Friend,

Twenty years ago, Congress passed the Patriot Act in the wake of the 9/11 attacks — ushering in an era of mass surveillance that has disproportionately harmed people of color, Muslim Americans, journalists and activists.

We won a huge victory last year by ending a key provision of the Patriot Act called Section 215. But this fight won’t be over until this dangerous law is repealed in its entirety. Tell your legislators: The Patriot Act must go.

Thanks!

Sandy

Friend,

In 2020, our movement made real progress in the fight against mass surveillance by ending Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Now, it’s time to repeal the rest of this dangerous law. We need people from every district in the United States to tell their lawmakers that the Patriot Act must go.

Immediately following 9/11, Congress rushed to pass the Patriot Act — legislation that most lawmakers didn’t even have time to read. Twenty years later, mass surveillance rules every part of our lives.

While we are all impacted, we’re not all being surveilled equally: Muslim Americans, Black and Brown activists, journalists and dissidents are spied on disproportionately. The government shouldn’t spy on any of us, but the Patriot Act allows just that.

Your privacy matters: It’s the cornerstone of our First Amendment rights, and dragnet-surveillance laws like the Patriot Act undermine our democracy.

The intelligence community wants you to believe that mass surveillance keeps us safe. But in fact, mass surveillance not only violates our rights but can make it harder to identify actual threats. There are better paths forward that protect our privacy while also keeping us safe.

Demand that your legislators put a stop today to racist spying and mass surveillance.

Twenty years on, it’s past time for Congress to course correct: Join us in calling on your legislators to #BurnthePatriotAct.

Thanks for all you do—

Sandy, Rose and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net

P.S. Twenty years ago in the wake of 9/11, Congress passed the Patriot Act. Since then, racist mass-surveillance policies have allowed government agencies to violate our privacy rights. Demand that Congress repeal the Patriot Act today.