SAN FRANCISCO — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and two partner law firms filed a lawsuit Thursday against major landlord Equity Residential and surveillance technology vendor SmartRent, alleging the companies violated tenants’ constitutional privacy rights by forcing the use of in-home “smart” surveillance systems.
The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, challenges the installation of SmartRent technology in residential units owned or operated by Equity Residential, one of the largest corporate landlords in the United States. The complaint names SmartRent Technologies Inc. as a co-defendant and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to halt what plaintiffs describe as unlawful monitoring inside people’s homes.
According to the ACLU, tenants in multiple San Francisco-area buildings were required to accept so-called “smart home” systems as a condition of their tenancy. The systems include digital door locks, thermostats and environmental sensors that collect data about tenants’ movements, habits and home conditions, and transmit that information to landlords and third-party technology providers…