Immigration and ICE, License Plate Readers, Transparency Ordinance

BART License Plate Scans Sent To DHS While Board Passed Sanctuary Transit Policy

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At the same time the BART Board of Directors was creating a Sanctuary Transit policy, the mass transit system was sending 57,000 license plate scans from devices installed at the MacArthur BART station to the Department of Homeland Security’s Norcal fusion center and their ALPR database which ICE can access.

The Board had previously instructed BART staff not to proceed with license plate reader technology at the MacArthur station, after word leaked out about an undisclosed pilot program. But despite the board’s instructions, the license plate readers remained in operation and uploading tens of thousands of scans to DHS in what BART described as a mistake to the East Bay Times.

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Transparency Ordinance

City of Palo Alto Passes Surveillance Transparency Ordinance #5

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Welcome to the Bay Area’s fifth local surveillance transparency ordinance in the City of Palo Alto, which approved their ordinance on an 8-1 City Council vote on the evening of September 20.

The heart of Silicon Valley began this movement in June of 2016 by passing the nation’s first municipal surveillance transparency ordinance and now Palo Alto has followed in Santa Clara County’s footsteps.

Congratulations and let the transparency begin!

Immigration and ICE

Santa Clara County Using Palantir to Data Mine Health/Crime Data

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Reported by Jennifer Wadsworth at San Jose Inside

“Given my work and knowing the company’s role in law enforcement and surveillance, I can say they’re a bit of a creepy choice,” says Mike Katz-Lacabe, who founded the Center for Human Rights and Privacy.

Dozens of protesters who gathered outside Palantir’s Palo Alto headquarters last month voiced a similar sentiment, singling out the company’s $53 million “mission critical” contract with ICE, which dates back to the Obama administration but gained widespread attention under President Trump. They presented a letter to CEO Alex Karp demanding that he stop aiding federal efforts to deport millions of immigrants. The July 31 demonstration was part of a nationwide day of action—amplified on social media under the #WeWontBeComplicit hashtag—against businesses, schools and government entities linked to Trump’s deportation machine.

Read the full article here