In the wake of a flood of news about police beatings, especially dealing with the African-American community, tech companies find themselves on the front line of the battle.
The battle for transparency — that's what Zachary Norris, executive director of Oakland’s Ella Baker Center for Human Rights calls it.
“Police violence against people of color is epidemic,” he says.
According to Norris, streaming services like Facebook Live — used to record and post video of the deadly shooting of Philando Castile — and Periscope can be extremely helpful.
In fact, the Ella Baker Center worked with the ACLU on another streaming app, called “California Justice.” It’s a free download from the app store, and in addition to letting you record an interaction with one touch, it will automatically upload the footage to the ACLU, in case your phone gets broken or taken away.
Look for more of these interactions to be recorded. Police officers tell us they know they’re being watched more closely.
It’s technology likely to lead to more transparency.
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Scott is on Twitter: @scottbudman
