S.T.O.P. Sues NYPD For “Sentiment Meter” Surveillance Records

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release [NEW YORK, NY, 10/6/2020] – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, a leading international law firm, announced the filing of a lawsuit against the NYPD for refusing to disclose records on their use of “Sentiment Meter” surveillance to track New Yorkers’ perception of the NYPD. The lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court on October 1st, 2020, more than 10 months after the NYPD first received S.T.O.P.’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request.   SEE: Overview of Litigation https://www.stopspying.org/elucd Lawsuit (Article 78 Petition) https://www.stopspying.org/s/Article-78-Petition.pdf   The Marshall Project - Yelp For Cops https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/07/16/yelp-for-cops   “It’s outrageous that the NYPD spent years building software to track New Yorkers’ sentiment on policing,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Instead of developing this invasive software, the NYPD could have just listened to the countless New Yorkers who demonstrated to defund the police. It’s Orwellian to think of the NYPD building out a map, block by block, of how the public views police. And it’s indefensible for the NYPD to try to hide records about this mass surveillance from the public.”   S.T.O.P originally requested the NYPD records on November 26, 2019, seeking to understand the NYPD’s role in co-developing Elucd’s sentiment monitoring software. Despite identifying over 100,000 records, documenting a years-long partnership, the NYPD is refusing to provide S.T.O.P. information.   The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider hosted by the Urban Justice Center. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   - END –   Copyright © 2019 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved.