S.T.O.P. Welcomes Tech Firms’ Support For NY Geofence Warrant Ban

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Welcomes Tech Firms’ Support For NY Geofence Warrant Ban Civil rights group says measure is more urgent than ever ahead of repeal of Roe v. Wade and expanded abortion surveillance. (New York, NY, 5/11/2022) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, welcomes the support of Reform Government Surveillance (RGS), coalition of leading technology firms, in calling for passage of New York’s Reverse Location Search Prohibition Act. RGS members include Apple, Dropbox, Evernote, Google, Microsoft, Snap, Inc., Twitter, Yahoo, Zoom, and others. S.T.O.P. renewed its call on New York State to immediately enact the bill, which would completely ban geofence warrants, keyword warrants, and police purchases of such data. The civil rights group says geofence bans and other surveillance protections are more urgent than ever ahead of the anticipated repeal of Roe v. Wade and the following increase in criminal abortion surveillance. SEE: Reform Government Surveillance - RGS urges adoption of New York’s Reverse Location Search Prohibition Act https://www.reformgovernmentsurveillance.com/rgs-urges-adoption-of-new-yorks-reverse-location-search-prohibition-act/ TechCrunch - Google, Microsoft and Yahoo back New York ban on controversial search warrants https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/10/google-new-york-geofence-keyword-warrant/ S.T.O.P - Geolocation Tracking Ban https://www.stopspying.org/location-tracking “It’s rare that you see big tech firms and civil rights groups on the same side, but that’s because a geofence warrant ban is just common sense,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Geofence warrants are far too powerful to be left in the hands of police, especially at a moment when police powers are expanding. Police should not be able to commandeer our data and turn big tech into big brother. Geofence warrants are an end-run around the Constitution, letting police surveil us through corporate databases in ways that would be illegal if done directly. Already, these warrants are being struck down, but with more coming every day, we can’t wait for the courts to act, and we must ban the practice today." Since 2018, geofence warrants have quickly grown to be issued thousands of times a year, with each warrant potentially collecting data on every person in an area as large as a city. New York’s Reverse Location Search Prohibition Act would be the first in the country to ban geofence warrants. S.T.O.P. highlighted the ban as an important protection against anti-abortion policing, because geofence warrants facilitate surveillance of pregnant people visiting abortion clinics. Cahn continued, “Soon, police will be able to use geofence warrants to identify nearly everyone visiting an abortion clinic in America. Even with abortion protected in New York, pregnant people coming from out of state to find abortion care are at risk. And the threat will only grow if federal anti-abortion restrictions expand. Geofence warrants are a uniquely powerful way to track pregnant people, and the practice must be outlawed. If New York truly wants to protect reproductive rights, we can’t allow anti-abortion surveillance.” SEE: Protocol - New York lawmakers want to outlaw geofence warrants as protests grow https://www.protocol.com/new-york-lawmakers-want-to-outlaw-geofence-warrants Time - How a Digital Abortion Footprint Could Lead to Criminal Charges—And What Congress Can Do About It https://time.com/6175194/digital-data-abortion-congress/ 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.