July 2, 2020

Recently, the Boston City Council voted 13-0 to pass a ban face surveillance by all city departments. The mayor approved the ordinance as well. Yesterday, the Easthampton city council also voted unanimously to ban city use of face surveillance technology. Thanks to everyone who helped get these bans passed and to the Mass. ACLU and Restore the 4th for their consistent advocacy for a ban on face surveillance. While you are here, today the Senate Judiciary Committee will v...
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July 1, 2020

This Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on the EARN IT Act. As we noted in the past, it is FOSTA/SESTA on steroids and is plainly aimed at silencing our 1st Amendment rights on-line. Attorney General Barr, no fan of our right to privacy, would use this new power to ban end-to-end encryption and ensure that platforms that use end-to-end encryption, such as Signal and WhatsApp, are wiretap ready. Neither Senators Warren and Markey are on the Judiciary Commit...
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June 9, 2020

Today at 3pm, Boston City Council's Committee on Government Operations will discuss a proposed ordinance to ban face surveillance in Boston. The hearing will be by Zoom meeting and the public may watch this meeting via live stream at boston.gov/city-council-tv. It is too late to address the committee, but you can still provide written testimony. Details below. The ACLU put together a toolkit for activists that includes model testimony. There are also public education resources available at ...
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June 7, 2020

The police repression and violence against Black Lives Matter protesters and innocent bystanders over the last two weeks is abhorrent. The people have a fundamental right to express their outrage at and opposition to the police killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others. The right of people to express their First Amendment right to free speech is not limited by time or place. Pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets are not the only tools police use to oppress us. Increasing...
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