EFF Sues Sacramento Utility Over Unconstitutional Smart Meter Surveillance Targeting Communities

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has initiated legal action against the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), alleging that the utility has engaged in unconstitutional mass surveillance using smart meters over the past decade. The lawsuit claims that SMUD's smart meters have been covertly repurposed as tools for monitoring residents' energy consumption, with a disproportionate impact on Asian American communities and infringement of privacy rights. For over ten years, SMUD has analyzed energy usage data from its 650,000 customers, labeling more than 33,000 households as "suspicious" based on their electricity consumption patterns. These assessments, often made without individual suspicion or legal oversight, have been routinely shared with law enforcement agencies. Evidence presented by the EFF indicates that SMUD officials have provided police with detailed reports—including personal information and usage histories—effectively turning the utility into an extension of law enforcement. The criteria for suspicion have become increasingly arbitrary; households exceeding 2,800 kWh per month, a threshold even surpassed by SMUD employees, have been flagged. Internal co...