The Oakland Police Department’s future use of a cell-site simulator, known as Stingray, hinges on the policy’s approval by the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission and the Oakland City Council. The Stingray, and its upgraded version, the Hailstorm, poses as a cellular tower and tricks cell phones into giving up data like unique ID numbers and location. The police use it to locate a suspect or victim in an investigation, but critics have long voiced concerns about privacy and potential abuse of the powerful tool.
The commission and OPD representatives will reconvene on Thursday, Oct 20th in a special session to discuss and likely vote on an updated policy.
Video of the previous OPAC meeting.
Recent article about the Stingray, the policy, OPAC, etc.