One of the most prominent voices is Chicago-based Lucy Parsons Labs which has brought the harms to light in their research and use of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. ĮFA members also targeted another dangerous form of police surveillance: acoustic gunshot detection, the most popular brand of which is ShotSpotter. Early this year, the city’s Rules Committee unanimously voted against the bill. The group also worked with the ACLU of Missouri to educate lawmakers and their constituents about the dangers and unconstitutionality of another bill, Board Bill 200, which would have implemented aerial surveillance (or "spy planes") similar to a Baltimore program. Louis has taken a leadership role in pushing for a CCOPS bill that was introduced in the city council earlier this year. The Citizens Privacy Coalition of Santa Clara County has been organizing for CCOPS policies across the San Francisco Bay, fighting for democratic control over the acquisition and use of surveillance tech by local government agencies. In California, Oakland Privacy won one of the first victories of the year, when its City Council voted to strengthen their anti-surveillance bill in January. These campaigns and other impressive work coming out of Minnesota are covered in more detail in EFF’s recent interview with a RT4MN organizer. The SNS coalition didn’t rest on its laurels after this victory, but instead went on to mobilize against increased state funding to the local fusion center, and to continue to advocate for a Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) ordinance. During the year-long fight for the ban, the coalition built widespread community support, took the argument to the local press, and won with a unanimous vote from the city council. In 2021, these victories continued with the passage of bans in Minneapolis and King County, Washington, which were won by a close collaboration between EFA members, local ACLU chapters, other local community groups, and the support of EFF.Īlliance member Restore the Fourth Minnesota (RT4MN), and the rest of the Twin Cities-based Safety Not Surveillance (SNS) coalition, successfully advocated to pass their ban on government use of face recognition technology in Minneapolis. Since 2019, when San Francisco became the first city to ban government use of this technology, more than a dozen municipalities nationwide have followed suit, including Portland and Boston last year. This type of biometric surveillance comes in many forms, and is a special menace to civil liberties. Advocacy Pushing Back on Police SurveillanceĮFA members have been vital in the fight against government use of face recognition technology. We hope they will inspire others to take action in the new year. It's not possible to review everything these grassroots groups have accomplished over the last year, but this post highlights a number of exemplary victories. Since first forming in 2016, the alliance has grown to 73 member groups across 26 states.
Security : Technology should be trustworthy and answer to its users.
ALLIANCE DEFENDING DOM TWITTER FREE
Free Expression : People should be able to speak their minds to whomever will listen.What these groups all share in common is an investment in local organizing, a not -for-profit model, and a passion for five guiding principles : Some are fully volunteer-run, some are affiliated with a broader institution (such as student groups), and others are independent non-profit organizations.
The Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA) is an information-sharing network of local groups that span a range of organizational models.
Members of the Electronic Frontier Alliance have continued to innovate by organizing workshops and trainings for neighbors, overwhelmingly online, and made important headway on issues like more equitable broadband access, surveillance oversight, and even banning government use of face recognition. In another year of masking up, local communities have found enough footing to push back on surveillance tech and fight for our digital rights.
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