Stop the Bait and Switch on Vallejo Stingray Privacy Policy

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No Bait and Switch on Vallejo Stingray Privacy Policy

On March 24, 2020, just as the COVID-19 lockdown was taking hold, the Vallejo City Council approved the purchase of a cell site simulator, commonly known as a stingray. The Council did not review or approve a privacy and use policy for the device, although they were warned by advocacy groups Oakland Privacy and the Elecronic Frontier Foundation that public comment and a council vote to approve the policy was required under California law.

In June, Oakland Privacy along with Vallejo residents Dan Rubins and Solange Echeverria, sued the City of Vallejo for the violation of law. A preliminary ruling from Solano Superior Court agreed with the plaintiffs.

Following the preliminary ruling, City of Vallejo staff notified the plaintiff's attorney that a public hearing on the privacy policy would occur during the October 27th meeting. Advocacy groups including Oakland Privacy, Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU of Northern California made every effort to notify as many Vallejo residents as possible.

But just days ago, the city of Vallejo suddenly reversed themselves and announced the public hearing would be held at the October 13th meeting instead. As pretty much the last item on a long agenda.

The last minute date change confuses the public, forces advocacy groups to scramble to get out the correct date and will inevitably depress the public input that Vallejo residents and Oakland Privacy went to court to secure.

Tell the Vallejo City Council to stick to the announced date and stop trying to keep Vallejo residents from weighing in on how they are watched. The item should be postponed to the October 27th date originally announced by the City of Vallejo.

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Vallejo City Council

Subject: Privacy Policy for Cell Site Simulator - October 13

Message:

Dear Mayor Sampayan and Honorable Members of the Vallejo City Council, I am writing to ask you to postpone the public comment session for the privacy and use policy for Vallejo's new cell site simulator to the previously announced date of October 27. As you may or may not know, city staff informed advocates the item would be on the agenda for public input and your vote on October 27th. This date, which was publicized by numerous community groups, was suddenly changed to October 13th with only 5 days notice, leaving advocates and community members with barely1-2 working days to correct the previous date.. A sudden change works against goals of transparency and robust community input and burdens the community with not only having to adjust personal schedules, but to get the word out about the changed date. The intent of Oakland Privacy vs. Vallejo, the lawsuit filed against the city, was to enforce Section 53166 of the CA state code, which requires a public vote, but also to allow the residents of Vallejo to understand how this new piece of law enforcement equipment would be used and to have a community conversation about when and where tracking cell phones is appropriate. We know the City has been making efforts to repair trust between the community and the Vallejo Police Department. Sticking to the original date and avoiding the perception of a bait and switch to depress community input would be a very good step for the City Council to take to promote increased trust. Thank you for your time. Please move and support a move, to postpone the stingray policy item to the meeting of October 27th as previously announced.

Remaining:

No Bait and Switch on Vallejo Stingray Privacy Policy

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Thank you for taking action.