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 used by law enforcement that impersonate cell phone towers and can be used to track the location of a specific cellular device, usually a cell phone.
Press Coverage: Gizomodo
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 CCPA stronger, but it is really poking holes in privacy protections and making it much harder for average people to exercise their rights. A few nice-sounding changes don’t outweigh all the problems in Proposition 24. That’s why major consumer and privacy groups say vote no on Proposition 24 in November. It’s the wrong path forward.
Read the full op-ed here.
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 PDX Privacy, Smart City PDX and councilwoman Joanne Hardesty for their year long process and we hope it will inspire other cities going forward.
Ban on Government Use of Facial Recognition (Municipal)
Ban on Private Use of Facial Recognition in Public Spaces (Municipal)
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. The policy was reviewed by a working group that included Oakland Privacy and the Electronic Frontier Foundation and was chaired by AC Transit counsel Jill Sprague.
The privacy policy instructs that all footage is to be destroyed after 30 days, unless footage is linked to a specific ongoing investigation, requires annual reporting to the public, and prevents data transfer to immigration enforcement or any third party without specific written authorization. It is modeled on the camera policy in place for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District.
That said, community concerns remain as several public speakers pointed out the low level of trust in AC Transit’s law enforcement agent – the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department. And despite our best efforts, the AC Transit Board was not yet ready to introduce a fully enforceable ordinance.
We hope that will change in the future, but this is a positive first step. We thank AC director Chris Peeples for initiating the privacy policy effort.
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 Morris, Sarah Belle Lin, and researchers Brian Krans and Katz-Lacabe, and the other initiated by reporters Ali Winston and Darwin Bond Graham, cite records requests from as far back as 2014 that have accrued dozens of time extentions with no end in sight.
The Morris/Belle Lin/Krans/Katz-Lacabe/Oakland Privacy lawsuit is a class action on behalf of all overdue public records requests on file with the City of Oakland.
You can read the class action complaint below.
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 subject of each consumer’s purchase. Those data are available to digital marketers and advertisers who are engaged in developing and refining increasingly sophisticated techniques to identify and target potential customers. Paying with cash provides consumers with significantly more privacy than do electronic forms of payment.
Read the full letter below