Transcript of How to Stop Cops From Using Apple Vision to Spy on You

are cops able to monitor anyone from anywhere from cameras all over the city and they can see you from more places than just behind their desk as a former prosecutor now turned people's lawyer I have seen firsthand how technology has shaped law enforcement and not always for the better imagine this you're going about your day as normal and somewhere nearby a police officer is accessing live video surveillance camera feeds from all over the City he's then comparing them to police databases and he's deploying resources all through the use of a virtual reality headset Apple's Vision Pro headset is making that possible and it's going on right now in California last month the Orange County Sheriff's Department in California admitted that they are testing and looking to actively deploy Apple's virtual headsets for police surveillance imagine a police officer being able to stand almost anywhere putting on this virtual headset and immediately getting 3D maps criminal database information social media photos and any other information from the real-time crime Center in being able to actually actively look and see what's going on in the location he's at physically in the moment with this headset police can now track respond and strategize all on the go but here's the real question what does this mean for your privacy can they do all of this without a warrant where is the legal line drawn when it comes to this type of police surveillance activity that brings us to case law in cats versus United States the United States Supreme Court ruled that police must have a warrant if they are going to tap in to private Communications even if it's in a public space this case set the standard it established a test for any type of technology to determine whether or not there is a reasonable expectation of privacy for a violation of your rights the court and cats really focused on one primary point it all hinges on whether or not the police use of Technology qualifies as a search under current Fourth Amendment law in order for your fourth amendment rights to be violated the Supreme Court has said that you must have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a particular place or object and then there must be an actual search that takes place by the police how do we know if we have a reasonable expectation of privacy this is where the court and cats gave us a two-part test under the cat's test you have a reasonable expectation of privacy if number one you have manifested a subjective expectation of privacy in it in the object or thing and number two Society is willing to recognize that expectation as reasonable for example the courts have long held that putting up a privacy fence around your backyard or even in your front yard establishes a reasonable expectation of privacy why well number one you are making it clear it's a privacy fence and you don't want people looking in to any area around your property but number two Society has recognized when you put up a privacy fence that there is a reasonable expectation you want to remain private but what about part two how do we know if there was an actual surge here's what's crazy police use of a virtual reality headset or any other live surveillance feed cameras has been ruled to be legal and not a violation of your fourth amendment search rights as of right now by the United States Supreme Court why primarily they see it as there's no actual search that took place the courts really focused specifically on one point where is the location of the cameras that the officers are tapping into to surveil you if those cameras are located on a public easement or maybe in a public area or those cameras maybe were given consent to be used by business owners or residential area homeowners to the police in other words they gave police consent to use those cameras then the court has said that that is not a violation because whatever is seen in plain view by an officer is not a violation of your fourth amendment search rights so as long as the police can continue to have people either consent to use their cameras or they Place cameras up in public public easements then the cops can tap into these as much as they want here's the question now that cops are able to tap into these resources anytime they want to and use it anywhere through a virtual headset are they nearing the breaking point on this law this is where Supreme Court case law gets even a little more complicated because now we start talking about the Supreme Court case of United States versus Jones in that case the Court ruled that prolonged GPS tracking by the police of someone vehicle violated their fourth amendment search rights but what happens when a police officer now uses an apple Vision Pro to monitor your entire neighborhood maybe he's going to access license plate readers he's going to access security camera feeds and then start comparing people's license plates to police databases all of this without you even knowing about it in addition to Orange County Police Department the Los Angeles Police Department has already recently invested an additional $20,000 in these virtual reality headsets and all of it their plan is to use it to tap into live camera feeds and compare it to any other databases they have so that they can use them in real time to track people in fact they said specifically their goal was quote enhanced surveillance and monitoring think about it officers with critical private information overlaid on top of live video feeds crime hotspots LIC plate readers all of this popping up right in front of them on a virtual reality headset and here's where it really gets interesting right now this technology is a little clunky it's a little heavy it's a little hard to carry around but Apple has already promised that they're working on a lighter version of the exact same headset specifically for law enforcement use and when that happens we could be looking at a future where police officers don't need to be out on the beat anymore in the public I because they're able to access all live camera feeds and all critical information all from the comfort of wherever they want to be on a virtual reality headset this brings us to the critical legal question as technology advances how do we balance Public Safety with our privacy rights we saw this with Carpenter versus United States where in this case the United States Supreme Court ruled that police accessing cell phone location data without a warrant was held to be unconstitutional so if police are using headsets to access live video feeds and data to be used with those video feeds where's the warrant where is the oversight let's take this one step further it is true that if police did use technology like apple Vision Pro they could respond to crimes quicker they could deploy Resources with pinpoint accuracy but the question becomes at what cost will this technology in the hands of police allow officers to sidestep our legal protections and now this technology could be used in almost any imaginable situation where video surveillance could be tapped into and our privacy rights violated by the way if you think I'm exaggerating this or I'm overselling whether or not police are excited about using this technology listen to what the CIO the Chief Information officer of Orange County Sheriff's Department said when he started demoing these particular headsets he said that Apple's VR headsets were a perfect fit for his realtime crime surveillance Center he said this and I quote I was able to put on the headset and transport myself into the environment and manipulate different aspects I was able to manipulate maps and bring them bump at a 3D environment move assets Place officers in vehicles and manipulate camera feeds it was eye openening as a former prosecutor I have seen firsthand how technology can outpace the law and outpace the Supreme Court's willingness to address what this technology can do to our privacy rights but as the people's lawyer it's my job to ask where should we properly draw the line right now Apple's Vision Pro headsets are just a tool being tested by law enforcement for larger rollout but one thing you can guarantee is that other law enforcement agencies are watching to see ways they can apply it to their own agency and if this becomes mainstream will the Supreme Court finally have the courage to address whether a police officer being able to grab a virtual reality headset and immediately see anything and almost anywhere in real time is that in alignment with our constitutional values or is this a true Fourth Amendment violation of our privacy when that time comes I certainly hope the United States Supreme Court remembers what was ruled on in the past Court precedent established in cats in Jones and in Carpenter clearly outlining that what's going on with the advancements of some of these Technologies particularly with a virtual reality headset would be a violation of our privacy rights here's the bottom line this is just the beginning we all know that law enforcement is always looking for ways to expand their reach to see more people doing more things Apple Pro is just one example of technology that law enforcement can currently use to give them a tool to see more and do more and they know they can use it right now because the Supreme Court has yet to rule on it but with great power comes great responsibility and it's up to us and of course the court system to make sure that our privacy isn't the price we pay for our safety I'll be following this story closely and if you hear any stories or updates about police or law enforcement technology being used to violate privacy rights let me know not only tell me in the comments send me the Articles let me know some of the things that you're finding so that we can expose them and talk about them in more detail to determine if they're violating our constitutional rights now speaking of technology and police did you know that police are using technology right now that allows them to see through the walls of your home and spy on you check out this next where I break down how to stop cops from seeing through walls to spy on your home see you over there