S.T.O.P. Welcomes NYC Comptroller’s Decision Requiring NYPD Surveillance Transparency

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Welcomes NYC Comptroller’s Decision Requiring NYPD Surveillance Transparency   [NEW YORK, NY, 07/31/2020] -- Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, welcomes New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s decision to require the NYPD to provide public transparency on surveillance purchases. The Comptroller, who oversees all municipal contracts for New York City agencies, sent a letter to NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea announcing that his office would end the 2007 policy that allowed the NYPD to label $159 million in police contracts as “special expenses.”   SEE: N.Y. Daily News - Comptroller Stringer tells NYPD surveillance technology expenses can’t be kept secret https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-nypd-budget-classified-stringer-20200731-55pwpwz4qzac7hyptmzlre5qyu-story.html   “Surveillance transparency is the first step in dismantling the NYPD’s dangerous and dystopian spy tools,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Every city agency is required to tell New Yorkers how they spend our money, and the police can be no exception. We’re excited to see the comptroller respond to the message that was sent when New York enacted the POST Act, requiring the NYPD to publicly disclose what spy tools they were using. This decision will let us better understand just how much those tools cost. Mass surveillance fuels police stops and police violence, and this decision is proof of the power of public protests to dismantle systems of police violence.” The POST Act was passed by the City Council on June 18th, by a vote of 44-6. It was signed into law by the Mayor on July 15th. Under the new statute, the NYPD must publish privacy and use reports for every surveillance system it uses by January 11th 2020.   SEE: Video - POST Act signing Ceremony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m176gpZMUI Release - S.T.O.P. Welcomes Mayor de Blasio’s Signing of POST Act https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2020/7/15/nyc-mayor-signs-nypd-surveillance-bill   The civil rights group also renewed its call on Albany to pass the “Privacy N.Y.” slate of anti-spying reforms. These measures include state-wide bans on facial recognition, police drones, geolocation dragnets, and other invasive tools.   SEE: Privacy NY Legislative Slate https://www.stopspying.org/privacy-ny   Cahn continued “The POST Act will tell New Yorkers more about how we’re being tracked, but there are some spy tools that we already know should be banned. Albany should follow City Hall’s lead and begin to outlaw facial recognition, drones, and other abusive technologies. The longer we wait, the more New Yorkers will fall into the surveillance-to-prison pipeline” 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.