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Speakers urge Minneapolis council to cut $500,000 Zen City contract, citing surveillance and privacy risks
Summary
At a Nov. 19 public hearing on the mayor—s 2026 budget, dozens of speakers asked the Minneapolis City Council to defund a $500,000 contract with Zen City, calling it a surveillance tool with ties to Israeli intelligence and urging that funds be redirected to community safety programs and services.
Dozens of residents told the Minneapolis City Budget Committee on Nov. 19 that a proposed $500,000 line item for a contract with Zen City should be cut from the 2026 budget.
Speakers characterized Zen City as a private company that mines social-media and other digital activity to produce public-opinion surveys and, they said, surveillance products. "I do not want my tax dollars going towards using my social media algorithm to pull me about the MPD," said Carolyn Hockey during public comment, and multiple speakers repeated concerns about ties…
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