Oppose the EARN It Act

May 28, 2020

The EARN IT Act would gut Communications Decency Act Section 230, which protects free speech online. Section 230 requires you be held responsible for what you say, not the website or platform where you said it. As more and more speech is corralled into the tech giants walled gardens, it ensures that we have the freedom to express ourselves. As the EFF notes: "EARN IT would establish a “National Commission on Online Child Exploitation Prevention.” This Commission would include the Chairman...
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Pirate News: Mail voting in Arlington, PATRIOT Act Renewal and COVID-19 reopening

May 27, 2020

Pirates Joe, Steve and James talk about the latest current events including Arlington's efforts to run its upcoming election by mail in ballot, PATRIOT Act renewal and Massachusetts' phased reopening from the COVID-19 less than lockdown. Digitally sign to get the Ranked Choice Voting initiative on the November ballot Donate your used computer Donate to your local food bank

Get Ranked Choice Voting on the ballot!

May 26, 2020

Volunteers from Voter Choice for Massachusetts, the Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) campaign, made history last fall when they submitted 111,000 certified signatures to the Secretary of the Commonwealth; the most ever by a Massachusetts ballot initiative campaign. The Massachusetts Pirate Party supports RCV and we are proud to be part of this historic effort to give a stronger voice and more choice to voters. Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) allows voters to rank the candidates on the ballot by order o...
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End mass collection of where you go on the web!

May 25, 2020

Updated with the name of the amendment. Thanks Restore the Fourth! The PATRIOT Act renewal passed in the Senate. It is heading back to the House for another vote since it was amended to add a degree of independent oversight to the FISA court. The original House bill included some reforms, including forbidding the warrantless collection of Americans’ phone records and cell tower or GPS location data. Unfortunately, the Wyden amendment to forbid the collecting of internet website browsing a...
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Burn the PATRIOT Act to the ground

May 13, 2020

The PATRIOT Act, that abomination to our 4th Amendment right to privacy, is yet again up for renewal in H.R. 6172, which passed in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. Senators Daines (R-CO), Leahy (D-VT), Lee (R-UT), Paul (R-KY) and Wyden (D-OR) have put forward three amendments to reform it. Should these amendments pass unchanged, journalists, political and religious organizations would have a voice when the rubber stamp Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court reviews...
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Pirate News: EARN IT Act, “exposure notification” apps, jamming snitching sites

May 11, 2020

Massachusetts Pirates Joe, Steve and James talk about the latest news of interest to Pirates including: Cape Cod Field Hospital Closes Without Seeing Any Coronavirus Patients The EARN IT Act Violates the Constitution US public health officials on apps: "Meh" Can We Track COVID-19 and Protect Privacy at the Same Time? This Script Sends Junk Data to Ohio’s Website for Snitching on Workers Ohio Covid 19 Toolkit

Pirate News: How to protect yourself from spying Chromebooks

May 2, 2020

Pirates Joe, Steve and James talk about the latest news from a Pirate perspective including states reopening while COVID-19 rages, what you can do about your kid's school Chromebooks spying on you and your friendly reminder not to drink bleach. Also, James has technical difficulties getting his DSLR working as his webcam; hilarity doesn't ensue. Some of the articles we mention: Several states starting to reopen this weekendThis is where all 50 states stand on reopeningHomemade Gas Ma...
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Pirate News: COVID-19 Surveillance, Back to Work Astroturfing and Corporate Bailouts

April 22, 2020

Pirates Joe, James, Steve and Malt talk about the latest news including: Google/Apple potentially violating your rights here in America with their contact tracing tech. See also: https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/10/tiki-tiki-tiki-tiki-tiki-room/#serge-vaudenayThe back to work astroturf campaign 80% of the tax cut in the bailout "went to just 43,000 taxpayers each earning over $1 million a year COVID-19 Update. Our resources to fight COVID-19 SJC Rules Police Were OK To Use License Plate ...
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Find out if your Municipality uses Facial Recognition Technology

February 13, 2020

Thanks to everyone who filled out MuckRock's FOIA request system to find out whether police are using facial recognition technology and how. Eleven requests are up for Massachusetts, but that still leaves 340 cities and towns we can file FOIA requests in. The process to send a request to your municipality or any other you are interested in is easy: Go to their project pageFill out the form at the bottom of the pageComplete any steps they have to create an account That's it. It will ...
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Stop Ring Surveillance

January 31, 2020

Jeff Bezos, using his media empire, created the "porch pirate" narrative in order to push demand for Ring cameras. Having deployed them in communities across the state, he is now poised to sell access to this spy network to the police. If the state proposed building surveilance cameras outside the front door of every house in every city, there would be justified outrage. But by making the Ring camera a consumer object, it becomes a status symbol, something enviable. The purported AI techn...
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