Fwd: Help investigate cell phone snooping by police nationwide

[coderman]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael at MuckRock <michael@muckrock.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 6, 2014 at 7:53 AM
Subject: Help investigate cell phone snooping by police nationwide


Hi,

Right now, we're gearing for MuckRock's biggest investigative project
yet, and we need your help. First, a little context.

Local police departments across America are increasingly tapping into
information from your cell phone: Your location, who you're with, who
you are calling. Using fake cell phone towers, often called Stingrays,
they generally don't even need a warrant, and have relatively few
restrictions on who, when, and what they collect. Or how they use it.
Since these programs are often funded by federal grants,  very few
people outside of law enforcement know how, or even if, they're being
used, with almost non-existent debate about if this information should
be collected, and what limits should be set for for how it's used or
how long it's kept.

This is where you come in. We're launching this project on Beacon
Reader, where a donation of just $5, about what it costs for us to
successfully file a request, can make a big difference. Just like with
the Drone Census, often times MuckRock is the *only* group asking for
this information, which otherwise would never be made public.

You can support the project at this link, and, again, even just $5 can
make a huge difference:

https://www.muckrock.com/

If you're not in a position to help financially, we would still really
appreciate your help — share what we're up to with your friends,
sending in news articles you see or tips regarding cell phone
tracking, and, in a few days, sending in information regarding which
departments you'd like us to file with through a special page on
MuckRock.

Thanks for all your support in the past, and we're looking forward to
working with you to shine a light on this under-reported area.

Thanks,
Michael