10-09-2020, 02:15 PM
San Francisco Cops Illegally Spy on Protests; Activists File Suit
By Michael Maharrey
On Wednesday, local activists filed suit against the City of San Francisco for illegally spying on them during anti-police protests in late May and early June.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the ACLU of Northern California filed the suit on behalf of Hope Williams, Nathan Sheard, and Nestor Reyes who all helped organize and participated in numerous protests in San Francisco in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. According to the suit, the San Francisco Police Department tapped into a private camera network run by a city business district to conduct live mass surveillance in violation of a city ordinance.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the ordinance last year. The law bans the use of facial recognition technology in the city and requires any city department to get the Board of Supervisors’ approval before acquiring or using surveillance technology. According to the suit, the SFPD failed to go through the legally required process before commandeering the camera system to surveil protesters.
Williams called secret government spying on protests “an affront to our movement for equity and justice.”
The SFPD’s use of surveillance technology in defiance of the law teaches an important strategic lesson. Activists can’t rest on a single victory. Passing laws requiring transparency and limiting the actions of government agencies is only the first step. Enforcing those laws requires continued vigilance. Fortunately, the coalition that pushed San Francisco to adopt its “Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance” has continued to stay engaged and continued to push for further limits on surveillance. The fact that local activists in the Bay Area continue to work and didn’t let down their guard with one victory prevented the SFPD from getting away with simply ignoring the law.
READ MORE
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/10/san...-suit.html
By Michael Maharrey
On Wednesday, local activists filed suit against the City of San Francisco for illegally spying on them during anti-police protests in late May and early June.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the ACLU of Northern California filed the suit on behalf of Hope Williams, Nathan Sheard, and Nestor Reyes who all helped organize and participated in numerous protests in San Francisco in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. According to the suit, the San Francisco Police Department tapped into a private camera network run by a city business district to conduct live mass surveillance in violation of a city ordinance.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the ordinance last year. The law bans the use of facial recognition technology in the city and requires any city department to get the Board of Supervisors’ approval before acquiring or using surveillance technology. According to the suit, the SFPD failed to go through the legally required process before commandeering the camera system to surveil protesters.
Quote:“In a democracy, people should be able to freely protest without fearing that police are spying and lying in wait,” ACLU of Northern California Technology and Civil Liberties Attorney Matt Cagle said in a press release. “Illegal, dragnet surveillance of protests is completely at odds with the First Amendment and should never be allowed. That the SFPD flouted the law to spy on activists protesting the abuse and killing of Black people by the police is simply indefensible.”
Williams called secret government spying on protests “an affront to our movement for equity and justice.”
Quote:“We have the right to organize, speak out, and march without fear of police surveillance.”EFF obtained records revealing that the San Francisco Police Department received a real-time remote link allowing them to access more than 400 surveillance cameras. The Union Square Business Improvement District (USBID), a non-city entity, operates the network. According to EFF, “These networked cameras are high definition, allow remote zoom and focus capabilities, and are linked to a software system that can automatically analyze content, including distinguishing between when a car or a person passes within the frame.”
The SFPD’s use of surveillance technology in defiance of the law teaches an important strategic lesson. Activists can’t rest on a single victory. Passing laws requiring transparency and limiting the actions of government agencies is only the first step. Enforcing those laws requires continued vigilance. Fortunately, the coalition that pushed San Francisco to adopt its “Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance” has continued to stay engaged and continued to push for further limits on surveillance. The fact that local activists in the Bay Area continue to work and didn’t let down their guard with one victory prevented the SFPD from getting away with simply ignoring the law.
READ MORE
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/10/san...-suit.html