ACLU app allows Californians to record and preserve videos of police civil-rights violations
A new smartphone app from the American Civil Liberties Union of California allows users to record video of alleged civil rights abuses by police and automatically send the recording to the group.
The free Mobile Justice CA app, unveiled Thursday, will allow users to preserve the video, even if police try to confiscate or erase it, according to the Los Angeles Times and a press release.
The video is preserved and sent to the ACLU with a “record” function. Other functions include:
• A “witness” function sends alerts to others with the app who are close and can document a police encounter.
• A “report” function can be used to complete and automatically send a report to the ACLU.
• A “know your rights” function provides an overview of a person’s rights in a law enforcement stop.
The app is intended for use by bystanders, according to the press release. Anyone who wants to use the app to record their own interaction with police should announce they are reaching for a phone to use an app to record the incident.
Loyola law professor Laurie Levenson told the Los Angeles Times that the app creates privacy concerns. “Everyone wants to keep an eye on the police. But in these incidents, the police are interacting with an individual involved in the worst conduct of their lives,” she said. “The ACLU needs to consider their privacy rights.”
A staff lawyer with the ACLU of Southern California told the Los Angeles Times that videos would not be publicized unless they raise a substantial issue needing public attention. The terms of use will allow the ACLU to distribute the video.
A smattering of ACLU chapters in other states have introduced similar apps.
