The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has stepped up its efforts to ensure transparency in the use of technologies by law enforcement agencies in California. Recently, the EFF filed public records requests to obtain information about the use of technologies provided by the companies Pen-Link and its subsidiary Cobwebs Technologies, focusing on the context of the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department.
Although the sheriff’s office provided 40 pages of redacted documents, much of the relevant information was hidden at the request of Pen-Link, which argued that the descriptions and prices of their products and services constitute trade secrets. This point is crucial, as it could reveal whether the department is acquiring services related to the collection of citizens’ location data, facial recognition technologies, or monitoring of social networks, as well as the costs associated with these services.
In response to EFF’s actions, Pen-Link has filed a lawsuit to permanently block the disclosure of this information, prompting EFF to intervene in the case to ensure that the records are accessible to the public. This situation has been dubbed a “reverse public records lawsuit,” making it an unusual circumstance as it seeks to prevent access to documents that are normally meant to be transparent, using a justification that traditionally protects individuals’ privacy rather than companies’ trade secrets.
The case is currently ongoing in the Superior Court of California, in San Joaquin County, under case number STK-CV-UWM-0016425. EFF remains committed to its work of promoting public transparency, asserting that citizens have the right to know how their data is being used and what technologies are being implemented by law enforcement.
via: MiMub in Spanish
