S.T.O.P. Condemns Queens DA, NYPD For Buying Social Media Data

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Queens DA, NYPD For Buying Social Media Data (New York, NY, 9/8/2023) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, condemns both the Queens District Attorney and the New York Police Department for renewing contracts with social media surveillance firms. The NYPD’s contract with Voyager Labs was revealed by S.T.O.P. via a FOIL request. The AI-based data surveillance firm supplies the agency with software that performs rapid analysis of large digital files obtained through social media providers. Cobweb Technologies, the controversial data surveillance company contracted by the Queens DA, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and US Navy, provides location data, social media content, and other data on millions of people. The civil rights group warns that the mass surveillance capabilities provided by Cobweb Technologies enable the Queens DA to sidestep the courts. They also warn that social media monitoring and data analysis tools are used by NYPD as a new digital form of stop-and-frisk to target BIPOC New Yorkers. SEE: The Guardian – NYPD spent millions to contract with firm banned by Meta for fake profiles https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/08/new-york-police-tracking-voyager-labs-meta-contract?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other The City Record – District Attorney Queens County https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dcas/downloads/pdf/cityrecord/cityrecord-04-20-23.pdf Voyager Labs Contracts https://web.tresorit.com/l/HQkQu#7p9TM3oIH40rguvWbFLWYg “The contracts with Voyager Labs and Cobwebs Technologies both expand law enforcement’s use of social media monitoring and other dragnet surveillance tools, which have long targeted Black and Latinx New Yorkers, including children,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Communications Director Will Owen. “This is invasive, it’s alarming, and it should be illegal. Our constitution requires law enforcement to get a warrant prior to searching the public, but increasingly police and prosecutors just buy our data instead. This isn’t just bad policing, it’s not just enabling companies that steal our data, but it’s a flagrant end-run around the Constitution. Albany must act and pass legislation this year to ban law enforcement data purchases.” Owen continued, “Given NYPD’s terrible track record of spying on activists, including Black Lives Matter protesters, it’s highly concerning that law enforcement may use these contracts to stifle dissent and violate New Yorkers’ rights to free speech. Along with the racist biases baked into these technologies, this is yet another reason why we can never trust law enforcement’s use of social media monitoring, location tracking, or any other data offered by spyware firms like Voyager Labs and Cobwebs Technologies.” Earlier this month, S.T.O.P. released Guilt By Association, a research report detailing how Black and Latinx youth are discriminately added to police databases, like the NYPD's gangs database, becoming targets for non-criminal reasons such as their social media connections. SEE: Report - Guilt By Association https://www.stopspying.org/guilt-by-association The civil rights group is also a leading advocate of the “Stop Online Police Fake Accounts and Keep Everyone Safe” (STOP FAKES) Act in New York State. The first-of-its-kind legislation would ban police from leveraging fake social media accounts to surveil New Yorkers. SEE: City & State New York - Opinion: New York must say no to social media surveillance https://www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2023/06/opinion-new-york-must-say-no-social-media-surveillance/387335/ The New York State Senate - Senate Bill S9247 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/S9247 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.