Silicon Valley county quashes stingray project, for now

Technology buffs in Silicon Valley won’t have to worry about a stingray device in their backyard — at least not for now.

The California county that houses much of the U.S. technology sector will not move forward with plans to approve the purchase of the device, which mimics a cellphone tower in order to monitor mobile devices.

{mosads}The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is reportedly halting its plans — at least for now — over a dispute with a Florida-based stingray manufacturer on what information about the tool could be disclosed through public records requests.

“We were in negotiations with Harris [Corp.], and we couldn’t get them to agree to even the most basic criteria we have in terms of being responsive to public records requests,” he said,” County Executive Jeffrey Smith told Ars Technica.

“After many hours of back and forth it became clear that they weren’t going to consent to a contract in an attempt to keep everything secret and non-discoverable and that’s not something we could live with as a public agency.”

Experts said the county’s refusal to move forward is rare at a time when local police forces around the country are eager to buy stingray technology.

Leading lawmakers have expressed concerns about stingray devices, which were reportedly developed by the CIA, despite a ban on domestic spying by the agency.

The tools, also known as “IMSI-catchers” interact with targets’ cellphones as if they were normal cell towers in order to track individuals’ locations and identifying information.

The U.S. Marshals Service reportedly houses them inside airplanes that make regular tours of large regions, giving law enforcement the ability to monitor thousands of people at a time.

The FBI has gone to great lengths to protect the secrecy surrounding stingray devices, though the bureau was reportedly not involved in discussions in Santa Clara County.