The American Civil Liberties Union last week unveiled the California version of their app that lets users record interactions with the police and automatically upload them to the ACLU's servers. The civil rights group has released similar apps in New York, New Jersey, Mississippi, Oregon, Nebraska, and Missouri. The reason they are released on a state-by-state basis, Tim Cushing reports at Techdirt, is to align with slightly-different local laws. The “Mobile Justice CA" app is for iPhones or Android, and is in English and Spanish. It does just a few important things:
• When the large red “Record” button in the middle of the screen is pressed, video is recorded on the phone and a copy transmitted simultaneously to the ACLU server.
• When the “stop” button is pressed, a “Report” screen appears, where one can type in details.
The video and the information are reviewed by ACLU staff members, with the reports treated as confidential and privileged legal communications. The videos, though, may be shared with the news media, community organizations, or the general public.