S.T.O.P., 18 Civil Rights Groups Call on Microsoft to End NYPD Surveillance Partnership

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S.T.O.P. and a coalition of 18 organizations called Microsoft to end its surveillance partnership with the NYPD on the Domain Awareness System.

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P., 18 Civil Rights Groups Call on Microsoft to End NYPD Surveillance Partnership Decry hypocrisy that Microsoft claims to end support for facial recognition, but still profits from other forms of police surveillance.   [NEW YORK, NY, 06/30/2020] -- Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, and a national coalition of 18 civil rights and community-based organizations sent a letter calling on Microsoft to end its surveillance partnership with the NYPD on the Domain Awareness System (DAS). The DAS is the NYPD’s intelligence command center, integrating data from tens of thousands of cameras, drones, environmental sensors, and more.   SEE: Domain Awareness System https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2019/9/26/domain-awareness-system Ditch the DAS Organizational Sign-On Letter https://www.stopspying.org/s/2020-06-29-Ditch-DAS-Sign-On-Letter.pdf “If Microsoft truly cares about human rights and policing, restricting facial recognition is not enough,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Microsoft never sold facial recognition to police departments, so their new policy doesn’t cost them a dime. If Microsoft stopped work on the Domain Awareness System, they’d have to put their money where their mouth is. The Domain Awareness System enables invasive spying in communities of color, putting countless New Yorkers at risk of false arrest and police violence.”   The request follows an announcement from Microsoft on June 11, that it would not sell facial recognition to police departments   SEE: Microsoft won’t sell police its facial-recognition technology, following similar moves by Amazon and IBM https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/06/11/microsoft-facial-recognition/   New York City Police Department and Microsoft Partner to Bring Real-Time Crime Prevention and Counterterrorism Technology Solution to Global Law Enforcement Agencies https://news.microsoft.com/2012/08/08/new-york-city-police-department-and-microsoft-partner-to-bring-real-time-crime-prevention-and-counterterrorism-technology-solution-to-global-law-enforcement-agencies/   Microsoft has partnered with the NYPD on the DAS since 2008, and the NYPD is set to spend $31.4 million more on it in 2020 alone. Through this partnership the City of New York also receives a 30% commission anytime another jurisdiction purchases the DAS technology from Microsoft. 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.