S.T.O.P. Condemns Military Purchase of Location Data From Muslim Prayer App

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Military Purchase of Location Data From Muslim Prayer App Calls for state and federal protections against the purchase of location data by the military, immigration enforcement, and law enforcement.   (NEW YORK, NY, 11/16/2020) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, condemns the U.S. military for purchasing location data from a large number of smartphone apps, including a Muslim prayer and Quran app with nearly 100 million users. According to reporting from Vice, the military purchased information from Muslim Pro, an app that tells users when and what direction to pray, and the dating app Muslim Mingle. SEE: Vice - How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data from Ordinary Apps https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgqm5x/us-military-location-data-xmode-locate-x  “Military officials and police can use app data to completely circumvent the Constitution,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “These apps are harvesting data on billions of users, letting the government turn our own phones into tracking devices. We’ve warned in the past that the law is failing to keep up with technology, and this is proof. Alarmingly, there is nothing to stop local police, federal officials, and even ICE from using this exact same technique to arrest and deport Americans.”   The civil rights group worked with New York lawmakers to introduce the first ban on law enforcement geolocation tracking earlier this year. This bill, which is still pending, would outlaw numerous location tracking techniques, including purchases of smartphone location data.   SEE: S.T.O.P. Welcomes Introduction Of NY Geolocation Tracking Ban, Blocks Use Of COVID-19 Surveillance In Criminal Cases https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2020/4/10/stop-welcomes-introduction-of-ny-geolocation-tracking-ban   Cahn continued, “I’m confident that the courts will eventually strike down this sort of surveillance, but we can’t wait. Federal and state law makers need to act today to prevent this privacy invasion from continuing tomorrow. Such protections are particularly urgent here in New York, where the NYPD illegally mapped out mosques, Islamic schools, and Muslim-owned businesses as part of a decade-long religious profiling campaign.” 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. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.