Every March, the Department of Homeland Security gifts Bay Area law enforcement with funds for new equipment through the Bay Area UASI. 55 out of 146 requests will be fulfilled and the winners are …. The City of Vallejo and…
Bay Area UASI 2020
Author: Tracy Rosenberg
25 Groups Object to Graham-Blumenthal Anti-Encryption EARNIT Act
25 civil society groups, led by the Open Technology Institute at New America and including Oakland Privacy, sent a letter objecting to the EARNIT Act, which seeks to weaken encryption standards. The letter states: “By setting the stage for adoption…
40 Civil Rights Groups Ask Colleges To Keep Facial Recognition Off Campuses
An open letter from an assortment of civil rights groups, including Oakland Privacy, asked university administrators to keep their campuses free of facial recognition. On March 2, students and faculty at schools across the country will organize to reject facial…
CA State Auditor Says CA ALPR Use Imperils Privacy
A state audit of license plate reader use by CA law enforcement agencies requested by State Senator Scott Weiner concluded that existing policies were largely not compliant with existing state law and that laws needed to be strengthened. The CA…
Kick The Tires of the CCPA
In celebration of Data Privacy Day (earlier this week), and the operational start of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), privacy advocates invited CA legislators to take the law out for a spin. Our practice companies: Tik-ToK, a youth-oriented social…
Privacy Groups Comment on CA AG Privacy Regs
California’s statewide privacy coalition weighed in on the regulatory plans for the California Attorney General to administer and enforce the California Consumer Privacy Act. The verdict? Pretty good job by Becerra’s office, but a few things can always be better.…
Anti-Muslim Hate Group Uses Same Name As State-Funded PVE Program
California’s new counter-terrorism via social services program, Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE), which is a state version of the federal Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program, has run into a big problem. A hate speech problem. A group called the Clarion Project,…
Does It Matter If Your Doorbell Is A Spybot? Mike Katz-Lacabe with KGO’s Michael Finney
On October 12th, KGO-FM consumer affairs reporter Michael Finney sat down with Oakland Privacy’s Mike Katz-Lacabe to answer the question of whether it matters if your doorbell is a spybot. Here is their conversation.
El Cerrito’s New Drone
A surveillance watchdog’s job is never done. As we try to convince cities, counties, transit districts and whoever else is watching us, to implement comprehensive oversight, the one-on-one method prevails El Cerrito may be considering a full transparency ordinance, but…
The Day The 1st Amendment Died in Berkeley
Update: On October 15th, the Berkeley City Council approved an amendment to their surveillance transparency ordinance banning the use of facial recognition technology, except when from an outside source, unsolicited and tied to a specific individual crime. The Council also…