US police want Waze to remove police tracking-report

Police in the USA are asking tech company Waze to turn off its police tracking feature. Waze is a navigation app that uses crowdsourced data to route around heavy traffic, as well as warn users on road hazards as well as police presence. Local users will be familiar with the “Police reported ahead” warning.

The feature is intended to alert users to possible speed traps and in the Philippines, perhaps cops hiding behind signs behind trees. But in the US, after the New York City shooting of two officers, the cops fear that the app may be turn into “police stalking.”

The police are asking Waze owner Google to remove the feature before lawsuits fly.

Civil rights groups are opposing the removal, saying that the Waze app is simply reporting freely available data and that the police are in plain sight.

We hope that if Google bows to police pressure, the ban on reporting won’t be implemented worldwide. We would never know if there’s a diaper-clad traffic enforcer hiding behind a corner.