S.T.O.P. Condemns MTA’s OMNY Stalking Vulnerability

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns MTA’s OMNY Stalking Vulnerability (New York, NY, 8/31/2023) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, condemns MTA’s OMNY for a vulnerability that exposes riders’ location to stalkers and other bad actors. A report by 404 Media showed that OMNY’s “Check Trip History” could access a rider’s movements over the prior week using only their credit card number. The civil rights group warned the feature is ripe for misuse by stalkers, abusive domestic partners, police, and immigration enforcement. SEE: NY Daily News - Feature in MTA’s OMNY system might let others track your New York City travels https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-omny-tracking-mta-credit-card-20230830-jg4eerqlfbbz5kudeeo6utthky-story.html 404 Media - I Tracked an NYC Subway Rider's Movements with an MTA ‘Feature’ https://www.404media.co/i-tracked-nyc-subway-rider-home-omny-mta/ “We warned that law enforcement could easily turn OMNY into a tracking device that logs every rider’s movements,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Communications Director Will Owen. “But the ‘Check Trip History’ feature shows how susceptible OMNY data also is to stalkers, abusers, and really anyone with a quick glance at your credit card information. OMNY’s privacy policy leaves New Yorkers highly vulnerable to surveillance, storing sensitive data indefinitely and building a database ripe for abuse by law and immigration enforcement. This latest news shows just how widely available that data is. It’s extremely chilling and unnerving to think how this will affect overpoliced communities and New Yorkers who face stalking and intimate partner violence.” SEE: Fox 5 New York - How safe is your data with tap-and-go subway payments? https://www.fox5ny.com/news/omny-subway-system-privacy-concerns Research Blog - The MTA’s Switch to OMNY Will Cost New Yorkers More Than Just Their Privacy https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2022/10/13/the-mtas-switch-to-omny-will-cost-new-yorkers-more-than-just-their-privacy Owen continued, “New Yorkers deserve to ride the subway without sacrificing their privacy rights. S.T.O.P. is fighting for passage of the OMNY Privacy Act, which would ensure New Yorkers can pay fare in cash and caps the cost of buying an OMNY card, so it won’t become more expensive than it already is. MTA must not marginalize unbanked and low-income New Yorkers from transit. The bill also would prohibit MTA and their third parties from handing data over to law enforcement without a warrant. We cannot allow NYPD unfettered access to OMNY data.” SEE: The New York State Senate - Senate Bill S6142 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S6142 Last month, S.T.O.P. revealed the MTA contracts with the artificial intelligence surveillance firm Awaait to monitor subway fare evasion. The previously unreported contract, which S.T.O.P. obtained under New York’s Freedom of Information Law, uses the MTA’s sprawling network of cameras and Awaait’s AI software to measure alleged fare evasion across the transit system. The civil rights group previously released OMNY Surveillance Oh My, a research report detailing the issues that arise from OMNY’s weak privacy policy, data collection, and the dangers the system poses to overpoliced communities in New York. SEE: NBC – NYC subway using AI to track fare evasion https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/nyc-subway-using-ai-track-fare-evasion-rcna93045 Report – OMNY Surveillance Oh My: New York City’s Expanding Transit Surveillance Apparatus https://www.stopspying.org/omny 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.