The Cradle
According to a report by the New York Daily News, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has suspended plans for a $750,000 no-bid contract with Israeli surveillance firm Cognyte following intense public backlash and civil rights concerns.
The department confirmed on Tuesday that it is restarting the procurement process to accept competitive proposals after Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to address growing outrage over the city’s intent to acquire invasive artificial intelligence surveillance technology.
The initial deal sought to equip police vehicles with Cognyte’s “FalcoNet” system—an AI-driven mobile cell-site simulator that acts as a fake cell tower to intercept nearby mobile device signals and track targeted individuals.
Human rights organizations and local lawmakers vehemently condemned the procurement, highlighting that Cognyte has been banned across Meta platforms and linked to authoritarian regimes and Israeli military units targeting political dissidents.
City Councilmembers Tiffany Cabán and Julie Won, alongside legal advocacy groups, warned that deploying stringray-style surveillance tools threatens fundamental constitutional protections and risks expanding warrantless mass surveillance across New York communities.
Although an NYPD spokesperson noted that Cognyte may still participate in the open bidding process, civil liberties advocates continue to demand strict legislative bans against municipal contracts with foreign intelligence contractors and state surveillance providers.
