Oakland Privacy

The Day of Many Votes

by Tracy Rosenberg • July 12, 2017 • 0 Comments

On July 11, a whole bunch of good things happened: Alameda’s Board of Supervisors formally convened a working group to draft a surveillance transparency ordinance for Alameda County; SB-21 (the statewide surveillance transparency ordinance) passed the Assembly Privacy committee – the last policy committee it will face and the 6th consecutive positive vote in Sacramento; and Oakland’s Public Safety committee recommended unanimously the termination of the OPD-ICE agreement and to place all other federal law enforcement agreements under the direct oversight of the City’s Privacy Advisory Commission.

Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan’s interview regarding her proposal to sever ties with ICE is here.

“Let’s have a public conversation so we can determine for ourselves where the lines are drawn,” Hofer said. (Alameda County Surveillance Ordinance)

The Oakland Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to sever ties with ICE, and reign in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. “Tangling local law enforcement with ICE is a threat to civil rights and safety of all people,” said Tessa D’Arcangelew, a representative of the ACLU of Northern California, which supported the legislation.

License Plate Readers, Transparency Ordinance

Oakland Privacy Commission – License Plate Readers

by Tracy Rosenberg • July 8, 2017 • 0 Comments

In this brief clip from the July 6 Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission meeting, Oakland Police Department Assistant Chief John Lois stated under questioning that he was aware of no legal authority that allows the collection of data on people not suspected of wrongdoing.

Immigration and ICE

Making Oakland A Real Sanctuary City

by Tracy Rosenberg • July 6, 2017 • 0 Comments

Originally printed in the East Bay Express on June 28 2017

On July 11, the City of Oakland’s Public Safety Committee will consider two landmark policies to defend community members against the Trump Administration’s war on sanctuary cities and immigrants.

Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan is sponsoring a resolution that, if adopted, would rescind the Oakland Police Department’s authorization to participate in task forces with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

And Councilmember Lynette Gibson-McElhaney is sponsoring an ordinance that would require OPD officers to adhere at all times to state and local standards when participating in any federal task forces, including the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (“JTTF”), of which ICE is the largest member. In other words, the feds can’t make our cops do anything that’s a violation of our values and rules.

CA Assembly Public Safety Comm Supports SB 21- A Statewide Surveillance Transparency Ordinance

by JP Massar • June 27, 2017 • 0 Comments

“California spends more time regulating barber shops and taco trucks than on regulating surveillance.”

Brian Hofer, Chair of the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission and member of Oakland Privacy, testified before the California State Assembly Public Safety Committee in Sacramento on June 27th, 2017. The Committee later passed by measure with a 4-2 vote. It goes now to the Assembly Privacy Committee and, assuming continued favorable votes, ultimately to the Assembly floor. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Hill, has already passed the California Senate.

Below is a transcript of Brian’s words before the Committee and a video of the SB-21 Hearing

CalBIPA To Reinstate Broadband Privacy in CA

by Tracy Rosenberg • June 19, 2017 • 0 Comments

On June 19, CA Assembly Privacy Committee chair Ed Chau introduced CalBIPA – AB375 – to restore the consumer protections stripped by Trump’s congress. The bill will allow Internet users to consent to the sale or disclosure of their Internet activities by their Internet service providers. Oakland Privacy is a bill sponsor.

To take action to support CalBIPA – click here.

To read the text of the bill – click here.

Immigration and ICE

Oakland Privacy Endorses Legislation to Make California a Sanctuary State.

by JP Massar • June 12, 2017 • 0 Comments

Sent 6/12/17

Dear Senate President pro Tempore de León,

Oakland Privacy writes in strong support of SB 54 (de León). Oakland Privacy is a citizen’s coalition that works regionally to defend the right to privacy and enhance public transparency and oversight regarding the use of surveillance techniques and equipment.

SB 54 will protect the privacy, safety and well-being of all Californians by ensuring that state and local resources are not used to fuel mass deportations, separate families, or divide Californians on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, or national or ethnic origins. Preventing the use of California state databases for immigration inquiries, as the legislation does, is important in maintaining individuals’ right to privacy, a special concern of our group.