One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Police In Anaheim, Home Of Disneyland, Have Been Spying On Cell Phones
If you've used a cell phone at Disneyland in the last few years, chances are the Anaheim PD knows about it. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union has found that the Anaheim Police Department has spent years conducting secret cell phone surveillance.According to Buzzfeed, the device, called a "Dirtbox," was mounted to an airplane, and allowed the police to "collect information about thousands of phones at once." That information includes content, digital voice data, and text messages.
"[These devices range] from devices that can be placed in an airplane and flown above the city, or put in a van and driven around buildings or through neighborhoods," ACLU of Northern California attorney Matt Cagle told KPCC. "We think that because these devices can peer inside of constitutionally-protected spaces, such as homes, they risk invading reasonable expectations of privacy that our Constitution protects."
According to documents acquired by the ACLU, the surveillance dates back to 2009. And in 2011, the Anaheim Police Department even upgraded their equipment, purchasing a "Stingray," a land-based device that simulates a cell phone tower that the ACLU described as "military-grade."
"This cell phone spying program—which potentially affects the privacy of everyone from Orange County's 3 million residents to the 16 million people who visit Disneyland every year—shows the dangers of allowing law enforcement to secretly acquire surveillance technology," Cagle wrote in a blog post
The City of Anaheim and the police department have not yet commented on the case, citing pending litigation with the ACLU.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
