NYPD issues cease-and-desist letter to Google
Marie Donlon | February 07, 2019
The New York Police Department has sent Google a cease-and-desist letter, demanding that the company remove a feature that lets users know where police checkpoints are in real time.
The feature in question appears on Waze, the navigation app that Google purchased back in 2013. It works like a crowd-sourcing social network in which users inform others of road conditions, police checkpoints, speed cameras, potholes and traffic.
According to the Feb. 2 letter, the NYPD asked Google to take precautions, ensuring that NYPD’s checkpoint data isn’t uploaded or posted on the company’s map applications like Google Maps to reveal the locations of police officers and subsequently enabling drivers to avoid DWIs.
"Individuals who post the locations of DWI checkpoints may be engaging in criminal conduct since such actions could be intentional attempts to prevent and/or impair the administration of the DWI laws and other relevant criminal and traffic laws," the letter read. "Revealing the location of checkpoints puts those drivers, their passengers and the general public at risk."
A Google spokesperson responded to the letter with the following statement: “Safety is a top priority when developing navigation features at Google. We believe that informing drivers about upcoming speed traps allows them to be more careful and make safer decisions when they’re on the road.”
The letter is not the first communication between the NYPD and the tech giant. In 2015, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, a union of roughly 13,000 active and retired NYPD sergeants, wrote a letter to Google, demanding that the company deactivate a feature that enabled users to track police officer locations throughout the city. The first letter was sent following the shooting deaths of two Brooklyn police officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. The Sergeants Benevolent Association believes that the officers were located by the gunman using the Waze app.
I don't see that this is a problem, drunk people aren't going to look at any apps, they're drunk! ...and it allows the sober to avoid delays...Down here they post the locations of checkpoints beforehand in the paper as a public service...
The chp will post where but not the time ( other than saying am or pm ).
The local sheriff check point is posted in the paper afterwards but not before.
The newspaper article will state, as examples : 10 DWI, 4 expired license, 7 vehicle infraction, etc.
Check points give the police an opportunity to enforce every and any conceivable law, many well known and if the opportunity presents itself, any number of obscure laws also.
In the past, check points were an opportunity for departments with low operating budgets to " gather " support. A person ( usually a traveler ) would get cited, then directed to the nearest station or 24 hour court to post " bail " .
Many people have this app set on alert, so if and when they are drinking or just driving.
It's sort of the modern day smokey bear report & way back when, the police didn't like those over the air reports either.
In reply to #2
Many years ago, on a lonely country two lane highway in south Georgia, coming back from vacation in Florida, we were stopped at a check point in the middle of the day. The deputy said my tag on my travel trailer expires tomorrow. I told him "Yes, I know. I will be home by tomorrow. My new stickers are in my mailbox awaiting my return."
And then he just stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face for about 15 seconds like he was trying to think of S - O - M - E - T - H - I - N - G before telling us we could go. It was like he was disappointed he couldn't write us a ticket for expired tags after checking our lights and such.
While these checkpoints may be technically legal, they smack of abuse of power. It wasn't like they were looking for a fugitive or drunk drivers or anything, they were out there trying to fish in a barrel.
I couldn't keep this image out of my head . . . .
In reply to #3
I agree, this seems more like harassment than law enforcement...Paperw
In reply to #2
It is often used as a money machine, in Los Angeles. Anyone deemed "unable to drive" had their car impounded on the spot (No license, DUI, out of date registration etc. ) and the impound yards charged exorbitant fees for retrieval. They were in cahoots with the local Municipalities and got kickbacks from the tow yards who had "privileged rights to tow and store". The Courts finally stepped in and shut down the racketeering in some jurisdictions. I know of 2 individuals who could not afford both the fines and towing/storage charges and had to forfeit their vehicles instead
Check points are simply searching without a warrant and is not constitutional. I say beat this unconstitutional search any way you can.
I FIRMLY BELIEVE NYPD IS BLUFFING!
Big city PD trying to wag their weight and power around. Laughable at best.
In reply to #7
In the WORDS OF THE NYPD ""Individuals who post the locations of DWI checkpoints may be engaging in criminal conduct"
FOCUS ON THE WORD "MAY" AND READ BETWEEN THE LINES. If the NYPD were certain they had any clout in this broad assumption they have mad they would have used the word ARE instead of MAY. This will get thrown out of court or be easily won by Google. I hope the NYPD files a legal action so we can get this cleared up for all the people who would like to create similar cellualr APPS.