafficking attempts during a major international sporting event. City officials said that the images captured are checked against active missing persons alerts and only retained if there\u2019s a match.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cPrivacy is always a tricky thing,\u201d Tyler Means, chief mobility and strategy officer at Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, told The Washington Post<\/em><\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ve always had cameras on our buses. It\u2019s just new technology. I think in time it\u2019ll smooth over and people will realize, \u2018Well, it didn\u2019t really feel any different.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The cameras aren\u2019t operational yet because of backlash and technical delays, but Kansas City plans on implementing the program later this year \u2014 even though the World Cup will be over by then.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The America250 celebrations will be monitored by thousands of law enforcement officers, including National Guard troops and FBI agents, many of whom will be wearing body cameras. Several cities have expanded or reactivated CCTV systems ahead of the World Cup. Seattle reportedly<\/a> reactivated dormant cameras after FBI and Seattle Police Department officials briefed the mayor on \u201ccredible threats\u201d during the games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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McKenna said the increase in surveillance at these events isn\u2019t unwarranted given the increased level of risk, but said there\u2019s an issue with how biometric data is gathered and retained. McKenna noted that British Columbia, which is also hosting the World Cup, has regulations<\/a> around how long surveillance footage from matches and other events can be retained \u2014 rules the US lacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Though CCTV has been around for decades, advances in camera technology \u2014 and AI integrations \u2014 have made these systems incredibly sophisticated. Early footage \u201ctold us a lot about what was happening, but it really wasn\u2019t that different from what a police officer standing on the street could see themselves,\u201d McKenna said. \u201cThat\u2019s how the law in the US reached the conclusion that CCTV systems are okay \u2014 because it happens in a public space, so there\u2019s no real reasonable expectation of privacy risk under the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But cameras reach much farther than they used to \u2014 they can tilt, pan, or zoom, and can often see several miles away. They can be equipped with thermal imaging devices and facial recognition technology, all of which may be accessible to law enforcement. Some AI software can even analyze people\u2019s facial expressions and claim to predict a person\u2019s behavior, McKenna said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe have increasingly advancing AI systems with analytical capabilities that can merge so much data and detect things from the footage that before we wouldn\u2019t know,\u201d McKenna said. \u201cAn officer on the street wouldn\u2019t be able to identify every person walking by, but facial recognition technology software is very common, and it can be utilized together with the footage that is being taken and collected by CCTV systems.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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All of this information can be sent to federal fusion centers<\/a>, where information is shared between local law enforcement and federal agencies like ICE and the FBI. McKenna explained that when there\u2019s more information-sharing between local law enforcement and federal security agencies, \u201cwe lose control over how that information is used.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s part of the protection we\u2019re supposed to have under our laws \u2014 that information that\u2019s been collected for national security purposes not be used for domestic law enforcement purposes,\u201d McKenna said. \u201cWe have increasingly seen a blurring of national security measures becoming part of domestic law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There are still a couple weeks left in the World Cup. But there\u2019s no telling how long all the surveillance data gathered around the matches will be stored, or how it will be used.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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