DHS Platform with Facial-Recognition Access Quietly Monitored College Football Crowds: Report

A little-known Department of Homeland Security (DHS) surveillance platform was used to monitor crowds at college football games, including the November 2024 Ole Miss–Georgia matchup, according to documents obtained by FOIAball and reported by 404 Media.

The Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) served as a central hub linking law enforcement agencies during the event and enabled access to live video streams from closed-circuit cameras, drones, police bodycams, and phones, documents show.

HSIN has also been used to facilitate facial-recognition searches through third-party systems such as Clearview AI, according to a 2024 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report.

An Event Action Plan for the Ole Miss–Georgia game showed at least 11 agencies on site, including campus police and a military rapid-response team, as 404 Media explains. The document directed participating agencies to use HSIN's "SitRoom," available by computer or phone, and noted that the platform hosted sensitive personal data and threat-analysis material. Access required approval "on a need-to-know basis," it said.

HSIN has expanded substantially since the early 2000s. DHS data shows more than 55,000 active accounts, spanning federal employees, local law enforcement and foreign partners. A DHS "Year in Review" recorded more than 150,000 logins each month and said HSIN Connect—the platform used for major events—was engaged more than 500 times daily.

The platform has supported operations at events including the Boston Marathon, Lollapalooza, the World Series, and presidential primary debates, as 404 Media explains. College campuses have also used it beyond football. DHS said Ohio State University streamed surveillance footage into HSIN Connect during November 2023 campus protests related to the war in Gaza. An internal DHS newsletter from 2016 said HSIN supported every Buckeyes home football game that year.

Documents show HSIN's video-integration capacity has also expanded mightily since 2018. A 2019 DHS review said the network partnered with private security firms in Minneapolis to pull live video from commercial cameras during the Final Four.

The report comes amid broader DHS initiatives to expand biometric and surveillance authorities. A proposed DHS rule, reported last week, would widen the collection and storage of biometric identifiers—including fingerprints, DNA, facial and iris scans—not only from immigrants but potentially from U.S. citizens involved in immigration filings.

A separate regulation finalized in late October authorizes Customs and Border Protection to photograph and track nearly all non-U.S. citizens entering or leaving the country, with data stored for up to 75 years.