ACLU Applauds California Senate Approval of Bill to Establish Safeguards Before Law Enforcement Can Acquire New Surveillance Technology

Contact: Daisy Vieyra, (916) 442-1036 x613

Sacramento – Today, the State Senate advanced SB 1186 to the Assembly for consideration. SB 1186, introduced by Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) requires public debate and a vote by local elected leaders prior to law enforcement’s acquisition of new surveillance technology, among other oversight protections.

The following statement is attributed to Matt Cagle, Technology & Civil Liberties Attorney with the ACLU of Northern California, in response to the bill’s passage:

SB 1186 gives all Californians a seat at the table when it comes to surveillance technology used by local law enforcement including drones, license plate readers, and social media surveillance. As things stand, these technologies are frequently deployed in secret without public oversight and used disproportionately to target people of color and other vulnerable communities.

California needs SB 1186 to enhance public safety and to give local communities a safeguard against intrusive surveillance technologies and the private companies who profit from them. We are pleased the Senate advanced the bill to the Assembly where we will continue to fight for the bill in its strongest form.

SB 1186 is supported by a broad coalition of organizations, including ACLU of California, American Friends Service Committee, Asian Law Alliance, Black Lives Matter Sacramento, California Immigrant Policy Center, Centro Legal de la Raza, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice – Ventura County, Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights, Coalition for Justice and Accountability, Color of Change, Council on American-Islamic Relations – California, Courage Campaign, Defending Rights & Dissent, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Fair Chance Project, Fools Mission, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Greenlining Institute, Indivisible California, Media Alliance, Oakland Privacy, OCCORD – Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development, Our Family Coalition, Presente Action, Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, Restore the 4th SF-Bay Area, San Francisco Peninsula People Power, San Jose Peace & Justice Center, Tenth Amendment Center, and The Utility Reform Network.