S.T.O.P. Expresses Concern At NYPD Recording Of Drake Concert

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Expresses Concern At NYPD Recording Of Drake Concert The civil rights group renewed its call for a city ban on both NYPD facial recognition and its deployment at places of public accommodation like concerts. (New York, NY 1/23/22) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, expresses concern at the NYPD’s videorecording of attendees at a Drake concert Friday night at the Apollo Theater. New York Times journalist, Jon Caramanica, captured an NYPD officer using a handheld camera at the exit to film every person leaving the sold-out show. S.T.O.P. expressed concerns that attendees were being surveilled without consent, demanding that the NYPD destroy the footage and disclose if it had been used for facial recognition. The group also reiterated its call for state and city bans on police facial recognition and facial recognition at sporting events, concerts, and other public accommodations. SEE: Twitter – New York Times Journalist Jon Caramanica https://twitter.com/joncaramanica/status/1617015698127228928 Landon Buford - NYPD Records Attendees Leaving Drake At Apollo Show https://landonbuford.com/2023/01/22/nypd-records-attendees-leaving-drake-at-apollo-show-watch/ “The NYPD’s use of a videorecording device on hip hop fans at a historic institution of Black performance in Harlem is highly concerning,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Communications Director Will Owen. “This is yet another example of NYPD’s racist use of surveillance technology, following the department’s long legacy of targeting rap concerts. We’re deeply concerned facial recognition may have been involved, and demand the department destroy any footage it took. This is the latest proof that the city and state must ban its use at venues once and for all.”  Since the 1990s, NYPD’s so-called “hip-hop police” have aggressively surveilled rap concerts, including the creation of a “rap intel unit” part of the NYPD Gang Intelligence Unit. The incident at Drake’s concert comes after Mayor Eric Adams pledged to increase police surveillance across the city in the new year, insisting that “Big Brother is protecting” New Yorkers. Last week, S.T.O.P. renewed its demand that Madison Square Garden Entertainment stop using facial recognition when a third lawyer employed by a firm suing the corporate giant was barred from one of their venues. SEE: Complex - Why Are the NYPD ‘Hip-Hop Police’ Spying on Rappers? https://www.complex.com/music/2020/06/nypd-hip-hop-police Politico - ‘Big Brother is protecting you’: Eric Adams pledges stronger policing, more technology in 2023 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/24/eric-adams-policing-technology-new-york-00075359 Press Release - S.T.O.P. Renews Demand MSG STOP Facial Recognition After 3rd Lawyer Is Barred https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/1/14/stop-renews-demand-msg-stop-facial-recognition-after-3rd-lawyer-is-barred 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.