Update: 11-17-2020 The Vallejo City Council incorporated changes requested by Oakland Privacy, ACLU and EFF to strengthen the use policy, including restrictions on First Amendment use, datasharing with federal immigration, publishing a quarterly log, and returning to Council for any…
by Mike Katz-Lacabe We recently obtained and reviewed cell site simulator (CSS) logs from a number of police departments to see what we could learn about how they are used. Cell site simulators, frequently referred to as stingrays, are devices…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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 has filed their annual surveillance report on the 7 surveillance technologies in use on the Bay Area Rapid Transit System.
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…
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…