City of Pasadena agendizes purchase of a cell site simulator (stingray) with no usage policy Pasadena, the Socal city that among other things houses Cal-Tech, is following in the City of Vallejo’s inglorious foosteps by putting the purchase of a…
Author: Tracy Rosenberg
The Threats of London Breed
Four years after the passage of San Francisco’s surveillance ordinance by a vote of 10-1, SF mayor London Breed is threatening to ask city voters to gut it via ballot inititative. Breed’s proposed ordinance would, among other things, allow surveillance…
Alameda County Militarized Equipment
In the coming weeks, Alameda County will be putting forward for a public vote their inventory and usage policys for the county sheriff’s large arsenal of military equipment. ALCO, partially as a result of their operation of the large correctional…
The Saga of AB 1463 and Other Sacto Tales
The 2023 legislative season in CA’s state capital has come to a close. Oakland Privacy intervened on your behalf on over 65 bills (a world record), piping up in support, opposition or demanding changes. Our final batting average in sign/veto…
Time to Ditch Chrome
The Chrome Privacy campaign sought to intervene in Google’s reworking of advertising cookies to increase user privacy. Um….. that didn’t work. Google’s long-running “Privacy Sandbox” is more like a privacy tar pit. It does inhibit the activities of third party…
AMEMSA Justice Collective
The AMEMSA Justice Collective is a new statewide coalition that seeks to advance civil rights protections for Asian , Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian communities. The AJC is directed by and accountable to AMEMSA communities and seeks to organize…
How are California Fusion Centers Working With Local Law Enforcement Agencies on Situational Awareness Support?
With the explosion of surveillance data being harvested across many different sectors, fusion centers were built to consolidate the multiple streams of surveillance data into information-sharing hubs that include local, state, federal, and private entities. Each state has at least…
Panel Discussion: Shotspotter Gun Detection Across The Country
In September 2023, anti-surveillance activists from across the country (Chicago, Portland, and Northern and Southern California) came together to discuss gunshot detection and leading manufacturer Shotspotter (now known as “SoundThinking”). The panel was hosted by POP Pasadena and featured Mohammed…
San Leandro Delays Expansion of ALPR Program
The San Leandro City Council voted 4-3 to reject, for now, a police proposal to double the number of license plate readers in the East Bay town from 41 to 82. The initial 41 were approved in 2022, but just…
CVE/PVE/TVTP: What’s The Latest Version of Homeland Security Terrorism Prevention Programs?
Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), a program developed by the Obama administration, sought to combat radicalization, then defined almost entirely as Muslim-based violent extremism, through using schools and social service agencies to “identify” potential terrorists based on somewhat poorly defined characteristics.…