Banjo Suspends All Operations in Utah Following OneZero Investigation

‘Banjo believes that any company working with the government should be subject to audits and oversight’

Dave Gershgorn
OneZero

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Surveillance company Banjo has suspended all of its operations in the state of Utah until its software is audited, following reactions to a OneZero investigation that revealed CEO Damien Patton’s past connection to white supremacist groups.

Documents unearthed by OneZero indicated that Patton had fraternized with neo-Nazi skinheads in his youth and participated in a shooting of a synagogue, according to his own grand jury testimony.

Following the OneZero report, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes announced that his office would suspend its $750,000 contract with Banjo and recommended that other agencies in the state pause using Banjo’s products until a third-party audit is performed. The same day, Utah’s department of public safety suspended its $20 million contract with Banjo as well. That contract had given Banjo access to data in up to 70 Utah cities. At least one additional Banjo contract was suspended in Indiana.

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Dave Gershgorn
OneZero

Senior Writer at OneZero covering surveillance, facial recognition, DIY tech, and artificial intelligence. Previously: Qz, PopSci, and NYTimes.