Community Oversight of Surveillance - D.C. Happy Hour

Streetlights that conceal tiny cameras and microphones that can stealthily monitor their surroundings and transmit their feeds back to local police. Software used to covertly monitor, collect, and analyze individuals’ social media data to chart your relationships, monitor protests, measure influence, and identify the leaders of political and social movements.

Sounds like an episode of Black Mirror, right?

Turns out, these are surveillance technologies that D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and local government may have considered purchasing or may already be using.

We say “may” because there’s no requirement that MPD or other local agencies disclose to the public or the D.C. Council what technologies they’re using, how they’re being used, how much they cost, or how the data is being shared and retained.

We're inviting you to the launch of Community Oversight of Surveillance in D.C. (COS-DC) a campaign to stop secret surveillance of D.C. residents by local government and MPD. We are a growing coalition of D.C.-based organizations and community members working to draft and pass legislation to require that all surveillance technologies (including those already in use) must be approved by the D.C. Council and be disclosed to the public.

Join us for a Happy Hour at Mr. Henry’s on Thursday, June 27 from 5:00-7:30 to learn more about this local effort to move towards community control over government surveillance!

You can learn more about the types of technologies that local governments and police departments all over the country are using to surveil our communities here.

If you have any questions please contact Larry Bryant at 202.445.6617 or lbryant [at] acludc.org.