S.F. cops may have gone too far in seizing DJ gear at underground parties
Jennifer Maerz, SF Weekly
San Francisco police have been confiscating DJs' laptops when they break up warehouse parties, even though no one is being arrested or even cited. The practice is chilling, and deprives the DJs of their means of livelihood, even though the DJs did nothing wrong. This article reviews what's been happening and EFF's role in trying to protect laptop privacy.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is taking on Credible's and Higgins' cases. The San Francisco–based organization strives to protect privacy as it relates to computer and Internet technology and does a lot of work with computer searches and seizures. Civil liberties director Jennifer Granick says she's concerned about the recent laptop grabs because they've apparently been done without arrests being made. She explains that police can seize the property of someone who is being arrested, and if, say, alcohol is being sold illegally or people have weapons in their possession, cops can confiscate those items. "You can't just go to a party and say, 'You can't have a party because it's after hours and you don't have a permit,' and just take people's property," she adds. She points out that taking laptops away is "a real interference with people's livelihood, whether they are professional DJs or they work somewhere else."
Related Issues: Privacy
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