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Across the FieldUpturn, Inc. v. New York City Police Department
Logan Koepke, Emma Weil, Harlan Yu, and Urmila Janardan
LitigationWe are suing the NYPD for records concerning the department’s use of mobile device forensic technology. We sought these records as part of our investigation into the tools that police departments across the US use to search cellphones. The NYPD denied our request for records of using these tools.
Upturn is represented on a pro-bono basis by Shearman & Sterling, LLP and the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.).
Related Work
This report is the most comprehensive examination of U.S. law enforcement’s use of mobile device forensic tools. Our research shows that every American is at risk of having their phone forensically searched by law enforcement.
PolicingConsistent with the calls to defund the police by Black-led DC-based organizers, we testified that the District needs a new approach to public safety, including a significant reduction in taxpayer spending on police surveillance technologies.
PolicingTogether with computer security experts, we filed an amicus brief in support of the unsealing of a judicial opinion regarding the federal government’s attempt to wiretap Facebook Messenger voice calls, which are end-to-end encrypted.
PolicingToday, most major police departments that use body-worn cameras allow officers unrestricted footage review. This report explains why police departments must carefully limit officers’ review of body-worn camera footage, and calls for “clean reporting” to be adopted by all police departments.
Policing