STOP Wins MTA Facial Recognition Lawsuit

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P Wins MTA Facial Recognition Lawsuit [NEW YORK, NY, 5/27/2020] – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, announced it won its lawsuit against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for records on the apparent use of facial recognition in the New York City Subway. In a May 21st decision, New York Supreme Court Justice Lynn Kotler ruled that the MTA wrongly denied S.T.O.P.’s Freedom of Information Law request without an explanation, awarding the civil rights organization attorney’s fees.   SEE: Text of Court Ruling https://www.stopspying.org/s/STOP-v-MTA-Decision-21.pdf   Background on S.T.O.P. v. MTA Litigation https://www.stopspying.org/mta-facial-recognition   “New Yorkers deserve to know if the MTA is using facial recognition,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “More than a year ago, we submitted a straightforward request, but since then we’ve received nothing but evasion and stonewalling. If the MTA was telling New Yorkers the truth about their facial recognition systems, then why has it taken nearly a year to get the documents that prove it?”   S.T.O.P. submitted its FOIL request on April 19, 2019, following a tweet from New York Times Employee Alice Fung that revealed a Wisenet brand display, with yellow squares drawn over the faces of transit riders as they entered the Times Square station.  The MTA publicly denied that the Wisenet brand monitors had facial recognition capability, but they so far have refused to provide the documents that would confirm their claim.   SEE: Video Screen In Subway Station Not Spying On You, MTA Says https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/video-screen-subway-station-not-spying-you-mta-says   Group Claims MTA Has Facial Recognition Cameras In Subways https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/group-claims-mta-rolling-out-facial-recognition-cameras-subway-stations   On January 6, 2020, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, a leading international law firm, filed a lawsuit on S.T.O.P.’s behalf in New York State Supreme Court, challenging the MTA’s refusal to produce the requested documents. The MTA subsequently produced a small number of emails and product manuals, but it withheld an unspecified number of files without explanation.   Privacy group sues MTA over alleged ‘spy tools’ installed at Times Square subway station https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-lawsuit-privacy-mta-facial-recognition-20200107-obfc5kklz5elfbs3es4e6zgqtu-story.html   Advocacy Group Sues MTA For Facial Recognition Records https://www.law360.com/consumerprotection/articles/1232162/advocacy-group-sues-mta-for-facial-recognition-records   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.