Greystar, the largest landlord in the U.S., will pay $7 million to nine states after getting caught using a rent-setting algorithm that helped drive up housing costs. The settlement bans Greystar from using software that relies on other landlords’ data to set rents. abcnews.go.com/Busin... 1/2

Cybersecurity researchers just showed how fragile Flock’s system really is. One researcher took control of a Flock device in under 30 seconds, planting fake images and demonstrating how someone could trigger false “hotlist” alerts. www.9news.com/articl... #surveillance #privacy #flocksafety

Oaklandside just published an excellent explainer on Flock cameras—what they are, how they work, and why so many Oakland residents are raising alarms. Share this with friends, family, and neighbors! oaklandside.org/2025... #flock #alpr #oakland #local #privacy #surveillance #eastbay #bayarea

New EFF data shows police, and even Border Patrol, used Flock ALPR cameras to monitor protests hundreds of times over the past year. Searches were tagged “protest,” “No Kings,” deportation-raid actions, May Day rallies, and more. www.404media.co/cops... #surveillance #privacy #alpr #flock

“With privacy under unprecedented attack by data brokers and social media, it is the wrong time to weaken these protections." Take a look at this article co-written by OP member @dmarti.bsky.social discussing the repercussions of SB 690 on the dismantling of CA's CIPA.

San Jose is now facing a major lawsuit from the ACLU of Northern California and the EFF, challenging the city’s nearly 500 Flock license plate readers that track millions of vehicle scans every month. www.404media.co/aclu... #surveillance #privacy #Flock #civilrights #SanJose #ALPR 1/4

The Airlines Reporting Corporation (owned by major U.S. airlines) will shut down its “Travel Intelligence Program,” which sold hundreds of millions of flight records to government agencies without a warrant. www.404media.co/airl... #privacy #surveillance #databrokers #travelprivacy 1/3

ICE is piloting a new app, Mobile Companion, that lets officers scan license plates in real time and add them to a national database of billions of records. www.404media.co/this... #surveillance #privacy #immigrantrights #databrokers #ice 1/3

Join us for our next monthly Zoom meeting on November 12 at 6:30pm PST! To get the Zoom link, please reach out to [email protected]. #oaklandprivacy #privacy #surveillance #meeting #community

The City Council voted to postpone a five-year, $450K renewal of its Automated License Plate Reader system amid growing privacy and immigrant rights concerns. www.paloaltoonline.c... #surveillance #privacy #immigrantrights #eastpaloalto 1/3

Coming soon: our new Digital Security Guide by 2025–26 Privacy Fellow Astrid Floegel-Shetty. This expanded, plain-language guide will help you protect yourself and your data across devices. Launching by year’s end, free to read and download. #privacy #security #digitalrights #infosec #onlinesafety

Oakland Privacy tracked nearly 100 CA bills this year — 28 wins signed into law. We stopped SB 690 (the worst privacy bill of 2025) and expanded digital, immigrant, and LGBTQIA protections statewide. #privacy #california #civilrights #transparency

Our new Digital Security Guide, led by 2025–26 Privacy Fellow Astrid Floegel-Shetty, will help you and your loved ones take simple, concrete steps to stay safer online. Launching later this year. Protect yourself, protect each other. #privacy #security #communitysafety #digitalrights #onlinesafety

U.S. airlines are quietly selling your travel data, including your name, destination, and credit card, to the government, no warrant required. But there’s good news: you can opt out. #privacy #databrokers #surveillance #travel 1/2

CBP has quietly launched a face-scanning app for local police to use in immigration enforcement. www.404media.co/cbp-... #immigration #surveillance #privacy #civilrights #facialrecognition 1/3

Victory for privacy in Europe! After massive public backlash, the EU Council has withdrawn its “Chat Control” proposal to scan encrypted messages. EFF and digital rights advocates have warned for years: client-side scanning breaks encryption and threatens human rights. 1/4

Attn Whole Foods shoppers: Consumer attorneys are looking for lead plaintiffs in a potential class action against Indyme (the company behind those in-store surveillance devices). If you’ve used or interacted with one, email [email protected]. #privacy #consumerrights #classaction

According to a new procurement document, ICE is considering hiring private contractors, with “monetary bonuses,” to locate immigrants across the U.S. archive.ph/fG6ri#sel...#sel... #immigration #surveillance #privacy #civilrights #ice 1/2

Oakland Privacy tracked nearly 100 CA bills this year — 28 wins signed into law. We stopped SB 690 (the worst privacy bill of 2025) and expanded digital, immigrant, and LGBTQIA protections statewide. #privacy #california #civilrights #transparency

Coming soon: our new Digital Security Guide by 2025–26 Privacy Fellow Astrid Floegel-Shetty. This expanded, plain-language guide will help you protect yourself and your data across devices. Launching by year’s end, free to read and download. #privacy #security #digitalrights #infosec #onlinesafety

San Francisco’s surveillance oversight is on the line. Removing attorney fee protections means the city polices itself and history shows that doesn’t work. takeaction.salsalabs... #sf #ca #transparency #civilrights #surveillance #oversight

As ICE raids ramp up across U.S. cities, digital resistance tools are disappearing. Apps like Eyes Up, ICEBlock, and Red Dot, built to document ICE abuses and alert communities, have been banned from Apple and Google stores under pressure from the Trump administration. archive.ph/T5ZmS

OpenAI just struck a deal with California’s Attorney General to become a for-profit company, while keeping a nonprofit arm “in control.” Critics warn it’s full of loopholes and conflicts of interest, allowing OpenAI to keep tax benefits while chasing profit. calmatters.org/econo... #openai #ca

We fought nearly 100 bills in Sacramento this year. 28 privacy, transparency, and justice wins signed into law. ✅ Stopped SB 690 — the worst privacy rollback of 2025. California is stronger when the public stays vigilant. #privacy #transparency #california #digitalrights 1/4

SF’s 2019 surveillance law let the public hold city agencies accountable. Now Supervisor Dorsey wants to strip that power away. Without attorney fee protections, only the wealthy could challenge violations. Tell the Board to defend transparency. takeaction.salsalabs... #sf #ca #transparency

San Francisco’s surveillance transparency law is under attack. Supervisor Matt Dorsey wants to remove attorney fee protections making it nearly impossible to hold the city accountable for illegal surveillance. takeaction.salsalabs... #privacy #transparency #sanfrancisco #surveillance #civilrights

Federal immigration agents are arriving in the East Bay, including Berkeley & Oakland. Local orgs warn: stay calm, don’t spread unverified raid alerts, and know your rights. 24/7 legal hotline: 510-241-4011 (ACILEP). www.berkeleyside.org... #eastbay #immigration #knowyourrights

In the words of the former chair of the FTC! 😀

Ring’s founder claims AI-powered cameras could “zero out crime” within a year and he’s reviving police partnerships to do it. A chilling vision of safety through total surveillance. www.theverge.com/tec... #privacy #surveillance #techethics #ring #tech #city #safety #dataprivacy

Fremont (CA) to replace existing license plate readers and add 71 Flock cameras for a total of 80 cameras. Staff report includes no information on effectiveness of existing cameras or the need for more cameras. @oaklandprivacy.bsky.social fremontcityca.iqm2.com/Citizens/Fil...

Newark (CA) to renew Flock contract for 26 license plate readers for about $60k annually. Per usual, staff report for continuing mass surveillance includes no information on effectiveness of existing cameras. @oaklandprivacy.bsky.social @twrling.bsky.social destinyhosted.com/agenda_publi...

Starbucks’ loyalty program may be doing more than tracking your coffee habits, it might be charging you more. Using his own data, author Geoffrey A. Fowler found the more coffee he bought, the fewer deals he got. http://archive.today... #privacy #surveillance #consumerprotection #starbucks

Oakland is quietly bringing AI into city government. Officials say it’s about efficiency. Critics warn it risks bias, privacy breaches, and job loss. oaklandside.org/2025... #oakland #aiethics #digitalgovernance #ca #tech #ai #oaklandside #local

We gotta get Flock cameras out of SF. Austin ended their Flock contract, so can we!

Berkeley, the last city in Alameda County with open police radio channels, may soon change its tune. Police Chief Jen Louis is asking City Council to fully encrypt all communications, ending decades of public transparency. www.berkeleyside.org... #transparency #accountability #berkeley

Link to the full letter: www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/do...

Sen. Ron Wyden revealed that ICE, the Secret Service, and the Navy’s NCIS all had access to Flock’s nationwide network of AI cameras. Essentially, tracking vehicles and people across the U.S. without warrants or oversight. http://archive.today... #privacy #surveillance #civilrights

California just made digital privacy a whole lot easier. Gov. Newsom signed two new bills, AB 566 and SB 361, letting residents opt out of data collection across all websites with a single browser setting. gizmodo.com/californ... #privacy #dataprotection #techpolicy #ca #newsom

OpenAI allegedly sent police to an AI regulation advocate’s home. Lawyer Nathan Calvin says a sheriff served him a subpoena demanding private messages with lawmakers, students, and former OpenAI staff. www.theverge.com/new... #ai #openaipolicy #techaccountability #openai #tech

Flock Safety is adding “human distress” detection to its Raven gunshot system, microphones on city streets that can now flag “screaming.” Civil liberties advocates warn: these aren’t just sensors, they’re surveillance mics. www.eff.org/deeplink... #privacy #surveillance #civilrights #eff

SB 274 = a commonsense fix for license plate reader abuse: no more leaks to ICE, no secret hotlists, no endless data hoarding. The Legislature passed it. Gov. Newsom must sign. takeaction.salsalabs... #privacy #surveillance #accountability

License plate readers shouldn’t be tools for ICE, Border Patrol, or abusive cops. SB 274 restores limits + oversight. Tell Gov. Newsom: sign SB 274 today. takeaction.salsalabs... #civilrights #privacy #immigration #surveillance

ALPR abuse is rampant: leaks to ICE, stalker cops, “personal” hotlists. SB 274 brings accountability: case numbers, reasonable suspicion, 60-day deletion. Urge Gov. Newsom to sign now. takeaction.salsalabs... #civilrights #privacy #techpolicy

Our next meeting will be today, Wednesday, September 24th, 2025 at 6:30pm PST (over Zoom). If you are interested in joining the meeting, email [email protected] for the agenda and the zoom information.

CA cops are leaking license plate reader data to ICE & Border Patrol, which has been illegal since 2016. SB 274 fixes it with clear rules + limits. The Legislature did its job. Now it’s on Gov. Newsom to act. Sign SB 274. takeaction.salsalabs... #privacy #civilrights #surveillance

CA cops’ license plate reader data has been leaking to ICE + Border Patrol- illegal under state law since 2016. SB 274 would curb abuse with commonsense rules: case numbers, reasonable suspicion, & deletion after 60 days. #privacy #surveillance #immigration

Tell Gov. Newsom to stop illegal license plate reader data leaks to ICE & Border Patrol. SB 274 adds commonsense rules: case numbers, reasonable suspicion, 60-day deletion. The Legislature passed it. Now he must sign it. takeaction.salsalabs... #privacy #surveillance #civilrights

ICE arrests are up 123% under Trump’s 2nd term, fueled by new surveillance powers. Reports show ICE using San Francisco license plate data, Israeli spyware Graphite to hack phones, and expanded data sharing with IRS + Palantir. www.kqed.org/news/12... #surveillance #privacy #immigration #ice

House Democrats are demanding answers from DHS Sec. Kristi Noem about ICE’s new “Mobile Fortify” app- facial recognition in beta that taps CBP, FBI, State Dept, and state databases. www.404media.co/cong... #facialrecognition #privacy #surveillance

A hacker accessed 130TB of Nexar dashcam footage, capturing private moments inside cars, GPS data, and even videos near CIA HQ + U.S. military bases. Nexar sells blurred dashcam imagery as “virtual CCTV” to tech firms + cities. http://archive.today... #privacy #surveillance #databreach