For Immediate Release
Electeds, Advocates Rally Against NYPD Surveillance Violations Before City Council Hearing
(New York, NY 12/15/23) – Today, elected officials and civil rights groups rallied against the NYPD’s repeated violations of the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, which requires the NYPD to disclose its surveillance technologies. The rally took place ahead of a hearing held by the New York City Council’s Committees on Technology and Public Safety to discuss the POST Act, where advocates highlighted the department’s systematic violation of the landmark surveillance oversight law in the three years since its passage. That hearing had been postponed on three previous occasions due to the NYPD’s failure to appear before the Committees on Public Safety and Technology. Advocates and lawmakers called on the City Council to not only strengthen the POST Act, but also go further by outlawing the most abusive forms of surveillance, including facial recognition and drones. Prior to the rally, 19 civil rights groups, led by the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), submitted a sign-on letter to the City Council demanding they pass two amendments that would implement and expand on recommendations from an Office of the Inspector General report released earlier this year highlighting NYPD’s noncompliance with the POST Act.
SEE: Photos and Videos of Press Conference and Rally
https://web.tresorit.com/l/WMXTE#eWNZsQDG2s6SEvx53tBjIQ
Sign-on letter - Re: Memorandum of Support for Intros 1207-2023 and 1193-2023
https://www.stopspying.org/s/Ints-1207-and-1193-Memo-of-Support-Final-with-signatories.pdf
NYC Council Committee on Technology – December 15th Hearing
https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1137004&GUID=FB045675-8E38-4CB7-82BF-0B7CE8E7E86A&Options=info%7C&Search=
“First the NYPD claimed the sky was falling if we passed the POST Act, but now they just ignore the law,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “It’s simply unacceptable in a democracy for the police to systematically violate the law. The NYPD needs to face real repercussions for hiding its surveillance equipment. But we already know enough about the worst NYPD surveillance abuses to take action. We need to act now to ban facial recognition, stop fake social media accounts, and restore the rule of law.”
“The NYPD’s use of invasive surveillance technologies exposes an immense amount of personal data – including location, cell, and face recognition. These technologies reduce New Yorker’s privacy in public spaces, undermine freedom of association, and increase racially-biased monitoring and policing,” said Council Member Julie Won. “The NYPD has failed to be transparent about how they are using these technologies, who they are sharing information with, and the impact on our most vulnerable communities. We need to strengthen the POST Act and rein in the NYPD’s unaccountable violation of New Yorker’s privacy.”
“The POST Act established basic transparency and oversight of the NYPD’s purchase and use of electronic surveillance technologies, but the NYPD has sought to exploit any perceived vagueness or flaw in the law’s language,” said Legal Aid Society Digital Forensics Unit Supervisor Jerome D. Greco. “The City Council must amend the POST Act to strengthen its requirements and close the alleged loopholes. The NYPD’s flippant treatment of its POST Act obligations only confirms the need for the Council to outright ban the most invasive and discriminatory forms of NYPD surveillance, like facial recognition technology and the so-called gang database.”
"When the Council passed and Mayor signed The POST Act, it became the law in New York City -- not a constructive suggestion, not a helpful guideline, not a discretionary option: the law. How does the NYPD expect us to have faith in their enforcement of laws, when they refuse even to obey them. It’s time for the NYPD to quit playing word games and coming up with phony 'interpretations' and instead come into compliance with the law," said Council Member Tiffany Cabán.
“For decades, the NYPD carried a brutal campaign of repression against Black and brown New Yorkers with impunity. The POST Act was a strong first step in reining this police force’s unchecked power, but it’s time to go further,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “New technology has expanded the surveillance and repressive capabilities of the NYPD, but legislation has not kept up. We need to update the POST Act to ensure we curtail the blank check of surveillance by the NYPD to ensure our communities are safe from police violence and our constitutional rights are safeguarded.”
“I stand with the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project and our coalition members in condemning the NYPD's failure to comply with the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act,” said Council Member Nantasha Williams. “It is deeply concerning that, three years after its passage, the NYPD continues to disregard this crucial oversight law. The POST Act was a critical initial measure aimed at increasing transparency in surveillance practices within our city, but it is clear that we must take further steps to protect our communities by banning the use of flawed and biased surveillance technologies such as facial recognition, geofence warrants, the 'gang database,' and other intrusive tools."
“Encode Justice New York firmly believes that the NYPD must respect the POST Act to enforce justice effectively,” said Encode Justice New York Fellow Mira Schubert. “We have seen evidence that technologies used by the NYPD are often inaccurate and biased, causing harm to innocent individuals. Adherence to the POST Act would increase transparency so that citizens understand whether their rights are being violated. Similarly, it would give citizens the knowledge and voice to advocate for themselves. Because the NYPD has been disregarding the POST Act, we, as members of Generation Z, urge the City Council to go further and ban existing unjust technologies. The City Council and NYPD must listen to New York City’s young generations and high school students.”
"New Yorkers need more transparency and accountability over the spying technologies used by their police department," said Electronic Frontier Foundation's Adam Schwartz. "We are proud to stand with S.T.O.P and other allies in support of a stronger POST Act."
SEE: Report - NYPD Violations of the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act
https://www.stopspying.org/above-the-law
Statement - Coalition of Advocates and Academics Submit Joint Comments Documenting the NYPD’s Failure to Comply with the POST Act
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/coalition-advocates-and-academics-submit-joint-comments-documenting-nypds
In March, S.T.O.P. welcomed a report from Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the NYPD that showed NYPD continues to reject more than 93% of its recommendations for how to fully comply with the POST Act.
SEE: City and State - NYPD may be violating police surveillance transparency law
https://www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2023/04/nypd-may-be-violating-police-surveillance-transparency-law/385173/
Press Release - S.T.O.P. Welcomes OIG Findings That NYPD Breaks Surveillance Law
https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/3/30/stop-welcomes-oig-findings-that-nypd-breaks-surveillance-law
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.
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CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn.
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