Federal and state agencies are investigating mass racist text messages targeting Black Americans in several states following the recent presidential election.

The texts, which included references to slavery and asked recipients to “board a bus” to go to a “plantation”, caused widespread distress, particularly among children and students. The FBI, the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are coordinating efforts to identify the perpetrators, who used a VPN to conceal their location.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown condemned the messages as a “threatening use of technology.” Companies like TextNow, AT&T, and Verizon have joined an industry-wide effort to block messages sent from various platforms.

Security experts say big data on racial demographics likely made it easier to target black individuals, illustrating a troubling use of personal data in digital hate campaigns.

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