They had to tell them over and over again? "The investigator told the victim “we’ve had deputies misuse databases, we’ve told them over and over again that’s not what it’s for. You see a hot chick you don’t look them up in a database. That’s not what it’s for.’” #ALPR https://www.404media.co/i-saw-a-shiny-thing-cop-explains-why-he-used-license-plate-reader-to-stalk-woman/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter
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Oakland Privacy
@oaklandprivacy@mastodon.social
mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06A citizens’ coalition that works regionally to defend the right to privacy and enhance public transparency and oversight regarding the use of surveillance techniques and equipment.
#privacy #surveillance #civilrights #public #technology
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50 Posts
Joined June 01, 2023
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contact@oaklandprivacy.org
Pew study says 10% of the entire Internet and 1/3 of all Internet pages posted since the release of ChatGPT were likely written all or in part by artificial intelligence. #AI https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2026/08/20/how-much-of-the-internet-is-written-with-ai/
Did you know that #Lowes is one of #FlockSafety’s biggest commercial customers? That makes anyone passing through a Lowe’s parking lot vulnerable to targeting by #ICE, especially Black and brown people. With enough pressure we can get Lowe’s to drop Flock! fftf.link/deflock-lowes
"You’ll be put on a list of people to disregard,” Richard Allee, an executive assistant with CENTCOM public affairs told this reporter. When asked for clarification — “You have a list of people to disregard?” — he confirmed it with an emphatic: “Yes.” #press https://theintercept.com/2026/08/24/pentagon-military-journalist-blacklist-press-media/
New U.S, State Department advisors on "digital freedom and freedom of expression"; surveillance companies #Anduril and #Palantir. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/07/state-department-palantir-free-speech-surveillance/
"In today’s society, you know, everybody’s filming everything, everybody has a cell phone,. The glove is low optic, and it looks better on video, and it looks better to those witnesses" #ICE https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/ice-shock-gloves-torture-compliant-technologies-jeff-niklaus/
"After Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shot and detained Parias last October, the Los Angeles-based #journalist will cross 300 days in ICE detention on Monday. No journalist has endured such a sustained sequence of violence, prosecution, and imprisonment at the hands of the U.S. government" https://theintercept.com/2026/08/16/ricardo-parias-ice-detention-journalist-los-angeles/
"Brentwood officials are working to remove #Flock surveillance cameras installed by a homeowners association on public streets after acknowledging they mistakenly approved the system" #HOA https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/08/17/brentwood-mistakenly-approved-an-hoas-flock-surveillance-cameras-now-it-wants-them-removed/?
"Transparency is not optional—it is urgent,” she said in a statement. “No private contract or detention center wall should be used to hide dangerous conditions or silence people who have been mistreated inside these facilities.” #SB423 https://www.kqed.org/news/12096334/as-ice-custody-deaths-rise-state-bill-would-force-release-of-911-call-data
“At the end of the day, when we leave here, we leave here without our loved one,” Kelly said, walking out alongside her family members. #vallejo https://localnewsmatters.org/2026/08/19/vallejo-police-accountability-town-hall/
UC Berkeley professor who wrote an op-ed about how Berkeley students can't do math used an AI program to help her write the article. https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/uc-berkeley-professor-admits-to-using-ai-in-op-ed-calling-out-students-lack-of/article_be1360f7-6e2a-42f6-ae76-f05d8cee74c4.html
69 year old Berkeley teacher is first known person to go to jail for protesting Frontier #AI development. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/16/california-openai-protester-wynd-kaufman
Unauthorized police chase out of a sideshow that killed 27 year old costs City of Oakland 17 million dollars. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/08/15/oakland-to-pay-17-million-for-death-of-man-during-alleged-ghost-chase-attorney-says/?
El Cerrito City Council votes 3-2 at 12:30 in the morning not to renew their #Flock contract.
Replying to
This isn’t just Signal. Even “secure” apps can leak data through the system layer. Turning off lock screen previews can reduce risk.
“The issuance of this report is not the end, it is the beginning,” Castillo said. “We need a reckoning to occur.” #ICE https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/accountability-commission-refers-federal-agents-for-investigation-possible-prosecution-for-conduct-last-fall/
#Disneyland putting in #facialrecognition to try to catch people sharing annual entrance passes. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/28/disneyland-entrance-facial-recognition
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The policy has already been used against figures tied to online misinformation research, including former EU official Thierry Breton and executives connected to CCDH and GDI. Critics argue the government’s definition of “working with” foreign governments is deliberately vague.
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Oakland’s sanctuary city law bars contracts with companies providing certain data services to immigration agencies. OPD says the law does not apply to Cellebrite, despite ICE and DHS contracts worth millions for digital forensics tools.
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Critics cited Cellebrite’s use by ICE, border agencies, and governments accused of human rights abuses. OPD said it conducted more than 1,000 phone extractions since 2024 and argued the technology is necessary for investigations.
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"He recently released a study tallying CalPERS and CalSTRS investments in companies that participate in the Trump administration immigration sweeps, such as #Palantir and private prison companies CoreCivic and GeoGroup. I see a disconnect right now,” he said" https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/05/calpers-calstrs-divest/
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Researchers told the court they delayed publications or avoided public discussion of moderation research out of fear for visa status or travel restrictions. Judge James Boasberg questioned whether such a policy could evade constitutional review entirely.
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"The conflict is so grave as to render it unlikely that the defendants will receive fair treatment,” Paul said. The judge said Rosen’s fundraising and public comments improperly tied the #Stanford prosecution to combating antisemitism, even though the defendants were not charged with hate crimes" https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/07/stanford-gaza-protest-rosen-prosecution/?
"What’s going on is the second-largest new #datacenter being considered statewide, If finished by 2028,the at least 950,000-square-foot, two-story data center could be the largest operating statewide, taking up 17 football fields’ worth of land. The roughly $10 billion, 330-megawatt data center would require 750,000 gallons of water a day to operate" https://grist.org/drought/california-will-soon-have-more-than-300-data-centers-where-will-they-get-their-water/
"Public records obtained by the Shake Off #Flock campaign show agencies from Ohio and beyond searched Shaker Heights’ automatic license plate reader database 273 times over three months this year while citing “#immigration” as the reason" #ALPR https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/05/activists-uncover-hundreds-of-immigration-related-searches-that-ran-through-shaker-heights-flock-system.html
Fresno Superior Court Judge says the Fresno City Council violated the #BrownAct by doing final city budget negotiations in a secretive nonpublic ad hoc committee. https://fresnoland.org/2026/05/05/judge-rules-brown-act-violation/
Meta threatens to remove #Facebook,#Instagram and #WhatsApp from New Mexico residents following child #safety litigation. https://apnews.com/article/meta-new-mexico-trial-facebook-instagram-9b3d0594dcf48495469d7441c17e2e10
"Except for those charged with capital murder or violent felonies, “#bail must be set in an amount reasonably attainable for the defendant,” Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero wrote in the 7-0 decision." https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/california-supreme-court-bail-22234898.php
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Flock’s cameras track vehicles and share data across agencies, raising concerns about monitoring protests, immigration enforcement, and mass data sharing. Some cities are now canceling contracts over these risks. From California to Connecticut, damaged cameras show rising resistance.
The 9 federal agencies that have access to UC Merced’s data include Border Patrol. The fact is that a police department is currently in violation of California state law in a way that puts their student population at risk,” Katz-Lacabe said. #ALPR https://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article315497840.html#storylink=cpy
Here we go again. California cop accessing #Flock to stalk his lover 6 months after being put on leave. #ALPR https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/ex-costa-mesa-police-officer-accused-of-using-flock-cameras-to-track-his-mistress/
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If message previews are enabled, iPhones may store incoming message content in internal memory, even for disappearing messages. Forensic tools can extract this data if authorities have physical access to the device.
"A proposed federal #surveillance tower overlooking San Clemente is drawing concerns from residents and officials, who say the project raises unresolved questions about privacy, oversight and whether the system is suited for its stated purpose" #BorderPatrol https://www.picketfencemedia.com/sanclementetimes/sanclementetimes/eye-on-sc/sc-surveillance-proposal-sparks-privacy-oversight-concerns/article_2195d384-02c3-4e4b-b59c-cf814ca54ebe.html
"In these #workplaces, #AI is not something you use. It is something that watches and rules you. That is the new divide we should all be paying attention to.". https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/11/ai-worker-control-surveillance
A sanctuary state cannot take Operation #Stonegarden funding from Homeland Security. https://nysfocus.com/2026/08/24/operation-stonegarden-new-york-border-patrol-arrests
"Cases in Nevada County stand out because they involve some of the only known instances in California and nationwide where public prosecutors, who often face a higher standard of conduct, have brought arguments before a court with falsehoods because they used #AI." https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2026/08/ai-prosecutor-errors/?
As usual, John Oliver is right on point. #surveillance https://youtu.be/lnBPhelCdWE
"A proposed federal surveillance tower overlooking San Clemente is drawing growing concern from residents and officials, who say the project raises unresolved questions about privacy, oversight and whether the system is suited for its stated purpose" https://www.picketfencemedia.com/sanclementetimes/sanclementetimes/eye-on-sc/sc-surveillance-proposal-sparks-privacy-oversight-concerns/article_2195d384-02c3-4e4b-b59c-cf814ca54ebe.html
"In these workplaces, AI is not something you use. It is something that watches and rules you. That is the new divide we should all be paying attention to.". https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/11/ai-worker-control-surveillance
Media activists intervene on #Disney's behalf in their battle with Trump's #FCC. https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/public-interest-groups-seek-to-intervene-in-disney-fcc-lawsuit-on-behalf-of-abc-viewers,263217
Biggest teen addiction case filed against Meta by several state DA's settles for 18 billion dollars. Injunctive relief includes time limits for kids and disabling of push notifications off hours and like counts. https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/08/26/meta-reaches-landmark-18-billion-settlement-with-states-in-trial-over-teen-social-media-addiction/
France's Highest court strikes down #socialmedia ban for children. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-social-media-ban-children-under-15-struck-down/
Replying to
Programs like 287(g) blur the line between local and federal enforcement, turning state police into ICE proxies. Critics warn this makes oversight nearly impossible and that transparency is shrinking as search records grow more vague.
Everytime someone tests, it demonstrates that #surveillancepricing is real and it is costing us money. "At home, I checked the prices again. The prices were largely higher than the library. I felt disoriented—and then I wondered if this was my fault. Had I done something to deserve these higher prices?" https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/nothing-personal/surveillance-dynamic-pricing-legal-groceries-tickets/
"After ICE officers shot and detained Parias last October, the LA-based #journalist will cross 300 days in ICE detention on Monday. No journalist has endured such a sustained sequence of violence, prosecution, and imprisonment at the hands of the U.S. government" https://theintercept.com/2026/08/16/ricardo-parias-ice-detention-journalist-los-angeles/