Please call your member of Congress now and ask them to vote NO on HR 9495

(the switchboard number is 202-224-3121)

https://www.aclu.org/documents/civil-society-letter-to-congress-opposing-hr-9495

HR9495 would give the incoming (Republican) Secretary of the Treasury power to revoke the nonprofit status of any nonprofit simply by declaring that it is involved with terrorism. Given the incoming administration's definitions of terrorism, this particularly implicates:

- Nonprofits helping immigrants

- Nonprofits working on police violence

- Nonprofits involved in advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza, and

- Nonprofits focusing on the rights of Muslims.

The bill will be unlikely to pass as a stand-alone bill in the Senate (Wyden chairs Senate Finance and is dead against it), BUT the risk is that it will pass in the House and then, if it's perceived as uncontroversial enough, could be folded into an end-of-year omnibus funding bill that Wyden can't stop. So we need to run up the NO votes in the vote early next week.

Hey everyone! Check out RT4's latest 2024 presidential candidate analysis.

https://restorethe4th.com/where-the-2024-presidential-candidates-stand-on-privacy-and-surveillance/

When a K9 is called to a traffic stop - what are the rules regarding dogs in the vehicle being pulled over? I have a pickup, my dog was in the cab with the window down. Are there any statutes that address this?

Read our latest on the TikTok ban bill: https://restorethe4th.com/smoke-and-phone-screens-a-tiktok-ban-isnt-about-protecting-americans-privacy/

Spoiler: despite what lawmakers say, the bill has nothing to do with protecting your data or privacy.

For the first time since 1978, a House committee has voted out a bill, H. R. 6570 (the "Protect Liberty Act"), that would actually protect Americans against government surveillance - not all of it, but a good piece of it. It would require a warrant by default for government queries of the NSA's database for U. S. persons, AND prevent the government from buying its way around the Fourth by getting your data from data brokers. It's going to be brought up for a vote next Monday (or perhaps Tuesday). That gives us - and the other orgs helping - ONE DAY to call over 400 offices, and figure out who's voting YES or NO on our bill, and also on the bill we need to kill at the same time.

See, the Protect Liberty Act will be being brought to the floor along with a competing bill, H. R. 6611, from the Intelligence Committee, which would substantially expand government surveillance, but which is being falsely presented by intelligence community defenders as partially reforming it. The easy thing for Members to do will be to once again be suckered in by the intelligence community, and to vote YES on both. Surveillance hawks, on the other hand, who know what's up, will vote YES on their bill and NO on ours - which would mean that their bill, not ours, will win.

So I'm pulling out all the stops today, contacting everyone I can, to get them to make calls to offices, find out how they intend to vote, and mark that information in a spreadsheet. If you're up for making a few calls - and I really hope you are! - please upvote this post, and I'll give you key information.

Restore The Fourth has come a long way in ten years. This is far ahead of where we thought we could get. Just getting to this vote on the House floor has been a marathon. But today, we need to sprint.

If you have questions, feel free to ask them below!

Today, Senators Wyden, Lee, and Reps. Lofgren, and Davidson introduced the Government Surveillance Reform Act (GSRA). This is a blockbuster piece of legislation that, if passed, would systemically reform Section 702 of FISA, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), surveillance conducted Executive Order 12333, and much, much more. It even tackles vehicular surveillance and cell-site simulators (aka "stingrays"). It is the most comprehensive piece of privacy legislation introduced in the last decade.

Here's the full text of the bill: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/government_surveillance_reform_act_of_2023_bill_text.pdf

Restore the Fourth will be putting out a series on our website soon that explains GSRA's provisions in a digestible and accessible way. Look out for that soon! (https://restorethe4th.com/)

Some major reports have come out recently on "education technology" (edtech), a term that encompasses the latest surveillance technology implemented in schools. They promise safety for both students and teachers. However, these reports find that edtech does not make schools safer. Edtech filters and blocks internet content that is important for students to access and collects copious amounts of data on them in the process.

Off Task: EdTech Threats to Student Privacy and Equity in the Age of AI by CDT: https://cdt.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/091923-CDT-Off-Task-web.pdf

A report from The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) on educational data and technology (edtech): “The research focuses on student privacy concerns and schools’ capacity to address them; emerging uses of AI-driven technology such as predictive analytics; and deep dives into content filtering and blocking, student activity monitoring, and generative AI, encompassing both well-established and emerging technology.” Content blocking and filtering presents a host of problems – it bars students from accessing important information, blocks students from accessing content related to LGBTQI+ and racial issues and leads to unfair and unjust disciplinary actions disproportionately targeted at students from minority groups.

See also…

New ACLU Report Shines Light on Shadowy EdTech Surveillance Industry by Chad Marlow: https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/new-aclu-report-shines-light-on-shadowy-edtech-surveillance-industry-and-the-dangerous-consequences-of-surveillance-in-schools

A new report from the ACLU on the edtech surveillance industry: “While buying these EdTech Surveillance products may make school districts feel safer, the reality is they do not keep students safe. In fact, student surveillance is not only ineffective as a safety measure, but it often harms students in the process and precludes schools from implementing more proven interventions.”

On Friday, our Boston area volunteers turned out to testify at a hearing where the City Council was considering whether to accept $3.4m in previously rejected funding for the Boston Regional Intelligence Center.

After two hours of obfuscation from BRIC officials, there was explosive public testimony from filmmakers Lauren Pespisa and Rod Webber, who were targeted and harassed by white supremacist BRIC officer Andrew Creed, on the basis of a tip from a Proud Boy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YwjzSbWf1k

Local resident Will Justice, who was cleared of a charge of armed robbery, spoke about BRIC circulating alerts to local police after he was acquitted to be on the watch for him, which has led to his being stopped, pulled over and harassed and losing employment opportunities.

Mickey Metts, technologist and free software advocate, testified about how BRIC targets Boston's "poorest neighborhoods with surveillance and isolation. Small things add up and create an atmosphere of unrest so police may respond with violence."

If you'd like to join this fight, email digitalfourth@protonmail.com.

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Byline: Johana Bhuiyan:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/26/revealed-ice-bi-inc-migrants-more-data-collection

Through a FOIA request, advocacy groups obtained documents revealing that ICE has collected data on migrants through “smartphone apps, ankle monitors and smartwatches” for up to 75 years. Previously, ICE stated that it only collected location data, however these documents show that biometrics are also collected. This data collection falls under the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP). Read Just Futures Law’s fact sheet for more information.

Relatedly, on the private company that helps ICE conduct its mass surveillance:

How a private company (BI Inc.) helps ICE track migrants’ every move by Tonya Riley: https://cyberscoop.com/ice-bi-smartlink/