The New York Police Department has abandoned a proposed $750,500 (approximately £560,000) no-bid contract for technology that uses fake mobile phone towers to track devices, following a backlash over privacy and surveillance.
The reversal, confirmed on 27 October 2026, does not mean the NYPD is abandoning the technology. Instead, it plans to invite competing bids, leaving Israeli technology firm Cognyte eligible to win the contract.
The decision followed criticism from civil liberties groups and political allies of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. It also came after a meeting between Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, according to the New York Daily News.
The NYPD cited procurement rules as its reason for abandoning the original arrangement. The change affects how the department intends to acquire the equipment, rather than ending its phone-tracking plans.
NYPD Cancels $750,500 Deal but Leaves Door Open to Cognyte
The proposed three-year contract covered Cognyte's FalcoNet hardware, software, training and technical support for the NYPD's Technical Assistance and Response Unit.
The department began negotiating with Cognyte in December 2025, under former Mayor Eric Adams. A city procurement notice published on 7 October 2026 set the contract's maximum value at $750,500 (approximately £560,000).
The arrangement used a sole-source procurement process, allowing the department to negotiate directly with Cognyte without competitive bidding.
'It did not meet the criteria for a sole source procurement, so we are moving to an open, competitive procurement process,' an NYPD spokesperson told the New York Daily News.
The department has not announced a winning supplier or a completion date for the new process. Cognyte can still submit a bid, meaning FalcoNet remains a possible choice.
How Fake Cell Towers Can Track New Yorkers' Phones
FalcoNet is a mobile cell-site simulator, a type of surveillance equipment commonly called a Stingray. It imitates a legitimate mobile phone tower, prompting nearby devices to respond to its signals.
Cell-site simulators help investigators locate targeted phones by measuring signals from nearby devices. Unlike fixed mobile towers, portable simulators can move between locations. FalcoNet can reportedly operate from police vehicles or drones, or be carried in a backpack.
That mobility has alarmed privacy campaigners.
Phones belonging to people who are not suspected of wrongdoing may also respond to a simulator. Critics worry about the information such systems could collect about bystanders.
The NYPD says its existing simulators do not intercept conversations, read text messages or extract personal files. Its published policy states that the equipment provides general directional information rather than precise GPS coordinates. These are the department's stated operating limits, not independently verified capabilities of FalcoNet.
Privacy Backlash Puts Mayor Mamdani Under Pressure
The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project opposed the proposed purchase, warning that portable phone-tracking equipment could threaten privacy and civil liberties.
City Council member Tiffany Cabán also opposed the deal. She criticised additional spending on what she described as the 'mass surveillance of New Yorkers'.
Cognyte's international business relationships drew further scrutiny.
Human rights groups have accused the company of doing business with governments that use surveillance technology to target political opponents. Those allegations do not establish wrongdoing by Cognyte in the proposed NYPD procurement.
The controversy continued after the reversal.
On 29 October, Mamdani declined to say whether he supported the NYPD's existing use of cell-site simulators. He said such technology should protect New Yorkers' fundamental rights while serving public safety. His administration has not announced plans to stop using the equipment.
Can the NYPD Track Phones Without a Warrant?
The NYPD already uses cell-site simulators to help locate criminal suspects, missing people and abduction victims.
Under its policy updated on 4 February 2026, investigators generally must obtain a search warrant before deploying the technology in criminal investigations. A judge must find probable cause to believe a qualifying crime has occurred, is occurring or is about to occur. The technology must also be relevant to the investigation.
The policy allows deployment before a warrant is issued in specified emergencies involving imminent danger of serious injury or death. Investigators must document the emergency and obtain a warrant within 48 hours of using the equipment.
Separately, the policy states that a warrant is not required when searching for a missing or suicidal person.
Privacy campaigners remain concerned about bystander data and police oversight. New York lawmakers have introduced Senate Bill S6567 and Assembly Bill A2461, which would prohibit law enforcement use of cell-site simulators.
Neither measure has become law.
For now, the NYPD's U-turn changes its procurement approach, not its plans to acquire phone-tracking technology. Whether Cognyte wins the contract, and what safeguards will govern the equipment eventually selected, remain unresolved.
