The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) announced that the Vancouver Police Department have admitted to using a Stingray device in the past.
As stated on the BCCLA website, the controversial cellphone surveillance device “intercepts cell phones’ connections to communications towers in order to scoop up data from cellphones in a given geographical area.”
What makes these devices so controversial is that they aren’t a targeted surveillance, but rather a mass surveillance.
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The issue was initially raised when the BC Information and Privacy Commissioner made an inquiry into the VPD’s records regarding Stingray use.
It was then suspended when the VPD said they would neither “confirm nor deny” the usage of these devices.
According to the BCCLA, the VPD eventually admitted to using an RCMP’s Stingray and said that they would do it again.
BCCLA mentions that “we are largely dependent on the good will of the police to use these devices responsibly because protection from illegitimate or abusive use is next to nil.”
For more information on the BCCLA and this new information they’ve gathered, visit their website.