The Legal Aid Society has sounded the alarm to New Yorkers seeking to participate in the ongoing George Floyd-inspired protest actions taking place around the city: the NYPD is using extensive surveillance technology to collect and keep vast amounts of personal information that may be used against them in the future.

Privacy advocates are warning of an array of technologies, from a network of security cameras to devices that intercept texts and voice messages, that allow police officers unprecedented ability to surreptitiously record and monitor protesters. Reports have also indicated that police have requested DNA swabs from detained protesters, according to The Markup.

“We know what happens when kids get arrested; we have video recordings of kids being manipulated into providing DNA samples,” said Shomari Ward, staff attorney in The Legal Aid Society’s Special Litigation and Law Reform Unit for the Juvenile Rights Practice. “If kids are going to be out protesting, they need to be aware that this is a thing that can happen.”