Anti-Surveillance Summer Reading

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Friend,

Fall is fast approaching, but S.T.O.P.’s got some last-minute summer reading! We published a record number of opinion pieces this summer, covering topics ranging from AI in classrooms to body cams in prisons:



 
City Limits - Opinion: City Council Must Act to Keep NYPD Radio Transmissions Public

Legal Intern Andy Ratto writes about NYPD’s unilateral decision to encrypt all their radios, an alarming move that would be catastrophic for police accountability and journalism in the city, preventing reporters from covering breaking news.
Fast Company - New York's garbage surveillance program is a privacy nightmare

Legal Intern Austen Fisher writes on how New York is trying to surveil its trash off the streets rather than disposing of it, raising serious privacy concerns. Invasive cameras are not the answer to New York's sanitation problems.
]The Daily Beast - Biden, Don't Celebrate Debt Ceiling Deal. Instead, Take It to Court
The Daily Beast - What The Kansas Newsroom Raid Reveals About Widespread Spying On The Press

Newsroom raids may be rare in the U.S., but the alarming reality is that widespread police surveillance of journalists is not. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn and Communications Intern Annie Devoe write about how law enforcement agencies frequently use sprawling police surveillance systems to track the press.


 
The Boston Globe- Will AI be monitoring kids in their classrooms? 

With the current panic over how students are going to abuse AI, there has been far too little thought paid to the ways that AI might harm them — including by surveilling them. Fox Cahn and Advocacy Intern Shruthi Sriram write about the surveillance threats of tutoring chatbots and other technologies in the Boston Globe.


 
Washington Blade- There's no pride in censoring queer gamers

Legal Fellow Evan Enzer and Communications Intern Cyra Paladini argue that video games are a space for social expression and connection, but current content moderation practices within games disproportionately harm LGBTQ+ gamers by mistakenly censoring them and sending the message that their participation is not valued. 
Fast Company- POV: NY Prisons are in crisis, body cams won't help

While recent proposals to require corrections and parole officers in New York state to wear body-worn cameras (BWCs) might seem like a step in the right direction, Legal Intern JD Mireles argues that this technology is frequently used to protect officers and uphold the status quo rather than encouraging police accountability.

The Hill - New technology, same problems: We need to ensure accessibility for everyone
The Hill- New technology, same problems: We need to ensure accessibility for everyone

Mass surveillance technologies, such as biometric monitoring and facial recognition, are biased and discriminatory against people with disabilities. On the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Enzer and Communications & Development Fellow Sarah Roth call for action to ensure accessibility for all.

Business Insider - AI is using the Oxy marketing playbook to hook people on prescription drugs

Fox Cahn on how online pill services, using aggressive AI-driven marketing tactics to sell habit-forming medications like Adderall, mirror the marketing strategies that contributed to the opioid epidemic.

Times Union - Commentary: A victory for trans rights, but still more to do
Times Union - Commentary: A victory for trans rights, but still more to do

Fox Cahn and Research Intern Conan Lu argue that while new legislation promises historic protections for trans youth in New York, other legislative efforts, like the New York Child Data Privacy and Protection Act, risks outing LGBTQ+ teens by requiring they get parental consent for every service they use.

City & State New York - Opinion: New York must say no to social media surveillance
City & State New York - Opinion: New York must say no to social media surveillance

Civil Rights Intern Liz Huang urges New York to say yes to the "STOP FAKES" Act, which seeks to prohibit police from using fake social media accounts to surveil individuals--including activists, abortion-seekers, and youth--as these practices invade privacy, disproportionately impact Black and brown communities, and lead to unjust arrests.
  


 
Slate - The Police Surveillance Tool Too Dangerous to Ignore

Fox Cahn, and Legal Fellow, Nina Loshkajian, unpack the dangers of geofence warrants and discuss the bipartisan efforts against their use.
We know this isn’t the lightest beach reading, per se, but our articles do make these shadowy systems of surveillance less opaque. For some extra summer reading, check out S.T.O.P.’s recent research reports and delve deeper into anti-surveillance topics.
With thanks,
Cyra Paladini
Communications Intern
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