By unanimous vote, San Francisco’s public records appeals body ruled last night that the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) violated state and local laws when it failed to respond adequately to EFF’s requests for documents about face recognition and the… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘Street-Level Surveillance’
California Law Enforcement Now Needs Approval for Military-Grade Surveillance Equipment. We'll Be Watching.
California residents finally have a law designed to dismantle some of the secrecy around domestic acquisitions of warzone surveillance equipment. The weapons of the United States military—drones, mobile command centers, sound cannons, and more—have been handed off to local law… Read More ›
Thomson Reuters to Review Human Rights Impact of its Data Collection for ICE
EFF, along with many other organizations, has loudly sounded the alarm about data brokers and the myriad ways they can collect data on unsuspecting users, as well as the numerous dangers of public-private surveillance partnerships. One of the companies that… Read More ›
The Movement to Ban Government Use of Face Recognition
In the hands of police and other government agencies, face recognition technology presents an inherent threat to our privacy, free expression, information security, and social justice. Our faces are unique identifiers that can’t be left at home, or replaced like… Read More ›
Podcast Episode: Teaching AI to Its Targets
Too many young people – particularly young people of color – lack enough familiarity or experience with emerging technologies to recognize how artificial intelligence can impact their lives, in either a harmful or an empowering way. Educator Ora Tanner saw… Read More ›
EFF Director of Investigations Dave Maass Honored With Sunshine Award For Driving Public Disclosure of Government Surveillance Records
When journalists want to know if and how local police or governments are using technology tools to surveil communities, one of the first people they call (or message on Signal) is Dave Maass, EFF Director of Investigations. Maass’ expertise in… Read More ›
Here’s How ICE Illegally Obtained Bulk Financial Records from Western Union
Senator Ron Wyden has released a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Inspector General voicing his concern over a previously-unknown bulk data collection program that was carried out by Homeland Security Investigations(HSI), a unit within DHS’s U.S…. Read More ›
Victory! San Francisco Mayor Withdraws Harmful Measure Against Surveillance Oversight Law
San Francisco Mayor London Breed has pulled a harmful ballot initiative that threatened to gut the city’s landmark 2019 surveillance oversight ordinance. This withdrawal followed intense community pressure, including a coalition letter signed by over 30 San Francisco community and… Read More ›
EFF, ACLU, and 30+ Community Groups Oppose Weakening San Francisco’s Surveillance Ordinance
EFF, ACLU, and 34 other community and civil rights groups have signed onto a letter urging San Francisco’s Mayor and the Board of Supervisors not to gut the city’s landmark 2019 surveillance technology ordinance. Mayor London Breed recently introduced a… Read More ›
San Francisco Police Illegally Used Surveillance Cameras at the George Floyd Protests. The Courts Must Stop Them
Update: This post has been updated to reflect that the hearing date in this case has been moved to January 21. By Hope Williams, Nathan Sheard, and Nestor Reyes The authors are community activists who helped organize and participated in… Read More ›