[ [link removed] ]The graphic reads, "Tech companies, protect Black people from TX SB8 by
eliminating anti-abortion bounty hunting, harassment, and privacy
invasion." There is a pair of hands holding a cellphone with the Facebook,
Reddit, and Twitter apps on the screen.
John,
On September 1, Texas passed Senate Bill 8 (SB8), a draconian and
blatantly unconstitutional law that allows private citizens anywhere in
the country to become bounty hunters to enforce a six-week abortion ban.^1
Although Color Of Change and other organizations are working hard to
respond to this violation of rights and bodily autonomy, people across the
country are already using social media platforms to track down women and
people who need access to abortions, abortion activists, and abortion
providers in Texas, and accuse them of breaking this new law.^2 This
egregious behavior is not just legal—it is encouraged through financial
incentives of $10,000 or higher.
[ [link removed] ]DEMAND TECH COMPANIES NOT SUPPORT TX SB8
Anti-abortion extremists are using Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook to
coordinate the harassment and bounty hunting of women and people seeking
abortions.^3,4 Due to systemic racial and economic barriers, Black women
will suffer the brunt of the harm; Black women continue to have the
highest abortion rate, nearly four times higher than white women.^5
Barriers that Black women face, driving this disparity, include the denial
of necessary resources, like health insurance, prenatal care, and
contraceptives.^6 With the highest rate of abortion, and the historic
failures of social media platforms to protect Black women specifically,
Black women will overwhelmingly be the target of these bounty-hunting and
harassment efforts if tech companies do not act.^7,8
We are looking to tech companies to prioritize the safety and well-being
of Black people when the law does not. Several companies have already
taken action against this law: GoDaddy terminated its hosting services for
one of Texas’ bounty hunting platforms, Right to Life, and Reddit removed
the forum for Texas bounty hunters.^9,10 Even companies like Lyft and Uber
have announced that they would cover the legal costs of Texas drivers who
might be sued for driving people to abortion clinics.^11
However, Facebook and Twitter have yet to take action, and there is room
for Reddit to implement guidelines that further prevent abortion bounty
hunting. If these companies do not take action, they will be in violation
of their own community guidelines around harassment.^12-14 So we are
demanding that these tech companies take action: they must prevent users
from harassing and invading the privacy of women, people seeking
abortions, activists, and medical professionals. Join us in calling on
tech companies to stop abortion bounty hunting on their platforms.
[ [link removed] ]TELL TECH COMPANIES TO PROTECT BLACK PEOPLE FROM ABORTION BOUNTY
HUNTERS
Until justice is real,
Jade Magnus Ogunnaike and the Color Of Change team
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References:
1. “Bill Text: TX SB8 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled,”
LegiScan, [ [link removed] ][link removed]
2. “Violence against abortion clinics hit a record high last year.
Doctors say it's getting worse,” CBS News, September 17, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
3. Kendall Brown, September 02, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
4. Kendall Brown, September 02, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
5. “Black Women’s Maternal Health: A Multifaceted Approach to Addressing
Persistent and Dire Health Disparities,” National Partnership for
Women and Families, April 2018,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
6. Madeline Y. Sutton, Ngozi F. Anachebe, Regina Lee, and Heather Skanes,
“Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Reproductive Health Services and
Outcomes,” Obstetric and Gynecology, January 5, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
7. “The State of Online Harassment,” Pew Research Center, January 13,
2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
8. “New Study Confirms That Black Women Are Most Abused Group on
Twitter,” Colorlines, December 19, 2018,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
9. Jon Brodkin, “GoDaddy boots Texas abortion ‘whistleblower’ site for
violating privacy rule,” Ars Technica, September 03, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
10. Samantha Cole, “Reddit Bans Abortion Bounty Hunter Forum,” Vice News,
September 07, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
11. Preetika Rana, “Lyft, Uber to Cover Legal Costs of Drivers Sued Under
Abortion Law,” The Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
12. “Reddit Content Policy,” Reddit,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
13. “The Twitter Rules,” Twitter,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
14. “Coordinating Harm and Publicizing Crime,” Facebook,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
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[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Please
help keep our movement strong.
[ [link removed] ]Make a Donation
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