In this op-ed in the San Diego Union Tribune, OP member Tracy Rosenberg breaks down all the loopholes and exemptions in Prop 24 and why Californians who care about privacy rights should vote NO. Proposition 24 pretends it is making…
Author: Tracy Rosenberg
Portland, Oregon Passes Double Facial Recognition Ban
Our neighbors to the north have passed a facial recognition ban (13th in the country) and added a first in the nation twist – a ban on facial recognition use by private operators in open-to-the-public spaces, like shops. Congratulation to…
AC Transit Adopts BRT Camera Privacy Policy
At the September 9 meeting of the AC Transit Board of Directors, the board unanimously adopted a privacy policy for the cameras that will line the bus stops of the new rapid transit line from DT Oakland to San Leandro.…
Obstructed Public Records Requests at Oakland PD Lead to Lawsuits
A collective of journalists and researchers, including Oakland Privacy and our research director Mike Katz-Lacabe have sued the Oakland Police Department for delaying public records requests – for years and years. A pair of lawsuits, one initiated by journalists Scott…
OP Joins Consumer Groups Supporting The Payment Choice Act
Prominent consumer and privacy protection groups have joined together to support federal legislation ensuring the ability to buy goods and services with cash. The letter states: Noncash transactions generate vast amounts of data, recording the time, date, location, amount, and…
BART 2020 Annual Surveillance Report
BART has filed their annual surveillance report on the 7 surveillance technologies in use on the Bay Area Rapid Transit System.
PVE Funding Cut From State Budget
The #NoPVEinCalifornia coalition was successful in persuading the CA State Legislature to remove funding to staff the Preventing Violent Extremism program (renamed as Creating Safer Communities). The state program, modeled after the federal Countering Violent Extremism, doles out grants to…
1st Municipal Ban on Predictive Policing in Santa Cruz
The Central California city of Santa Cruz became the first city in the nation to ban the use of predictive policing software by their police department. The City Council voted 7-0 to end the use of the software by ordinance…
Fighting Local Surveillance: A Toolkit
Getting a surveillance transparency ordinance or a facial recognition ban passed in your town can seem like an overwhelming task. It’s not. You can do it! Oakland Privacy and ACLU of Northern California sat down to write a step by…
Oakland Privacy Sues Vallejo Over Stingray Purchase
by Mike Katz-Lacabe Update 6/1/2020 Oakland Privacy and resident-plaintiffs Solange Echeverria and Daniel Rubins sued the City of Vallejo over their recent stingray purchase. In the complaint, Oakland Privacy states that the purchase violated state law by voting to acquire…