San Mateo County’s Digital Jail Mail Sparks Reckoning Over Private Data

Author

• Juan A. Lasso, Craig Newmark Graduate School of JournalismFollow

Graduation Date

Fall 12-13-2025

Grading Professor

Greg David

Subject Concentration

Business & Economics

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Abstract

This capstone examines privacy and data risks embedded in digital communication systems used in U.S. correctional facilities. As private vendors introduce tablets, kiosks, and mail digitization services, these technologies enable widespread surveillance and data collection of incarcerated people and their loved ones. The project explores how these systems track and analyze digital footprints in ways that challenge established legal and ethical expectations around privacy. It documents the personal impact on loved ones of people currently or formerly incarcerated in San Mateo County. The reporting centers on the California county jail where a civil rights lawsuit is pending over the mail digitization system operated by private vendor Smart Communications. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JlEs6y0TQYMqg_yU35HBY_kidVzc9xD7bwDHlNo4AB4/edit?usp=sharing

Recommended Citation

Lasso, Juan A., "San Mateo County’s Digital Jail Mail Sparks Reckoning Over Private Data" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gj_etds/810