For Immediate Release
S.T.O.P. Celebrates NYC Passage Of POST Act Amendments Closing NYPD Surveillance Loopholes
The bills force the NYPD to disclose many of its surveillance systems, what data it collects, and who has access.
(New York, NY 4/10/25) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, welcomes the New York City Council’s passage of introductions 480 and 168, closing loopholes in the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act that the NYPD used to conceal invasive surveillance practices. Enacted in 2020, the POST Act is the first New York City surveillance law since 9/11, and it required the Department to detail every technology it uses and how NYPD data is shared. With these amendments, the NYPD will have to comply with the intended purpose of the POST Act, giving much greater detail than it has to date about which technologies are used and what data can be accessed by federal agencies, including ICE.
SEE – Introduction 480
https://nyc.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6558150&GUID=93128EDA-AF40-4B9E-9E77-6F8696E2F718&G=2FD004F1-D85B-4588-A648-0A736C77D6E3
Introduction 168
https://nyc.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6557506&GUID=5821E50A-2DB7-49F9-B89A-0701A980CB79&G=2FD004F1-D85B-4588-A648-0A736C77D6E3
“Surveillance transparency was always crucial, but it’s more vital than ever now that President Trump and ICE are trying to deputize local police departments against their critics and immigrant families,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Legal Director David Siffert. “The Department of Investigation clearly articulated how NYPD’s initial POST Act reports were inadequate, and this legislation will require actual transparency in surveillance technology reporting. Transparency is an important first step towards dismantling systems of Orwellian mass surveillance in New York and the United States. As New Yorkers better understand how our taxes are fueling spying on our neighbors, they will be better positioned to stand up for their privacy rights.
“If the NYPD followed the law, we wouldn’t need these bills,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Transparency will never be enough to stop these abuses, but today is another important step towards dismantling the NYPD’s multi-billion dollar surveillance system. We must tell the NYPD ‘hands off our data.’”
Once these bills are signed into law, the NYPD will have 270 days to revise its POST Act disclosures, including detailed information on the manufacturer, product name, and capabilities of each surveillance product. The Department will also have to track when data is shared with ICE. Additionally, the bills will dramatically strengthen the power of the Department of Investigations to audit the NYPD’s disclosures, identifying surveillance devices improperly hidden.
The amendments come after years of campaigning by the civil rights group, other civil society partners, and city agencies. The Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD issued three scathing reports into NYPD noncompliance with the POST Act, noting how the department issued boilerplate report for many technologies that failed to provide any meaningful information about how the technology worked and what data is collected.
SEE 3/30/2023 – 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
5/30/2024 – S.T.O.P. Welcomes OIG Report On NYPD Violations of Surveillance Transparency Law
https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2024/5/30/stop-welcomes-oig-report-on-nypd-violations-of-surveillance-transparency-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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