S.T.O.P. Reveals Excelsior Pass Could Now Cost New Yorkers $27 M

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Reveals Excelsior Pass Could Now Cost New Yorkers $27 M Documents obtained by the civil rights group shows that the vaccine app’s cost has increased nearly $10 million in less than 6 months.   (New York, NY, 8/18/2021) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, revealed that New York’s Excelsior Passs could now cost taxpayers nearly $27 million, more than 10 time the project’s original budget. New York’s outgoing Governor, Andrew Cuomo, previously stated that the first-in-the-country vaccine app would cost $2.5 million, but documents published by S.T.O.P. in June showed the price could be as much as $17 million. Today’s publication shows that Excelsior Pass’s budget has increased by nearly $10 million since March, including millions of dollars to develop Excelsior Pass Plus and access Vermont and New Jersey vaccine records.   SEE: NYS Office of Information Technology Services - Excelsior Pass Development Contract And Amendments https://www.stopspying.org/excelsior-pass-contract NY Times – New York's 'Excelsior Pass' is likely to cost at least $27 million. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/19/nyregion/new-york-excelsior-pass-cost.html   “We always said that Excelsior Pass would be a high-tech distraction from real public health measures, but we had no idea the price would go up this high,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Even as New Yorkers find themselves on the hook for millions more, the app still isn’t able to do a lot of the basics. Even after this expansion, New Yorkers and tourists who got vaccinated outside of New York, New Jersey, and Vermont will still be out of luck. And as the City’s recent roll-out of its own vaccine registration portals for employees shows that, paper records are our best bet. Promoting vaccines is just common sense, but relying on the tech is just wishful thinking.”   In June, S.T.O.P. revealed that in addition to Excelsior Pass’s stated $2.5 million development budget, New York would pay IBM between $7.2 million and $12.3 million in licensing fees and $2.2 million in additional implementation costs. According to the original contract, the 3-year price of Excelsior Pass would range from $9,700,000.00 to $16,981,000.00. NY Times - New York’s Vaccine Passport Could Cost Taxpayers $17 Million https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/nyregion/excelsior-pass-vaccine.html S.T.O.P. Condemns Cuomo For Hiding Excelsior Pass’s $17 M Price Tag https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2021/6/9/stop-condemns-cuomo-for-hiding-excelsior-passs-17-m-price-tag   Previously the civil rights group had questioned Cuomo and IBM’s claims about using “blockchain technology.” The group noted that IBM provided virtually no technical documentation for Excelsior Pass’s use of blockchain, in contrast to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other open source blockchain products that make their source code available to the public.   Cahn continued, “this contract is alarming, not just because of what it tells us, but because of what it leaves out. This agreement provides almost no detail on how IBM’s ‘blockchain technology’ will actually work. From the beginning, we’ve called on IBM to explain how they are deploying blockchain. After seeing this contract, we have to ask if Excelsior Pass’s ‘blockchain’ is truly security or just a sales pitch.” The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider . 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.