UPDATED: S.T.O.P., Brennan Center Welcome NYPD Compliance With ‘POST Act’ Surveillance Law

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release UPDATED: S.T.O.P., Brennan Center Welcome NYPD Compliance with ‘POST Act’ Surveillance Law Today the NYPD posted public notice and comment reports on existing surveillance systems, as required by the 2020 surveillance law.   (NEW YORK, N.Y., 1/12/2021) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law welcomed the NYPD’s compliance with the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, a recently-enacted surveillance reform law. The POST Act, which was signed into law on July 15th, 2020, was enacted in response to years of NYPD abuses with facial recognition, drones, and other invasive surveillance tools. The POST Act required the NYPD to disclose all existing surveillance tools by yesterday, January 11, 2021.   SEE: POST Act Public Comment Page https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/about-nypd/public-comment.page   N.Y. Times – Council Forces N.Y.P.D. to Disclose Use of Drones and Other Spy Tech https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/nyregion/nypd-police-surveillance-technology-vote.html   Reuters – New York City Council passes police surveillance oversight bill https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-surveillance/new-york-city-council-passes-police-surveillance-oversight-bill-idUSKBN23P3OO   “The POST Act is not just a milestone for privacy and civil rights, it will also save lives,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Unchecked police surveillance causes more police stops, more arrests, and more police violence. The NYPD’s invasive tools often are no-better than high-tech profiling of Black and Latin/X New Yorker, putting our communities of colors at risk of the same deadly violence that took the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. Now the NYPD will have to show the public just how invasive and biased its tracking tools are. For far too long, the NYPD has used federal and private grants to spy on New Yorkers without any civilian oversight, particularly New Yorkers of color, immigrants, and the Muslim community. The POST Act is not the end of surveillance reform, it’s just the first step, but it’s a crucial first step at that. Above all, it’s proof of the power of public protests to dismantle systems of police violence.”   The POST Act requires the NYPD to post a privacy and use policy for every surveillance system it uses in New York City. Advocates say the POST Act is even more critical given escalating surveillance of protesters. The POST Act was previously endorsed by New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; the City Council’s Progressive and Black, Latino/a, and Asian Caucuses; the New York Times Editorial Board, and a coalition of more than 100 civil rights and community-based organizations.    SEE: San Francisco Banned Facial Recognition. New York Isn’t Even Close. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/18/opinion/nypd-post-act-surveillance.html      Sign-on letter from 70 organizations supporting the POST Act https://stopspying.org/post-act-letter   Sign-on letter from 42 organizations supporting the POST Act https://www.stopspying.org/post-act-letter-may-2020  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.