Two members of the Oakland Privacy Working Group (now called simply ‘Oakland Privacy‘) recently gave a presentation at the 2016 HOPE Conference in New York City about the work that went into opposing (and essentially defeating) the Domain Awareness Center here in  Oakland.

Aestetix, a technology expert who has since moved to Europe, and Brian Hofer, a local lawyer and now chair of the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission, both members of OPWG while the fight against the DAC was being waged, gave the presentation.

This talk covered the reign of surveillance that has secretly taken over the United States at the local level through use of federal grant money, and offered suggestions on how we can fight back. It’s the story of how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tried to create a fusion center in Oakland, California. In particular, the presentation shared details of that Oakland privacy policy the speakers helped create in response to this intrusive spy system, and the advocacy that led to its creation.

Here it is. The title quote is just a minute or two in.

Spy Hard with a Vengeance: How One City Stood Up to the Department of Homeland Security