The New York City Police Department sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google, ordering them to remove a feature in their navigation app Waze that alerts drivers to the locations of speed traps and DWI checkpoints. Waze recently released the feature, which shows drivers the real-time location of police checkpoints. Users have been able to flag reports of police activity within the app, but only recently was that data integrated into the app in real-time.
While motorists love the feature, which helps them avoid getting pulled over for speeding, the NYPD believes it undermines their job and makes it easier for drunk drivers to avoid getting caught. According to Streetsblog, the department’s acting deputy commissioner for legal matters, Ann P. Prunty, wrote in the cease-and-desist letter that "revealing the location of checkpoints puts those drivers, their passengers, and the general public at risk.”
In addition, the NYPD claims that anybody who flags a DWI checkpoint could be in violation of the law as well.
"Individuals who post the locations of DWI checkpoints may be engaging in criminal conduct since such actions could be intentional attempts to prevent and/or impair the administration of the DWI laws and other relevant criminal and traffic laws."
Google does not appear to be willing to remove the feature and responded to the NYPD saying that the feature "allows [drivers] to be more careful and make safer decisions when they’re on the road.”
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