S.T.O.P. Condemns Federal, State Warrantless Cellphone Tracking Program For COVID-19 Social Distancing

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Federal, State Warrantless Cellphone Tracking Program for COVID-19 Social Distancing   [NEW YORK, NY, 3/28/2020] -- Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, condemned Federal, State, and Local governments for using a warrantless cellphone tracking program to monitor compliance with COVID-19 social distancing requirements. The program reportedly provides information on Americans’ movements in over 500 cities, providing data on apparent crowding to local officials, including police.   SEE: Wall Street Journal - Government Tracking How People Move Around in Coronavirus Pandemic https://www.wsj.com/articles/government-tracking-how-people-move-around-in-coronavirus-pandemic-11585393202?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1   “Even as we battle this unprecedented public health threat, we still have to uphold the Constitution,” said Albert Cahn, Executive Director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project at the Urban Justice Center. “Warrantless cellphone location tracking has been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and this surveillance program poses dire consequences for Americans’ privacy. We are deeply concerned that this data was not only collected in secret, but that it’s apparently being shared with no protections against being used by police or even ICE. While it’s unclear if this sort of surveillance state helps prevent the spread of COVID-19, it’s quite clear that it undermines our most fundamental rights and risks driving countless Americans into the shadows.”   The cellphone tracking program, dubbed the Covid-19 Mobility Data Network, reportedly strips cellphone records of some identifying information, such as the name of the phone’s owner. But the New York civil rights group noted that it is impossible to truly anonymize location information.   Cahn continued, “supposedly ‘anonymized’ location information can easily be reidentified. Taking location records from an individual’s home and business, you can quickly re-attach a name to any record. We have already seen this done in other countries that publicized location data in response to COVID-19.   SEE: 'More scary than coronavirus': South Korea's health alerts expose private lives https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/06/more-scary-than-coronavirus-south-koreas-health-alerts-expose-private-lives 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 – CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn; 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.