A youth climate group held a \u201cBillionaire Watch Party\u201d outside local crypto billionaire Chris Larsen\u2019s house Saturday in response to his financial contributions to SFPD\u2019s \u201cReal-Time Investigation Center.\u201d<\/p>\n
Activists gathered outside cryptocurrency billionaire Chris Larsen\u2019s Russian Hill home Saturday for a \u201cBillionaire Watch Party<\/a>,\u201d protesting his financial support for SFPD surveillance technology, as ABC 7 reports<\/a>. <\/p>\n The demonstration was organized by the youth climate group Sunrise Movement Bay Area<\/a> as part of a national week of action against automated license plate readers, with protesters distributing flyers about Flock Safety cameras and displaying a mock surveillance camera marked, \u201cDoes this make you feel safer, Chris?\u201d<\/p>\n Organizer Luc Bouchard said the demonstration was aimed specifically at Larsen because of his financial backing of the city\u2019s surveillance infrastructure. <\/p>\n Last year, Larsen donated $9.4 million to the SFPD<\/a>, the majority of which went toward 12 drones and docking stations, a large video wall, and related equipment and services, while the remaining funds covered unused office space leased by Larsen’s company Ripple Labs at 315 Montgomery for SFPD\u2019s \u201cReal Time Investigation Center.\u201d Larsen co-founded the nonprofit San Francisco Police Community Foundation, which facilitated the donation.<\/p>\n The SFPD has said automated license plate readers can help officers locate stolen vehicles and missing people, while privacy advocates have raised concerns about how the data could be used, including for tracking people seeking abortion or gender-affirming care, or in immigration enforcement. <\/p>\n According to ABC 7, the group said it supports efforts to improve public safety, but argued that the city should invest more in affordable housing, jobs, and social services rather than expanding surveillance. <\/p>\n \u201cHe feels that he’s entitled to watch us, we came to his house to watch him,\u201d Bouchard said. Bouchard also noted that there is little evidence that Flock cameras significantly affect crime rates.<\/p>\n Prior to Larsen’s contribution, the SFPD quietly installed 400 automated license plate readers<\/a> around town in January 2024. The cameras reportedly captured about 3 million images per day over an eight-month period, while producing 42,000 positive identifications of vehicles SFPD was looking for \u2014 resulting in a mere 140 arrests.<\/p>\n As KQED reports<\/a>, activists in other Bay Area cities have also challenged Flock Safety, including Oakland, Palo Alto, and Gilroy. NBC Bay Area reported<\/a> last month that organizers in El Cerrito were successful in getting the city to remove its Flock cameras. <\/p>\n