A power utility is reporting suspected pot growers to cops. EFF says that’s illegal.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has accused a power utility company of engaging in an illegal "mass surveillance scheme" by reporting suspected marijuana growers to law enforcement. According to the EFF, the utility company has been monitoring customers' electricity usage patterns and sharing this information with the police, which the organization argues violates constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure. The EFF has criticized the utility company's actions, stating that they infringe on individuals' privacy rights and that the company lacks the legal authority to conduct such surveillance or to report its findings to law enforcement. The organization has called for the utility company to immediately cease this practice and to protect the privacy of its customers. The article highlights the ongoing tension between law enforcement efforts to combat illegal drug cultivation and the civil liberties concerns raised by such practices, particularly when they involve the use of private utility companies as a means of surveillance.