---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ECOTERRA Intl.
Date: Thu, Sep 22, 2016 at 5:13 AM
Subject: [NATURAL_DEFENCE] Fight the Surveillance State on Local Level
To: MAILHUB
USAmerican Nationwide Effort Launched to
Fight the Surveillance State on Local Level
September 21, 2016
By Derrick Broze (*)
A coalition of seventeen organizations has launched an effort to
combat the growing Surveillance State by supporting accountability
measures in eleven cities across the United States.
On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of
sixteen other civil liberties and technology firms announced the
beginning of a national effort to combat the growth of secretive
surveillance technology. The coalition’s aim is to “stop the
unchecked, secret, and too often discriminatory use of surveillance
technologies by local police and to move their approval process out of
the darkness and into the light.”
The initiative, dubbed “Community Control Over Police Surveillance,”
is the outgrowth of the ACLU’s TakeCTRL campaign, which was originally
launched on January 20 with a focus on state legislation. The new
effort focuses specifically on action to be taken on a local, city
level. The ACLU is joined by the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF), the National Network for Arab American Communities,
Fight For The Future, The Tenth Amendment Center, and several other
organizations.
“Given the potential for controversy, local police forces have largely
taken to acquiring and using surveillance technologies in secret,”
writes the ACLU. “Of course, when the police conceal their use of
surveillance technologies, they also greatly enhance their ability to
conceal its misuse, such as using a surveillance technology without a
properly obtained warrant or in a discriminatory manner.”
The eleven launch cities are only the first in a wave of cities across
the U.S. which will introduce legislation focused on surveillance.
Participating cities include Seattle, New York City, Washington D.C.,
Miami, and several others. The legislation will focus on increasing
transparency and giving community members more of a say in the
decision making process when it comes to purchasing surveillance
technology.
The ACLU says local communities should have “the chance to discuss,
debate, and oppose these technologies before they become “facts on the
ground” that are much harder to dislodge.” In order to educate on the
local level, the ACLU has also released a Technology 101 primer, which
examines several types of surveillance now being deployed by local law
enforcement.
The primer covers cell-site simulators, also known as stingrays, that
steal cell phone data; automatic license plate readers which track
drivers everywhere they go; aerial surveillance by secret aircraft;
“gun shot detector” listening devices that can be installed in light
poles; hardware and computer software which allow the police to look
into your vehicle or home; social media monitoring, and biometric
technology.
The ACLU says the Community Control Over Police Surveillance
initiative was created using a set of guiding principles. These
principles include ensuring that surveillance technologies are not
funded, acquired, or used without city council approval; requiring
that all surveillance tech is specifically approved; and ending
so-called “grandfathering” in newer technologies that the people and
city council may not be aware of.
While the Community Control initiative is a small step, it is a step
in the right direction. If the ballot box and political system has any
hope in saving the people from an increasingly totalitarian
Surveillance and Police State, it will come through localization. We
the people must work together in our neighborhoods, schools, and
cities. Build the world you want to see, and do it in your own
backyard first. Take action and inspire others. The alternative option
(doing nothing) will not lead you to freedom. Without action, the
concepts of privacy and liberty will soon be remnants of a distant
past.
(*) Derrick Broze is an investigative journalist and liberty activist.
He is the Lead Investigative Reporter for ActivistPost.com and the
founder of the TheConsciousResistance.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Derrick is the author of three books: The Conscious Resistance:
Reflections on Anarchy and Spirituality and Finding Freedom in an Age
of Confusion, Vol. 1 and Finding Freedom in an Age of Confusion, Vol.
2
How to Disappear Off the Grid Completely (Ad)
Derrick is available for interviews. Please contact Derrick@activistpost.com
This article may be freely reposted in part or in full with author
attribution and source link.
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