this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2026
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Sixty minutes. That’s how long it took for a private Snapchat message to travel from Kristen Volpe’s phone to the FBI to the deputies standing in her elementary school hallway. On January 29, 2025, the 22-year-old student teacher at John L. Hensey Elementary in Washington, Illinois, vented to her boyfriend and two roommates — three people total — after a student closed her laptop mid-class and wiped her lesson plan. She referenced shooting the student or the school. She meant it as a frustrated joke. Snapchat’s algorithm didn’t get the humor.

No student reported her. No parent. No coworker. The flag was entirely automated. Snapchat’s policy permits voluntary emergency disclosures to law enforcement — no warrant required — when the platform determines imminent harm exists. The algorithm makes that initial call. Think of it like your Ring doorbell deciding to call 911 on its own, except the doorbell is reading your text messages.

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[–] TheLegendaryAssholeOfJushinLiger@sh.itjust.works 91 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The idea that mass violence, which happens very rarely all things considered, justifies constant mass surveillance and automated reaction is very troubling. The new "think of the children," I suppose.

[–] postcapitalism@lemmy.today 2 points 6 hours ago

Mass violence that the US as a society endorses by doing nothing to address the root causes of gun access and lack of mental health treatments.

It’s as if they can create the conditions for mass repression and then justify any action.

Ironically the far-right was worried about this 40+ years ago with the “FEMA Camps” narrative - right up until ICE started rounding up citizens and US residents alike in the exact facial fashion described

I am dripping in the irony

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 27 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

In fact, we also have countries with less surveillance and less mass violence. And that's most countries these days. There's been only one single school shooting ever in my country and I actually knew people at that school at the time (my ex had graduated from there, but her cousin was still attending). 8th or 9th grade boy with a strict military father was being bullied by a teacher so he shot the teacher. That teacher would give him bad grades knowing his father would punish him for it (someone said he'd have to run 20 km home from school if he got a bad grade, but I'm not sure if that's true), mocked him apparently, etc. Not trying to justify the kid's actions, just illustrating what it took to get someone in a country other than the US to even go that far. He didn't announce his plans to his friends beforehand AFAIK, so surveillance wouldn't even have caught it.

[–] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 10 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Where I live there is little to no mass surveillance, and the only "shootings" in schools are the high school students shooting alcohol hidden from the teachers.

We do have crime, like every other country, but by population count, it's not that bad.

There are cameras in most key intersection in major cities, and they are monitored by the emergency services, but no plate readers or face recognition whatsoever.

[–] baines@lemmy.cafe 4 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

but no plate readers or face recognition whatsoever.

we promise

[–] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 1 points 7 hours ago

No, we know. My wife used to manage a shift of the emergency services, and they just don't have the funds. Not happening for another 4 to 8 years.