EFFector Volume 37, Issue 15
❤️ Let's Sue the Government!
Welcome to an all-new EFFector, your regular digest on everything digital rights from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
In our 832nd issue: A new lawsuit to stop the U.S. government's viewpoint-based surveillance of online speech, even more tips to protect your privacy, and a victory for transparency around AI police reports.
When you lose your rights online, you lose them in real life. Become an EFF member today!
Featured Story: Our Speech-Defending Lawsuit Against the Trump Administration
If "free speech" only applies to opinions the government approves of, it's not really that free, is it? This basic concept seems to be lost on the Trump administration, which is using the threat of immigration enforcement to suppress dissent online. This year, the government launched a sprawling surveillance program to spy on the social media activity of millions of noncitizens and punish those who express views it doesn't like. This unconstitutional surveillance program is wrong and we're suing to stop it.
Since taking power, the Trump administration has created a mass surveillance program to monitor constitutionally protected speech by noncitizens lawfully present in the U.S. Using AI and other automated technologies, the program (sometimes called "Catch and Revoke") surveils the social media accounts and other online speech of visa holders with the goal of identifying and punishing those who express viewpoints the government doesn't like. This has been paired with a public intimidation campaign, silencing not just noncitizens with immigration status, but also the families, coworkers, and friends with whom their lives are integrated.
As EFF Staff Attorney Sophia Cope told The Verge, “If we’re a country that values free speech, then we should value it for everyone who’s here. Otherwise, it doesn’t really mean very much.”
Three labor unions, represented by EFF and co-counsel, sued the Departments of State and Homeland Security this month because this viewpoint-based surveillance program violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act. We're asking the court to stop this unconstitutional surveillance program which has silenced and frightened both citizens and noncitizens, and hampered the ability of the unions to associate with their members and potential members.
Asked in a survey about how the administration's surveillance program has changed their online activity, individual union members reported refraining from posting, refraining from sharing union content, deleting posts, and deleting entire accounts in response. Criticism of the Trump administration or its policies was the most common type of content respondents reported changing their social media activity around. Many members also reported altering their offline union activity in response to the program. One member even said they declined to report a wage theft claim due to fears arising from the surveillance program.
And the administration's list of disfavored viewpoints continues to grow. From the beginning, the program has targeted criticism of the U.S. and "attitudes" the administration considers “hostile” towards the country's "citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles." Just this month, however, the administration publicly boasted about revoking the visas of six people who simply exercised their First Amendment rights to speak about Charlie Kirk in ways it doesn't approve of. But no one should be forced to conform to the views of the state. This critical lawsuit, UAW v. State Department, aims to stop this unconstitutional suppression of speech.
READ MORE… EFF Updates
👮 AI POLICE REPORTS: Lots can go wrong when generative AI is used to write police reports. And with so little transparency around how departments use technology, it can be hard to know when it's happening in the first place. That's why we applaud California for passing a law requiring police to disclose if AI was used to write a police report, beginning the long process of imposing transparency on this growing problem.
🎃 OPT OUT OCTOBER: All month long, EFF has been sharing daily tips to opt out of big tech's surveillance machine. Over time, small steps like "Declutter Your Apps" and "Review Location Tracking Settings" can add up to big privacy gains. Check out our Opt Out October page and catch up on all our recommendations to reclaim control of your privacy.
🌐 HUMAN RIGHTS: Following reporting that Microsoft cloud services were being used to store and process vast quantities of intercepted phone communications of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, the company announced that it had "ceased and disabled a set of services to a unit within the Israel Ministry of Defense." Microsoft’s recent steps are long overdue and much needed in addressing its potential complicity in human rights abuses. But as we write on our blog, it must not end here, and Microsoft should not be the only major technology company taking such action.
🎥 EFF LIVESTREAM: Interested in generative AI and the future of copyright? Join us online for our next EFFecting Change livestream, "This Title Was Written by a Human," on November 13th. Our panelists will be discussing how to address complex questions and risks in AI while protecting civil liberties and human rights online.
Don’t Let Tyrants Co-opt Tech
Technology is supercharging the attack on democracy by making it easier to spy on people, block free speech, and control what we do. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s activists, lawyers, and technologists are fighting back.
Join the movement to Take Back CTRL. For a limited time, join EFF for as little as $20. As our thanks, you’ll get a Take Back CTRL Camera Cover Set with any member gift.
"We think all of this is coming together as a way to chill people's speech and make it so they do not feel comfortable expressing core political viewpoints protected by the First Amendment"
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