Scope and speed of educational gag orders worsening across the country
In the month since the release of PEN America’s report on the topic, state lawmakers introduced 12 new bills, bringing the total to a staggering 66 educational gag orders for the year in 26 states, 12 of which have passed into law.
EFF to Federal Appeals Courts: Hold police accountable for violating civilians’ right to record
EFF argues that Americans have the right under the First Amendment to livestream and record on-duty police officers and officers who interfere with that right should be held accountable.
UK High Court’s decision opens door for Julian Assange’s extradition to the US
“We condemn today’s decision, which will prove historic for all the wrong reasons. We fully believe that Julian Assange has been targeted for his contributions to journalism, and we defend this case because of its dangerous implications for the future of journalism and press freedom around the world” – RSF
Police aerial surveillance endangers our ability to protest
The California Highway Patrol directed aerial surveillance, mostly done by helicopters, over protests in Berkeley, Oakland, Palo Alto, Placerville, Riverside, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Luis Obispo. Dragnet aerial surveillance is often unconstitutional.
Educational gag orders: Legislative restrictions on the freedom to read, learn, and teach
Between January and September 2021, 24 legislatures across the United States introduced 54 separate bills intended to restrict teaching and training in K-12 schools, higher education, and state agencies and institutions. The majority of these bills target discussions of race, racism, gender, and American history.
Author Ashley Hope Perez and social activist Padma Venkatraman on what book bans are really about
The PEN Children’s and Young Adult Books Committee is responding to recent efforts to ban books and intimidate teachers and librarians with a new conversation series called “PEN Pals.” This series of articles gives voice to the challenged creators of books for children and young adults through an exchange of nuanced conversations that illuminate today’s issues.
CPJ extremely concerned by court order restricting “New York Times” coverage
The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed grave concern over a New York Supreme Court order restricting the “New York Times”’ coverage of Project Veritas.
What you need to know about Biden’s FCC nominations
If confirmed, Biden’s picks are likely to reverse policies and regulations that have been detrimental to net neutrality and individual access as a whole.
EFF to Supreme Court: Warrantless 24-hour video surveillance outside homes violates Fourth Amendment
If the Supreme Court takes up Tuggle’s case, it would be the first time it has considered the rules around warrantless pole camera surveillance.
Face recognition is so toxic, Facebook is dumping it
The decision to end the face recognition program comes at a time when the technology is receiving push back, criticisms, and legislative bans across the United States, and around the world.
Rights groups call on US Attorney General to drop case against Julian Assange
The joint letter urges the U.S. to drop its appeal in the extradition case of the Wikileaks publisher. A recent investigative report alleged that the CIA had plotted to kidnap and possibly kill Assange.
EFF to court: Stop SFPD from spying on protesters for Black Lives
EFF and the ACLU of Northern California recently filed a brief asking the San Francisco Superior Court to rule that the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) violated the law when it obtained and used a remote, live link to a business district’s surveillance camera network to monitor protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in May and June 2020.
How California’s broadband infrastructure law promotes local choice
New California program allows local cities and counties to access infrastructure dollars to solve problems in their own communities along with empowering local private entities, rather than depend on large, private multi-nationals who aren’t willing to make the needed generational investment into infrastructure in most areas of the state.
The other 20-year anniversary: Freedom and surveillance post-9/11
The twentieth anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001 are a good time to reflect on the world we’ve built since then. By now it is clear that far too many things that were put into place in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, especially in the areas of surveillance and government secrecy, are deeply problematic for our democracy, privacy and fairness. It’s time to set things right.
A Texas book ban is an attack on the freedom to learn
Months after the Leander Independent School District in Texas made headlines for banning a slate of books and graphic novels from its secondary school curriculum, the Austin-area district released its decisions on an additional set of titles. Thirteen books are to be removed from schools, with an additional six titles suspended until further notice.
Chicago Inspector General: Police use ShotSpotter to justify illegal stop-and-frisks
The Chicago Office of the Inspector General has released a highly critical report on the Police’s use of ShotSpotter, a surveillance technology that relies on a combination of artificial intelligence and human “acoustic experts” to purportedly identify and locate gunshots based on a network of high-powered microphones located on some of the city’s streets.