Law enforcement’s open letter to former Bergen County Prosecutor on Daniel’s Law

OPINION

We read the press release announcing the formation of the Public Safety Information Protection Coalition (PSIPC) with anger and disappointment.  The PSIPC makes a number of false claims about the history and effectiveness of Daniel’s Law in their press release and on their website, but that is not surprising coming from a “coalition” created by billion-dollar data brokers willing to jeopardize the safety of judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers – and their families – in the pursuit of profit.

It is far more surprising and disheartening to see a former prosecutor such as yourself sell out law enforcement.  As the Bergen County Prosecutor for 14 years, you have no doubt seen and experienced first-hand the very real dangers associated with the sale and disclosure of our home addresses and other sensitive personal information.  How much does it cost to get someone to turn their back on the men and women they used to lead, and put their lives at risk? 

Despite being personally aware of these dangers, you have decided to lend your name to the data industry’s latest ploy to avoid accountability for putting public servants in harm’s way.  Using the PSIPC as a front group and you as its spokesman, these companies now pretend to be advocates for Daniel’s Law while secretly seeking to undermine and weaken it.  They would rather spend millions of dollars spreading misinformation and lies than simply comply with a law meant to keep us and our families safe.

Some of us know you personally and we would like to believe that you did not know who you were getting involved with.  We direct you to an article published by Politico on April 5, 2024, titled Companies line up to undercut key data privacy law.  The article details a February 2024 conference call jointly hosted by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA).  These two industry lobbying groups and dozens of participant data brokers – many of whom had been accused of violating Daniel’s Law – spoke candidly because they likely did not anticipate that one of the participants would later leak a recording of the call to the press and the public.

Over the course of a nearly hour-long meeting, executives from these groups can be heard clearly outlining their plans to spread misinformation and apply pressure to our state legislators in order to weaken Daniel’s Law in New Jersey before other states began to adopt similar legislation.  Their biggest fear appeared to be that the law would actually work and inspire other states to protect their own judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers by similar means.  This outcome was unacceptable to them because it meant greater compliance costs and less profit.

In particular, we call your attention to the following statements made by Chris Oswald, the Executive Vice President of the Association of National Advertisers, during this meeting:

●       Mr. Oswald acknowledges that, if the ANA leads efforts to weaken Daniel’s Law, the story would be that “we don’t care about judges or law enforcement or other families, we just want to sell them more products, and that’s why we need the data”.

●       Mr. Oswald suggests that instead, the CDIA should “lead the fight” because their arguments could be more “nuanced” and “sympathetic” and include threats that public servants would be “cut off” from accessing “credit, insurance, [and] mortgages”.

●       Mr. Oswald identifies the industry’s shared goal as getting “the burdens associated with the changes to Daniel’s Law off of our members” – to be clear, that “burden” is simply the need to comply with the law and stop selling our personal information.

These lobbying groups and the data brokers they represent told the world, in their own words, that they would rather spend millions of dollars to overturn Daniel’s Law than comply with the law.  They prioritize their profit over our safety and the safety of our families.

The ANA, the CDIA, and many of the participating data brokers were widely and rightly condemned after this industry call leaked and was reported on.  When the CDIA’s brand and credibility were so badly damaged that they became unable to effectively lead the effort to attack Daniel’s Law here in New Jersey, they apparently began the search for another front group to peddle their lies – and found you.

The ANA-CDIA meeting only happened because the most recent amendments to Daniel’s Law and our subsequent efforts, as New Jersey’s largest law enforcement labor union, to organize and give our tens of thousands of members services they could use to protect themselves and their families, were effective.  The ANA-CDIA meeting’s agenda was not about helping companies comply but instead focused on rallying companies around a covert plan designed to undermine and ultimately destroy Daniel’s Law.  As Jordan Abbott, Chief Privacy Officer of data broker Acxiom, exclaimed: “It’s going to be a street fight, and we’re going to be ready for it, we’ll lead.”

In your press release you refer to recent enforcement efforts as “predatory lawsuits”.  You imply that the multi-billion-dollar data brokers who profit by endangering our safety are somehow the real victims.  Yet despite being in federal and state courts for more than a year now, dozens of defendants – data brokers, including ANA and CDIA members – continue to violate the law to this day by selling our home addresses and home telephone numbers, despite our requests and pleas to them to stop.  Thousands of our fellow PBA members are similarly affected.

What you call “predatory lawsuits” we call a fight to protect ourselves and our families from predators who seek to cause us harm.  Predators from whom you are very likely now drawing a paycheck.

It’s not too late for you to re-prioritize the safety of every person covered under Daniel’s Law and its amendments.  It’s not too late for you to renounce whatever lucrative contract you’ve signed with the data broker industry and their lobbyists and reaffirm your commitment to protecting New Jersey’s judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers.  It’s not too late for you to remember your original commitment to each of us and our families and what honor, duty, and courage actually mean.

This letter was signed by: Peter Andreyev, President, New Jersey State PBA; Michael Freeman, Executive Vice President, New Jersey State PBA; Mike Podeia, Chairman, Bergen County PBA Conference; Frank Warther, Executive Board Member, Bergen County PBA Conference; Randy Gawrylo, Executive Board Member, Bergen County PBA Conference; Robert Mader, Executive Board Member, Bergen County PBA Conference; Anthony Mazzo, Executive Board Member, Bergen County PBA Conference; Jarett Cooke, Executive Board Member, Bergen County PBA Conference; Mike Debartolo, Executive Board Member, Bergen County PBA Conference; Mike LeStrange, Executive Board Member, Bergen County PBA Conference; John Ahearn, Executive Board Member, Bergen County PBA Conference; Craig Luebeck, Executive Board Member, Bergen County PBA Conference; Frank Conti, President, Port Authority PBA; Frank Cavallo, President, Hackensack PBA Local 9; Christopher Cron, President, Allendale-Waldwick PBA Local 217; Matthew Gough, President, Alpine PBA Local 399; Gary Yannetti, President, Bergen County PBA Local 102; Jordan Kalender, President, Bergen County Sheriff’s Department PBA Local 134; Joseph Arrigo, President, Bergenfield PBA Local 309; Brian Monroe, President, Carlstadt PBA Local 312; Thomas Giammanco, President, Elmwood Park PBA Local 185; Ron Layne, President, Englewood PBA Local 216; Mark Roskowsky, President, Fair Lawn PBA Local 67; Christopher Onorato, President, Federal Reserve Police PBA Local 385; John Gallo, President, Fort Lee PBA Local 245; Robert Meehan, President, Garfield PBA Local 46; Sarah Orsita, President, Glen Rock PBA Local 110; Thomas Kirk,President, Ho-Ho-Kus PBA Local 353; Nicholas Nobre, President, Lodi PBA Local 26; Steven Batista, President, Lyndhurst PBA Local 202; Joseph Werba, President, Montvale PBA Local 303; Jeremiah Nayda, President, North Arlington PBA 95; Sam Doran, President, New Milford PBA Local 83; Nicholas Moltzen, President, Northern Valley PBA Local 233; Chris Tinio, President, Oakland PBA Local 164; Michael Focarino, President, Paramus PBA Local 186;Ryan Hansen, President, Pascack Valley PBA Local 206; Christopher Dooley, President, Ridgefield Park PBA Local 86; Matthew Piterski, President, River Edge PBA Local 201; Ryan Holdsworth, President, Saddle River PBA Local 348; Tony Babajide Olamiju, President, Teaneck PBA Local 215; Brandon Moriarty, President, Tenafly PBA Local 376; Peter Wojcik, President, Wallington PBA Local 321; Dave Marchitelli, President, Wood-Ridge PBA Local 313