S.T.O.P. Welcomes End Of Utility Data Sales To Data Brokers, ICE

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Welcomes End Of Utility Data Sales To Data Brokers, ICE (New York, NY, 12/8/2021) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, welcomed a decision by the National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange (NCTUE) to end sale of 170 million customers’ data to ICE and other government agencies. Activists and lawmakers previously condemned NCTUE’s practice, highlighting the potential for invasive surveillance and abuse. SEE: Washington Post - Utility giants agree to no longer allow sensitive records to be shared with ICE https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/12/08/utility-data-government-tracking/ “You shouldn’t have to choose between keeping on the lights and keeping your privacy,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “When police can purchase records about every aspect of our lives, it undermines what few rights we have. No one thinks that because they sign up for cable or an internet subscription that they’re handing that information over to the cops. This is an important step, but we need to go much farther to dismantle the data broker industry. No one should have to choose between the essentials of modern life and keeping their families safe.” In August, S.T.O.P.’s clients defeated Thomson Reuters’s motion to dismiss their class action lawsuit accusing the company of illegally selling Californians’ data without consent. The lawsuit claims that Thomson Reuters’s CLEAR database collects millions of Californians’ utility records, criminal histories, credit reports, photographs, and other records and sells that data to private companies, police, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). SEE: California Civil Rights Activists Defeat Thomson Reuters Motion To Dismiss Lawsuit Re Data Sales https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2021/8/17/california-civil-rights-activists-defeat-thomson-reuters-motion-to-dismiss-lawsuit-re-data-sales?rq=reuters Order Granting In Part and Denying In Part Defendant’s Motion To Dismiss https://www.stopspying.org/s/2021-0816-53-cand-ORDER-by-Judge-Edward-M-Chen-Granting-in-Part-and-Denying-in-Part-28-Defendants-Mo.pdf The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. -- END -- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.