S.T.O.P. Condemns Hochul’s Social Media Surveillance Plan

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Hochul’s Social Media Surveillance Plan (New York, NY, 1/18/2022) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based civil rights group, condemned New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s plan to allocate $527,000 for expanded social media surveillance. The proposal came as part of Governor Hochul’s first Executive Budget, earmarking the funds for a Social Media Analysis Unit at the New York State Intelligence Center (NYSIC). S.T.O.P. condemned the expanded social media surveillance as “digital stop-and-frisk,” noting the risk that the NYIC would share New Yorkers’ information with federal immigration officials. SEE: Governor Kathy Hochul – NYS Executive Budget FY 2023 https://www.budget.ny.gov/pubs/archive/fy23/ex/book/briefingbook.pdf CBS New York – Governor Hochul Unveils Budget Proposal https://newyork.cbslocal.com/video/6187489-gov-hochul-unveils-budget-proposal/ “We can’t stand with undocumented immigrants when we also work with ICE,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “New Yorkers should not be paying to expand ICE’s attacks on immigrant families.  We should be dismantling our intelligence fusion centers, not expanding them. This sort of surveillance is directly at odds with Governor Hochul’s promise to stand with immigrant New Yorkers.” The civil rights group has long opposed how the NYPD uses social media monitoring to profile Black and Latinx New Yorkers. The police department’s so-called “gang database” is comprised of 99% Black and Latinx New Yorkers. Last summer, S.T.O.P. joined fellow advocates in rallying at the NYPD Inspector General’s office demanding the abolition of the database. SEE: The City - Department of Investigation Confirms Probe of NYPD Gang Database After Advocates Rally https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/7/27/22597212/department-of-investigation-probes-nypd-gang-database 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 © 2021 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.