The City of Berkeley has moved ahead with an oversight and transparency ordinance for controlled military equipment like armored vehicles and assault rifles. To the best of our knowledge, they are the first city in the country to do so.…
Category: Uncategorized
Oakland Privacy Receives James Madison Freedom of Information Award from Society of Professional Journalists
Oakland Privacy was honored to receive a 2021 James Madison Award from the Norcal Chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists for our lawsuit and advocacy with the City of Vallejo and their purchase of a cell site simulator. As…
Across The Finish Line in Santa Clara County
In June of 2016, Santa Clara County became the first municipality in the country to adopt a surveillance transparency ordinance, also known as CCOPS. Santa Clara’s ordinance, being the first one, is comprehensive. On January 26, 2021, the Santa Clara…
Refocusing License Plate Readers
Senate Bill 210 passed the California Senate Judiciary Committee on March 23 by a 9-1 vote. A bill has been introduced in the CA State Legislature to refocus California’s ubiquitous automated license plate readers from tracking the movements of every…
Oakland Privacy’s Year in Bullet Points – 2020
Some of the things Oakland Privacy had a hand in in 2020: Deeply involved in the successful effort to get Santa Cruz to pass a facial recognition and predictive policing ban. Initiated and concluded a successful lawsuit against Vallejo re:…
Oakland Public Safety Committee Debates JTTF Withdrawal
Update: Oakland terminated its MOU with the JTTF task force on 10-20-20. On October 13 at 2:3opm, Oakland’s Public Safety committee will debate a measure from City Council chair Rebecca Kaplan to withdraw the Oakland Police Department from the Joint…
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…
Oakland Privacy’s Year in Bullet Points
Some of the things Oakland Privacy had a hand in in 2019… Urban Shield – Dead. San Francisco enacts a surveillance equipment regulation ordinance (SERO) and facial recognition ban. Oakland and Berkeley pass facial recognition bans. Oakland rejects new Bearcat…
Oakland Privacy – 2019 Pioneer Award
On September 12, 2019, Oakland Privacy will be honored at the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Awards Ceremony for our surveillance activism. Press Release – EFF Press Release – Oakland Privacy
RIP East Bay Express
January 11 brought the sad news that East Bay alternative weekly the East Bay Express, which had been under financial duress for a while, would be laying off its entire editorial staff and greatly reducing operations. The newspaper’s demise as…